Hardware Podcasts

219: Not Obviously Negligent

Embedded.fm · 12 Oct 2017 · 1h 14m · Episode 219

What this episode covers

Kelly Shortridge, a Product Manager at SecurityScorecard, discusses the intersection of behavioral economics and information security, arguing that human cognitive biases drive many security failures. She explains how defenders often focus on complex, high-value threats while ignoring 'low hanging fruit' like unpatched servers or default passwords, a phenomenon she links to prospect theory and risk aversion. Shortridge advocates for 'resilience' over static hardening, suggesting strategies like Chaos Monkey, deception technology, and raising the cost for attackers through basic hygiene like 2FA and password managers. She emphasizes that security must be designed with usability in mind to overcome user inertia and cognitive load, moving the industry from a state of 'depression' to 'acceptance' by making security habits easier to maintain.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
SecurityScorecard, Equifax, Netflix, Kaspersky
Products
VeraCrypt, Signal
Also
Thinking Fast and Slow, What Works, Chaos Monkey, PGP

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