Who has responsibility for computer security? You do.

One of the biggest threats to your own computer security is you. Do you pick easy to remember (and guess) passwords? Do you use the same password for multiple websites? Do you leave your computer unlocked in a public computer lab or at work when you get up for a break? Do you send passwords or other confidential information by email? Do you keep a list of passwords on the wall of your cubicle? Do you continually delay updating your operating system and software on your computer? If so, you pose the greatest risk to your own security. It is not very likely a person will be able to break into your computer if you do not leave these doors open.

A more serious example is found in The Cuckoo's Egg, the true story of Clifford Stoll tracking down a computer hacker in the 1980s. Through much of the story, Cliff watches a diligent hacker repeatedly attempt to break into computers on military bases using several default passwords such as "guest", "visitor", "root", and "manager". Some of the bases had changed these passwords and the hacker was unable to break in. Sometimes, though, these passwords had not been changed and the hacker was able to walk right in and steal sensitive information.

Founder's Vision

A news article just reported that Bill Gates is going to step back into Microsoft as a director and technology advisor. The article mentioned several other founders that came back to the companies they started and the various outcomes of that return. Some outcomes are good, some not so good. A broader question to consider is the following: Since a company is usually started by one or a few people with a vision, should that vision change with successors to those people? If yes, how fast should it move away? In one sense, the vision of the founders is what defines the company and moving away from that is creating a new company. But the vision for a company is not built in a day by the founder, either. While the founder is still around, he is defining the company all along the way. The world around the company does not stay the same, and the founder makes changes to keep up with it. Looking at it from this view, change is actually healthy for a company and is necessary after a founder leaves. However, changes to the vision and ideals of a company should be carefully considered and be slower to occur.

Security

Recently, a group of scientists presented a paper on a way to obfuscate computer programs. This will be a major breakthrough in security if it holds up under the attacks that will be made in testing it. My dad once me that while computers are powerful, much of a computer's resources are taken up by security. I have since thought that the same applies to our lives. So much of our time and efforts are spent protecting ourselves. We don’t want to look bad in front of others. We want to be safe when making a purchase online. And of course, all of the time we are pulled and tempted to do things that are wrong. Initially, it appears that life would be wonderful if all of these threats were removed. Progress would be unhindered. But this is an incorrect assumption. For a moment, imagine that all threats in our lives have been removed. What is the motivation for the aforementioned group of scientists to create a new security schema? What is the motivation for me to choose to do good things? There is no motivation without opposition and threats to my security. Opposition is required for us to advance as a society and to become the people that God wants us to be as individuals (see 2 Nephi 2:11).