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Our Governments Are Making Us More Vulnerable
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GonzSTL
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GonzSTL,
 User Rank: Ninja
2/23/2015 | 11:06:20 AM
Re: presumption of privilege
" ... it's up to all of us as individuals & citizens to make sure that our private and public leaders are up to the task -- and held to the fire when they are not ..."

In my opinion, the entire problem is laid bare in that statement. The biggest issue is that those so-called leaders are not really up to the task. Elected officials tend to grant important positions to political allies, or to those with whom they have had long associations. Very little consideration is given to the person's ability to actually perform the task given to them. In a political environment, politics rule decision making processes and that, in and of itself, almost rules out selection of the best qualified individual. In many instances, those leaders aspire to expand their empire and sphere of influence much more than to actually perform their assigned tasks. As far as the "held to the fire" part, that is usually an even worse scenario. I'm reminded of the old saying "if a person screws up, promote them". Political environments tend to glaze over mistakes with regularity, and with little consequence. We need only look at the various scandals and security issues in the federal government for examples, and it gets even worse as you start looking at state and local levels where those events get very little press. I hate to sound so cynical about this whole thing; I would love to hear what other people think about this.
Marilyn Cohodas
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Marilyn Cohodas,
 User Rank: Strategist
2/23/2015 | 10:12:00 AM
Re: presumption of privilege
..necessary to place all government under the rule of law and to enforce same by means of education, freedom of the press, and the jury box and the ballot box.
@macker490, this covers our Constitutional checks and balances, but it's up to all of us as individuals & citizens to make sure that our private and public leaders are up to the task -- and held to the fire when they are not.
macker490
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macker490,
 User Rank: Ninja
2/23/2015 | 8:57:18 AM
presumption of privilege
people in governemnt acquire the belief that they are responsible for regulating the behavior of the people in their jurisdiction. from this they arogate to themselves a presumption of privilege -- to do whatever is necessary to carry out their obligation

these these run the gamut from the blundering bloke to the conspiring crook, and the occasional superlative leader. given the risks involved in government then it is necessary to place all government under the rule of law and to enforce same by means of education, freedom of the press, and the jury box and the ballot box.
Dr.T
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50%
Dr.T,
 User Rank: Ninja
2/22/2015 | 10:23:26 AM
Re: Insecurity always
I agree. The only ways governments can justify surveillance on their citizens are around "bad guys will get you otherwise".
Dr.T
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50%
Dr.T,
 User Rank: Ninja
2/22/2015 | 10:21:13 AM
Re: Insecurity always
Not only that but also holes in harddisks firmware. Would would be worse, we all use those harddisks, we are all vulnerable basically.
Dr.T
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50%
Dr.T,
 User Rank: Ninja
2/22/2015 | 10:18:31 AM
Re: Insecurity always
I agree, Thomas. It is part of "being in control" instead of "being secure". They do not get ultimate goal right at this point.
Dr.T
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50%
Dr.T,
 User Rank: Ninja
2/22/2015 | 10:15:31 AM
Backdoors
As we all know it very well, any backdoor for government is potential opportunity for hackers. Governments should be enforcing rules and regulations in ways that systems are designed in secure manners, not with backdoors.
pporter531
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pporter531,
 User Rank: Apprentice
2/21/2015 | 9:25:34 PM
2 additional ways our government (USA) is making us more vulnerable
1. Creatng websites like Healthcare.gov

2. Not properly securing citizens PII at the IRS
CNACHREINER981
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CNACHREINER981,
 User Rank: Author
2/20/2015 | 6:21:39 PM
Re: Insecurity always
I gotta tell ya, Thursday's news of NSA and GCHQ stealing SIM keys from a private company, given them the power for blanket surveillance, just adds wood to the fire of this article.
CNACHREINER981
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50%
CNACHREINER981,
 User Rank: Author
2/20/2015 | 6:20:08 PM
Re: Insecurity always
Yes. As much as I think Infosec is an important topic, and I want governments to consider it... I feel like they might be using it like "weapons of mass destruction" to get more money and relevance.
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