• Donate
  • Log In
Home
  • About
    • About
      • About Us
      • Our Board of Directors
      • Board Meeting Minutes
      • Board Elections
      • Updates & Announcements
      • Our Staff
      • Governance & Financials
      • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Events
    • Events
      • Upcoming
      • Past
      • Conference FAQ
      • Conference Policies
      • Code of Conduct
      • Calls for Papers
      • Author Resources
      • Grant Opportunities
      • Best Papers
      • Test of Time Awards
  • Join & Support
    • Join & Support
      • Become a Member
      • Ways to Give
      • Our Supporters
      • Student Opportunities
      • Sponsorship Opportunities
  • Archive
    • Archive
      • Proceedings
      • Multimedia
      • ;login: Archive
      • Short Topics in System Administration Series
      • Journal of Education in System Administration (JESA)
      • Journal of Election Technology and Systems (JETS)
      • Computing Systems Journal
  • Search

/dev/random: Cloud Control — Future (Mis)Directions for Information Security

Author(s): 

Robert G. Ferrell

A columnist of my ilk (A positive, with vitamin D and sodium benzoate added to prevent spoilage) realistically has only three basic choices of topic: what’s going on with some aspect of technology now, what went on with some aspect of technology in the past, or what might happen with some aspect of technology in the future. I’ve churned out a fair amount of slush on the first two, so now it is time to offer my insights, such as they are, on what someday might have been.

Security is a crap shoot in the best of times, or maybe a roulette wheel. A roulette wheel fixed strongly in favor of the house; the house, as usual, being controlled by various unsavory elements (Sleazium, Larcenium, Felonium, et al.). Security is an abstract concept, unwieldy and unworkable in the real world. The bottom line is that where the rubber meets the road in the final analysis at the end of the day, “security” is overused and under-defined.

Download Article: 
PDF icon /dev/random: Cloud Control — Future (Mis)Directions for Information Security
Article Section: 
COLUMNS
;login: issue: 
December 2013, Volume 38, Number 6
  • Log in to post comments
USENIX logo
  • Contact USENIX
  • Privacy Policy

© USENIX 2025
EIN 13-3055038

Website designed and built by Giant Rabbit LLC
Powered by Backdrop CMS

We need contributions from individuals like you.

USENIX conferences directly influence the development of computing systems and products used worldwide. Contribute today to support this vital work for the next 50 years.

Secure the Future of USENIX

Donate
Close