kenswain.com

Some of the funniest stuff I have seen in a long time. Thanks iJustine!

I just love this!

Apple filed a patent that revolves around delivery of mobile location based content to mobile users. This is a technology that I have long waited for and has the ability to change the world. First of all the idea of being able to walk into a store or restaurant and order what you want from your device, pay for it and be notified when it is ready is an awesome concept in and of itself.

The bigger deal comes when everything is wired. You walk into a bar and they know your favorite drink. You are also connected to the local matchmaking system at the the bar. You are then notified about the people in the bar that meet your criteria and that you meet theirs. How will that change the world?

What about the airport. You walk in and are instantly checked in. You are then free to walk around the airport and be notified that it is time to board. Lets say that you are on standby. You are notified if there is a slot available to you. The person that might be waiting to pick you up at your destination is kept abreast of flight status and your status so they know when they need to be at the airport and where your bags are going to be.

Now lets imagine that you check into a hotel. The hotel can make special offers to you, let you book spa packages, schedule a tour or order room service all from your phone. This will allow the hospitality industry to take service to the next level.

There are some downsides as well. This will allow more detailed tracking of your likes, dislikes, movements and habits. The question that we need to answer is if it is worth it. From my point of view, I think we are being tracked anyway so we might as well get some use out of it. What are your thoughts?

Over my years in the security field I often get asked, by people trying to get into security, what a security “person” be. I also get told, by people who are in the field, what they think a security “person” should be. I have never really written a post on it, but I have given my opinion many times. So what should a security person be?

1. Smart - Security practitioner should be able to adapt quickly and be able to learn on there feet. It is said statement, but most administrators are not fully verst in there system and a security person most know how the architecture of those systems work so they can advise and write policy.

2. A good verbal communicator - Most business people do not speak geek well at all. It is up to the security professional to be able to translate geek speak into real business terms. This will go along way in gaining points with those that can help you make your environment more secure by giving you there support.

3. Teacher - You must be able to educate people on why they should not do the things that will increase risk. And the phrase “or Hackers will get you!” does not work. For example, most people do not understand the real reasons they should chose a strong password so they need someone to educate them.

4. Social - Being social helps avoid the “unapproachable geek” syndrome.

There are some people that believe that people need to be programers, authors, accountants or various other things that they are interested in. I would like to take a few moments to give you my opinion of these issues.

1. programer - It is nice if your security person can read code, but they really do not have to be programers. I understand where this comes from with buffer overflows being a common attack, but it is not really needed. What they must be able to do is understand what they should put in policies to be audited against. Also if you do not develope your own programs in house you will put the secure coding requirments in contracts, but that does not mean you need to be a lawyer. See Smart from above.

2. authors - I believe this stems from the fact that security professionals need to be able to educate and communicate. While this is noble it is not necessary but is a nice to have. What is important is at least a decent written communication skill set.

3. accountants - This is one that I really do not understand. I guess it has to do with accounting and auditing practices, but I do not see this one as necessary either.

Keep in mind that these are just my opinions and they are open for debate. I would be interested in hearing yours.

I am not sure if you guys seen this on reddit or not. Here is a list of free technology courses that you can take online! As the manager of young people trying to make a carrier for themselves in the IT I am going to point them to this site and use it to augment there classes I send them to.