Security Pie

One of the best things I like the most about living in Silicon Valley is the opportunity to explore so many cultures and different behaviors. Working with great people from all over the world I can learn to see myself in different light. The other day I made a comment about acting more aggressively in a specific area to achieve a business goal.  Then, someone send me the following note:

Act more aggressively than normal? We are Israeli based after all! LOL

Speaking of which…when I went to Jaffa during my last trip, I tried several times to walk into some basic “deli” type places that looked like they had amazing food. At each one it sounded like the guy was yelling at me in Hebrew but I couldn’t understand the menu… they “yelled at me” and motioned for me to get out of the way so the next person could order. I was intimidated and eventually walked out of each one until I got back to the hotel…  It was quite funny!

I know what he was talking about…

Silicon’s Alley Dan Frommer thinks that Twitter is attracting “normal people” from real life , “not just other nerds on the Internet”.

I disagree.

I can’t argue that Twitter is gaining popularity but I argue that it is used by “normal people”. See, I recently joined the crowds and started to twit. Thus far, it distracted my blog(s) and some other activities…   Yes. it is becoming addicting.

Now at the holiday season I find it to be an anti social tool. According to my family’s tradition we reach out to our friends and families, wish happy holiday, visit and reconnect. Twitter is the antimatter of real life social networking: One sends (very short) messages, typically not waiting for an answer and expects in return to maintain the relationship.  In the past we had to (at least try to) work hard in order to maintain a meaningful relationship. Calling, sending emails, visiting.

As much as I enjoy it, I see it more as a research tool or a communication protocol, similar to SMS but more efficient. 

Drop me a line. I’m listening (on Twitter…) 

Do these lies work? In most cases, no. Most companies disqualified candidates after discovering their dishonest. Thirty-six percent still considered the candidate, but ultimately passed on hiring them. Six percent of hiring managers overlooked the “flawed resume” and hired the applicant anyway.

OK. So this blog is both not about security at all and all about security at the same time. That is like catching two stones with one bird.

My inbox today carried a fresh bit of news from CIO magazine. An opinion column by Eric Lundquist, labelled “We need a national CIO, not a CTO” stipulated that CIO are a better match for US national role than a CTO. To paraphrase Lundquist’s message, CIO’s are firmly planted in the business realities of the day, while CTO focus on technologies “looking for uses”. Reminds me of the old adage of “legs firmly planted” vs. “head in the clouds”.

I firmly disagree.

Read the rest of this entry »

image by betta design on flickr.com

A couple of days ago I called the India consulate in Sydney, Australia. Turns out they have a new process to get a five year business visa issued:

1. Complete all the documentation necessary. This means download and print forms, complete them by hand, etc.
2. Scan all the documents and your passport
3. Email them to the consulate for approval Read the rest of this entry »

by CarbonNYC at flickr.com

The term ‘identity’ means multiple things in multiple contexts. My intention here is to refer specifically to the term identity as the collection of all information objects that identifies a person. Specifically, identify the person to someone or something outside of the person. Authentication of a person, if you will. Read the rest of this entry »