Phew! That was a pretty daunting day of reading. I Which obviously was bad news took the day to just read a for reality that cooler nontechnical book by heads had not prevailed and Schneier on security to sort as Schneier puts it we are of get in a security mood stuck in a privacyless after interesting absolute police state that comversations for the past was absolutely failing and week. This book was will ultimately fail to published in 2014, and each protect its inmates, and the chapter of the book collects most hopeful message he a sequence of articles could offer was that US schneier published from 2008 citizens had to steel to 2014. themselves so catastrophes at the losing-entire-cities The table of contents scale wouldn't break their strongly implies that that's spirit. (Because things are the way to think about the the worst and headed worse). book, but it is in fact completely wrong. Here, now In that cheery light, the I will re-chapter the book: next gaggle of chapters are very interesting and In section one (chapters one actually about and two), the articles cybersecurity, being dark collected are all but frank commentary from responsible and uplifting the expert. I kind of wonder thoughtfulness geared at about the first two empowering 2008-2010 chapters. It sort of made an regulatory actions by insidious bait and switch lawmakers. Honestly, this from early optimism that it was just frustrating to read was the right time we would but turns out to have been be able to do something important context for the 2008-2010 to... That ship meat of the book, which is having sailed. I also can't absolutely not centred here. shake the feeling that he In short Schneier, who was structured the book to hide very active on some boards its actual content from a and watchdogs advising the political intern who was government, felt that quested to read Schneier's 2008-2010 was exactly in book, but just skimmed the time and the right time for first two chapters for their useful cybersecurity policy. politician. That intern Cloud and other things were would report nothing but sort of new, but problems stern and hopeful policy suitable for policy solution advice from the book, where were well formed and a committed reader gets the appeared able to reign in. extended epilogue. Special attention is given to examples of where market Honestly, the book should optimisation is unable to have just suddenly stopped move towards desirable at the end of chapter 6 outcomes, such as companies which was the climax of its not getting insured for darkness. Instead it just higher than the value of the goes on in detail about the company (he has a clear failures of the TSA, then grasp on this, oh my god I the failures of a few more just don't care that much). things. I got whiplash from each chapter going back to I was tempted to bail as start in 2008. There is the chapter 2 on hopeful but feeling that after getting stern government policy that political intern to advice was wearing me down, skim two chapters of thinking that maybe it would responsible policy advice, make for interesting Schneier wanted to show that smalltalk with optfx who concurrent to that political knows this sort of thing... guidance, he was also But then at the end of writing candidly and cannily chapter 2 we reach some about the problems that at articles around 2013 that that time still appeared wildly change the timbre of politically tractable, the book as my section 2 gradually rolling towards begins. This is the Schneier 2013-2014 articles in which I was pretty sure I knew and the end times had arrived loved. My reading is that but no rapture. pretty much none of Schneier's extremely important, carefully and advisedly crafted, meticulous policy advice and expert insight had made a dent from 2008-2012, and his writing in 2013 is bleak, ominous and frank, no more flowery formal sounding stern encouragement to policy-makers to do the right thing... -----Page break------------------------------------------- The article on Snowden and the urgency of whistleblowing was pretty good, lots of good articles on privacy and reasonable privacy, treating the dark path of hand-in-glove commercial privacy violations skirting laws against government privacy violation (I guess scm read this before, he pointed out to me this was happening too). Some mathematics and pop psych focused articles too. He also summarizes deviations and weaknesses of the official narrative on the alleged Russian hack of Estonia, and common misconceptions about hackers from China, as well as the US centric events. Alright! My relaxing weekend accomplished this week I will attack everything I wanted to do last week, as well as everything I need to do this week how could this plan go wrong. On Wednesday I'm going to do the first half of my show pre-recorded, and the second half live, so do drop into com for 0030 UTC!