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0 points_factor1y ago0 comments

I think visibility is one aspect, but not the whole story. An average home user runs Windows and doesn’t necessarily care if a hypothetical backdoor could exist in their hardware/software stack.

They browse the web, do their banking, and share photos on SM after checking their mail and searching for Tiramisu recipes.

The existential threat to themselves is low, so they don’t dig further into the ramifications. Journalists, whistleblowers, activists, “undesirables”, those are the primary concerned parties.

The civic cybersecurity aspect needs to lay out a clear benefit to free speech and oppression which makes tangible sense to day to day life. I’m not quite sure how to spread this level of awareness, or highlight the importance of such measures in a way that hits home.

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sdwr1y ago

Being worried about a hardware backdoor in your network card is more about technology fetishism than realistic threat analysis.

It's like suburbanites being worried about home invasion. Sure, it's technically possible to happen, but the concern reflects personal neuroses rather than practical considerations.

There's a disconnected, individual grandiosity in both cases - "what I have is so valuable that other people want to take it!". Conveniently, the solution always seems to be more individual actions to disconnect further. Security systems, lockdown, heightened fear of a shadowy Other.

nonrandomstring1y ago

You are minimising [0,1].

(I also think you are wrong in your risk asessment)

[0] https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/minimizing.html

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimisation_(psychology)

htek1y ago

That is not minimizing. Minimizing from a psychological perspective is to present an event that has occurred as unimportant or insignificant. Had the OP said "suburbanites have nothing to worry about if they are targeted in a home invasion" would be an example of minimizing. The rising fear about crime in general, or home invasion in particular, is a disconnect from the actual risk of either happening to oneself. Violent crime overall is somewhere south of 25 incidents per 1,000. That's 2.5%. Which is 2-3x less than it was 30 or 40 years ago. Increased visibility in the media along with influence peddlers in social media whip up fear and neuroses for more clicks/income that make things appear worse than they ever have been. Which tends to lead people to believe the false narrative that "life was better when I was a (much more uninformed) child/young adult."

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nonrandomstring1y ago

> Conveniently, the solution always seems to be more individual actions to disconnect further. Security systems, lockdown, heightened fear of a shadowy Other.

BTW, I also think you are very right about this. The Insecurity Industry preys on fear. But it offers no substantial solutions. That doesn't mean the risks aren't real. They are. Modern software engineering is a calamity. Everything is full of holes. What is at issue is motives. The insecurity industry doen't want anything fixed. It wants, as you say, to lock down all your stuff, control it, and make you pay twice or thrice to use your own property. A protection racket is very different from offering actual "security". I try to expand on that here [0]

[0] https://cybershow.uk/blog/posts/love

jbboehr1y ago

> "what I have is so valuable that other people want to take it!"

While I do agree this may apply somewhat to the original topic, your dig at suburbanites seems like a mischaracterization. Perhaps the upper/upper-middle classes feel this way. I would expect most other folks are primarily worried about being murdered during the event.

reaperducer1y ago

While I do agree this may apply somewhat to the original topic, your dig at suburbanites seems like a mischaracterization. I would expect most other folks are primarily worried about being murdered during the event.

With the murder rate in America near historic lows, I think the person you're replying to is spot-on. It's a lot of hysteria fueled by social media, foreign actors, and the fact that security paranoia is a very lucrative business for a lot of companies.

https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/USA/uni...

Yes, there has been a recent uptick, but it's still 30% below what it was 30 years ago. Heck, it's almost 20% lower than it was 100 years ago.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1088644/homicide-suicide...

To find a U.S. murder rate lower than 2014, you have to go back to 1906.

But security companies, alarm companies, conservative politicians and their media partners, police unions, and others with a financial interest foam at the mouth to make it seem like things have never been worse.

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0x4571y ago

I had such doorbell to know when packages and food is dropped off. Not worried about it being stolen or house being robbed.

j33zusjuice1y ago

I get the sense it isn’t possible. “What do I have to hide?” “Who would target me?” “I have nothing worth stealing.” Sadly, all those are common replies to what you’re saying needs more awareness.

phkahler1y ago

>> “What do I have to hide?”

Your gmail account - which is used for password resets from anywhere on earth

>> “Who would target me?”

Criminals

>> “I have nothing worth stealing.”

How about your identity?

HeyLaughingBoy1y ago

I think people understand cybersecurity very well in the context of a phone but don't think about it with desktops or laptops.

I let someone who was housesitting for a neighbor use my phone because she had left hers in the house and accidentally locked herself out. The neighbor called her back (on my phone of course) and she automatically handed it to me so I could unlock it.

My phone was never locked: too much of a pain to bother with.

It struck me then that I'm the only person I know who doesn't lock their phone. And that's primarily because I wasn't using Google Pay or had any information on that phone more sensitive than my mom's phone number.

For most people it seems that since a phone is a more personal item than their laptop, they instinctively do more to secure it.

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sdwr1y ago

Being worried about a hardware backdoor in your network card is more about technology fetishism than realistic threat analysis.

It's like suburbanites being worried about home invasion. Sure, it's technically possible to happen, but the concern reflects personal neuroses rather than practical considerations.

nonrandomstring1y ago

You are minimising [0,1].

(I also think you are wrong in your risk asessment)

[0] https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/minimizing.html

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimisation_(psychology)

htek1y ago

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nonrandomstring1y ago

> Conveniently, the solution always seems to be more individual actions to disconnect further. Security systems, lockdown, heightened fear of a shadowy Other.

[0] https://cybershow.uk/blog/posts/love

jbboehr1y ago

> "what I have is so valuable that other people want to take it!"

reaperducer1y ago

https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/USA/uni...

Yes, there has been a recent uptick, but it's still 30% below what it was 30 years ago. Heck, it's almost 20% lower than it was 100 years ago.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1088644/homicide-suicide...

To find a U.S. murder rate lower than 2014, you have to go back to 1906.

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0x4571y ago

I had such doorbell to know when packages and food is dropped off. Not worried about it being stolen or house being robbed.

j33zusjuice1y ago

phkahler1y ago

>> “What do I have to hide?”

Your gmail account - which is used for password resets from anywhere on earth

>> “Who would target me?”

Criminals

>> “I have nothing worth stealing.”

How about your identity?

HeyLaughingBoy1y ago

I think people understand cybersecurity very well in the context of a phone but don't think about it with desktops or laptops.

My phone was never locked: too much of a pain to bother with.

For most people it seems that since a phone is a more personal item than their laptop, they instinctively do more to secure it.

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