Google: The Deciders Decide and Damage Some Security Data Flows

July 4, 2019

I read “YouTube Strikes Infosec Channels for Instructional Hacking Content.” DarkCyber view is that some information which routinely makes its way into open source should not be there. But, hey, we’ve been accused of being dinosaurs before. DarkCyber’s beloved leader, Stephen E Arnold, coined the term “Googzilla” and its reptilian connotations definitely applies to some of the DarkCyber team.

The point of the write up strikes DarkCyber as:

‘Youtube banning security disclosures doesn’t make products more secure, nor will it prevent attackers from exploiting defects – but it will mean that users will be the last to know that they’ve been trusting the wrong companies, and that developers will keep on making the same stupid mistakes…forever.’

Several observations:

ITEM 1: DarkCyber’s sparkling fountains of fire describes the management of some Silicon Valley firms as following the management precepts of “high school science clubs.” This means that bright, arrogant, confident, and generally mathy type people create an us-them dichotomy. Then the “us” people create a tidy little world which allows pranks, outstanding decisions, and numerous snide comments to pass for intelligence. Apply the HSSC method and you get…

High School Science Club Management Methods

A good example is a decision which is short sighted, difficult to explain, and probably as practical as driving a US Fourth of July parade war fighting vehicle to a party at the local Burger King.

ITEM 2: Figuring out what is positive information versus negative information is subjective. This means that one person will see the dress as one color and another person will see the garment as another color. Which is it? Don’t ask me, just ask the people at the search company. I know I can’t figure out what people will “perceive.” Obviously, the HSSCMM allows this type of decision making. The science club is, by definition, right. Plus, now member of the science club have lots of money.

ITEM 3: When making the Loon balloon into a commercial company or insisting that search results are relevant, Silicon Valley type companies are delightful. When these firms decide what information is technically permissible or not allowed demonstrates their decision making capabilities. If there were viable MBA programs, perhaps this type of deciderism would become a case study. Oh, right, MBA programs are facing some headwinds now.

Net net: The deciders decide. The followers follow. Medieval methods are good. The punishment? Banishment. DarkCyber assumes this is preferable to a dungeon in Mountain View or a ban on Philz coffee.

Stephen E Arnold, July 4, 2019

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