Security is very important as it protects the lives of people, as well as the well being and privacy of people. Schneier argues that there is no way secrecy can secure people, but public scrutiny can. His argument is very right because secrecy undermines security vulnerabilities, and provides a bridge for hackers as well as other enemies to attack. He also argues that software companies can do all they can to hide security vulnerabilities, because they are well aware how expensive it is. They wait until hackers attack their system, and that is the only time they pretend to be so busy working to protect their user’s privacy (Schneier, 2007).
The truth of the matter is, of course, hackers are geniuses who realize security vulnerabilities with an ease. Instead of waiting until the damage has already been done, software companies, or even the government should learn about security vulnerabilities and then spend some of their resources and time to shield them, so as to prevent attack. Researchers find security vulnerabilities but they cannot publish it because they fear legal actions to be taken against them, yet they are conveying an important message to the public. Again, security officers or the software companies should not wait until vulnerabilities are published; they should act before even researchers could find them (Schneier, 2007).
Most users do not have the knowledge that can help them understand and assess security information of a product. This is because, they trust the company that makes that product, and believe they will always protect them against any form of insecurity because they are there to serve users. Therefore, most users do not care about insecurity issues, and even when disclosed, they assume that the company is already dealing with it. However, they only get the information when they are directly affected, such as having their social media or bank accounts hacked, or threatened by terrorism in such cases of national securities.
References
Schneier, B. (2007). Schneier: Full Disclosure of Security Vulnerabilities a ‘Damned Good Idea’. Schneier on Security. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Schneier+on+Security%3A+Debating+Full+Disclosure&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5
