Hacker Hype

I've been reading Rob Rosenberger's stuff for years. As Anthony Watts is to global warming hysteria, Rob Rosenberger is to computer and network security hysteria.

He loves to poke fun at hackers and especially hacker conventions.

You can always count on hysteria before & during a global hacker convention — especially the siamese twins known as “Black Hat” and “DEFCON.” Panelists & presenters alike go shopping every year at this time for reporters who will breathlessly pre-announce the horrifying lectures they’ll give in a nonchalant fashion to their fellow hackers and to government middle-managers whose agency budgets let them play the role of a hacker.

Rosenberger wrote an excellent article on what he called False Authority Syndrome almost 15 years ago. In it he pointed out how computer security analysts and anti-virus vendors create a position of importance for themselves. It is still a must-read.

My only beef with Rosenberger is that he doesn't post more often.