Original Document:

http://files.hackspherelabs.com/?download=papers%2Fboyd.pdf

Summary:

The document discusses sources of information for sensitive information but at the same time mentions reasons not to disclose sensitive information.  The document violates its own recommendations.  The document discusses 3 main types of information:  Vulnerabilities, Scenarios, and Research.  It states that some type of attitude of coming together should be shared by the people of different communities, and that this attitude should be one of protecting information.  It describes different groups of evil people and the things that they can do with information.  It also focuses on classified vs. sensitive information and describes the difference.  The author also talk about how even common information can be sensitive in the wrong hands.  The author talks of self restraint as a civic duty.  The author shows how information transfer has changed with the changing of technology.   Much concern was given to terrorists and how publicizing a lot of information helps them and helps us, but that it was bad when it helped them.

Opinion:

I have read books that were created over 100 years ago that have more information in them then the modern science book.  How to make compounds, etc.  It is amazing how much information is already left out of any modern work already for various reasons.  Reasons ranging from competitiveness to audience estimation to whatever one can imagine.  Knowledge is power and most of us know this.  Knowledge is truth though too.  I feel the author is right but deeply wrong in the recommendation that we become a society that feels they should hide knowledge.  We cannot let evil things and ideas win and instead should never give up trying to build what we want in the end.  If we make compromises protecting ourselves today how horrible are we going to be tomorrow when we forgot that it was a compromise.  The next generation will think that it was just always acceptable that we were not supposed to talk about such and such a subject.  The next generation will be weaker than the first.  We should be able to handle this but the public cannot.  If the power goes out they panic.  If something bad happens they panic.  Where does this panic come from?  Instead of investing the effort into training the public to whisper I think we would be better to train the public to not panic when something crazy happens.  Sure as with vulnerability disclosure things should be fixed before information about it was released, but what happens when the group that needs to fix it does not?  They need pushed just like some software and hardware vendors do sometimes.  Also how are people supposed to know what not to talk about if no one can talk about it?  Closed circle discussion?  Where you trained to identify every scientist in the room?  We need more information published and we need to adapt faster instead of slowing information down because we are slow.