Category Archives: fear

Can Everybody Read the US Terrorist Watch List?

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After years of claiming that the Terrorist Screening Database is kept secret within the government, we have now learned that the DHS shares it "with more than 1,400 private entities, including hospitals and universities…." Critics say that the watchlist is wildly overbroad and mismanaged, and that large numbers of people wrongly included on the list suffer routine difficulties and indignities… Continue reading Can Everybody Read the US Terrorist Watch List?→

What Happened to Cyber 9/11?

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A recent article in the Atlantic asks why we haven’t seen a"cyber 9/11" in the past fifteen or so years. (I, too, remember the increasingly frantic and fearful warnings of a "cyber Peal Harbor," "cyber Katrina" — when that was a thing — or "cyber 9/11." I made fun of those warnings back then.) The author’s answer: Three main barriers… Continue reading What Happened to Cyber 9/11?→

John Mueller and Mark Stewart on the Risks of Terrorism

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Another excellent paper by the Mueller/Stewart team: "Terrorism and Bathtubs: Comparing and Assessing the Risks": Abstract: The likelihood that anyone outside a war zone will be killed by an Islamist extremist terrorist is extremely small. In the United States, for example, some six people have perished each year since 9/11 at the hands of such terrorists — vastly smaller than… Continue reading John Mueller and Mark Stewart on the Risks of Terrorism→

Free Yourself from FUD

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Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) hold powerful influence over humans. Fear itself is a deeply powerful emotion that causes specific reactions in the brain, and uncertainty and doubt are feelings that manipulate your actions, your employees’ act… Continue reading Free Yourself from FUD→

Subway Elevators and Movie-Plot Threats

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Local residents are opposing adding an elevator to a subway station because terrorists might use it to detonate a bomb. No, really. There’s no actual threat analysis, only fear: "The idea that people can then ride in on the subway with a bomb or whatever and come straight up in an elevator is awful to me," said Claudia Ward, who… Continue reading Subway Elevators and Movie-Plot Threats→

Daniel Miessler on My Writings about IoT Security

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Daniel Miessler criticizes my writings about IoT security: I know it’s super cool to scream about how IoT is insecure, how it’s dumb to hook up everyday objects like houses and cars and locks to the internet, how bad things can get, and I know it’s fun… Continue reading Daniel Miessler on My Writings about IoT Security→

Daniel Miessler on My Writings about IoT Security

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Daniel Miessler criticizes my writings about IoT security: I know it’s super cool to scream about how IoT is insecure, how it’s dumb to hook up everyday objects like houses and cars and locks to the internet, how bad things can get, and I know it’s fun to be invited to talk about how everything is doom and gloom. I… Continue reading Daniel Miessler on My Writings about IoT Security→