Tag Archives: design principles

Security

The Apple case isn’t “privacy” versus “safety”

The current fight is about whether we will impose a technological infrastructure which will be exceptionally vulnerable to attackers in order to provide nothing more useful than some very, very short-term advantages to people investigating crimes.

Let me say it differently: We put everyone in danger if we weaken cybersecurity. We only help a few detectives in a few investigations.

I don’t want hackers playing with my home thermostats, my car’s computer, my water or electric utility systems, or financial computers. If we make it convenient for police to reach into our computers, we also make it easy for hackers. This threatens peoples lives directly.

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Security

Example of KISS

Ok, this is a backwards observation.

One of my hot buttons is to spot “cyber security principles,” that is, general but pointed observations on how to improve cyber security.

A long-held principle is “Keep it Simple, Stupid.” Thanks to Moore’s Law and the constantly falling price of ever bigger, faster, and more complex tech, no one puts much effort into keeping things simple. The extra features draw more customers even if they make the tech more fragile.

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Security

GUIs: Control, Conveyance, Continuity, and Context

Scream of anguishI’m a sucker for basic principles distilled into pithy prescriptions.

A freelance writer, Brian Boyko, has distilled the basic features of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) into four principles: Control, Conveyance, Continuity, and Context. He uses them to structure a well-reasoned though shrill critique of Windows 8.

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