[governance] TitaDYN

[bzs at TheWorld.com]

Judging from the press release from Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology who
has admitted to manufacturing at least 500,000 of the devices used in
this recent attack what we are suffering from is what has been termed
"The Eternal September".

Many years ago when the internet was primarily a university and
research resource there was a huge discussion network called Usenet
(many who participated used pre-internet distribution networks.)

In September every year there was an influx of millions of students
many of whom suddenly had access to this discussion network.

There were certain basic rules, for example don't post some minor
thing for sale on a sale group with a worldwide distribution. Few of
them were aware of any such "rules".

And of course hordes of students with little better to do as the year
started so traffic skyrocketed almost overnight, predictably.

With the opening of the internet to the general public the term
"Eternal September" was coined, I believe around 1993.

It meant this phenomena is no longer limited to September any more
than network growth is limited to the university cycle.

So we now have this with manufacturers who as we've seen naively
manufacture devices to be connected to the internet without even
minimal security engineering. Similar with internet infrastructure
operators.

And as they each no doubt see themselves, like those students, as
forgivably new to all this they forgive themselves, or expect to be
forgiven. And what else can we really do?

But does this "September" ever stop?

Probably not.

In the mind's eye we hope for something akin to "peak oil", the point
where we run out of novices.

Good luck with that.

-- 
        -Barry Shein

Software Tool & Die    | bzs at TheWorld.com             | http://www.TheWorld.com
Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: +1 617-STD-WRLD       | 800-THE-WRLD
The World: Since 1989  | A Public Information Utility | *oo*

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