How to Identify Anonymous Bloggers

The US First Amendment makes it very clear that anonymous criticism and civil dissent is a privileged (protected) form of free speech. Notwithstanding, it is not absolute; if an anonymous author publishes statements of fact that are deceptive by error (without malice) or maliciously deceptive, the veil of anonymity can be pierced and rightly so.

The suggestion of cart blanche and absolute protection of all anonymous speech under the guise of "net neutrality", justified, malicious or otherwise is absurd. It is reasonably presumed that proponents of such notions have never experienced the financial and emotional debilitation of these vicious assaults. The recent advent of anonymous online character defamation mediums compound the victims' carnage exponentially due to the enduring nature of the postings, instant availability through search engines, and the viral republication thereof.

I have posted some more information about How to Identify Anonymous Bloggers

How to Identify Anonymous Bloggers who Defame You (and seek damages)

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Online Character Defamation - RUTHLESS, SNEAKY & DEVASTATING.

This growing risk of unchecked online defamation should be taken seriously by any person or organization with aspirations to a long and productive existence or career. The efficiency of today’s search engines combined with federal government immunity for re-publishers of libel is a devastating dilemma for those caught in the web.

PLUG: Rexxfield Online Slander & Libel guardians offer economical and common-sense solutions to mitigate these risks in the short and long term. If the quagmire of litigation is unavoidable we can help your attorneys achieve results faster and more economically than they can alone. However, we can usually achieve results outside the court; often without your antagonist noticing.

I thought I broke the Internet

Today I was testing some new Mac Beta software. All of a sudden my browser went blank... I panicked, I thought I had just broken the internet. The only thing I could think to do was to reboot.

The good news is, the problem was just local and restricted to my computer only. Don't worry, the internet is fine, I doubt anyone noticed but me.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Online Reputation Management

1. Do not wait until it happens to you.
2. Mitigate (reduce) the risk immediately (this is a different way of saying the same thing as (1) above, but it I need to push this point home).
3. A passive response is often better than aggressive particularly where your antagonist is a narcissist or sociopath (i.e. don't fight back directly) "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but  harsh words stir up anger" Proverbs 15:1
4. Don't click on offending pages through Google, yahoo! etc, this may make them rank a little higher.
5. Do not post a rebuttal on the offending website, by updating the content you will inadvertently cause Google to think the page is worthy of higher ranking due to regular updates.
   
6. People are fickle; if you do post a rebuttal (on a different website), don't be too defensive; ; "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." [Hamlet's Queen Gertrude]
7. Be humble with republishes if you ask them to remove the libelous content. In the USA you can't sue them (you can, but you won't win), and they don't have to remove it; even if you prove it is libel.
   
8. Change you name to John or Jane doe [Just kidding]. But seriously, if you have a unique name, the risk of online libel about you appearing on the first page of Google is much higher.

Ooops! That's 8 deadly sins. Consider on a bonus :)

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English or "Globeish?" - The World Language

Lost in Translation? Business is lost due to poor English Skills.

Europe has many thousands of entrepreneurial enterprises with innovative ideas ready for globalization. Language should not be a barrier to the world-wide distribution of these innovations.. Notwithstanding, many of these wonderful ideas do not make it past the starting line because their potential is lost in translation due to poor English expression throughout web sites and other collateral materials.

Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as the "world language"; the lingua franca of the modern era. While English is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a second language around the world. Some linguists believe that it is no longer the exclusive cultural sign of "native English speakers", but is rather a language that is absorbing aspects of cultures worldwide as it continues to grow. It is, by international treaty, the official language for aerial and maritime communications. English is an official language of the United Nations and many other international organizations.

English is the language most often studied as a foreign language in the European Union. (89% of schoolchildren).

Among non-English speaking countries, a large percentage of the population claims to be able to converse in English.

[References]

SPIN - How the sociopath can get away with ... well everything.

Your understanding of a sociopath’s expert employment of “SPIN” is singularly the best way to begin to understand the way I and many others have found ourselves so frequently gasping in the wake of carnage left by my antagonist. When executing her anti-social agendas, her modus operandi was to sprinkle enough truth in any given lie to add credence to her deceptions. Alternatively, sometimes she will “kitchen sink it”. That is where she will overdose the performance with too much information; the end result is very muddy waters in which no reasonable person can navigate.

The clinical definition of this tactic is “SPIN”:

1. The most common referents for spin are:
   
   
   
   1. a way of giving a positive cast to a negative story or;
   2. a way of giving a negative cast to a positive story (whichever is most advantageous to the spinner) or;
   3. a form of deception which tries to redirect the way (or whether) one thinks about an issue.
      


2. Spin at its best:
   
   
   
   1. looks like it is addressing an issue directly but is not.
   2. cannot be factually disproved.
   3. uses language that allows “interpretation” so that the spinner can deny lying; an example might be Bill Clinton’s definition of a sexual relationship, although it differed from that of most objective bystanders, it allowed him to redirect the way observers perceived the Lewinski scandal; but in a way that he could not be directly accused of lying.
      

Justifying IT Security Training & the ROI

This essay is based on observations over a 12 year period in which I have been involved in the IT Training industry; most recently with Mile2 which delivers what is arguably the best Penetration Testing Training globally.

Unlike “commodity” training such as commonly available Cisco and Microsoft certification courses, IT security training investments require a higher degree of due diligence on the part of the student and on the part of management personnel responsible for Information Assurance within their organization.

Unfortunately the managers of many organizations have yet to grasp the severity of risks posed by the vulnerabilities invariably present within their network because many are yet to be identified. As such, they are often reluctant to invest in the security training those on the frontline are desperately seeking. This is akin to a bank being slow in deciding if it should have an armed guard in the foyer just because it has not had a hold-up since it opened in 1919, even though the crime indicators for the area escalating. If a decision was made to hire a guard and the bank enjoyed another 5-year period without a holdup, the “bean-counters” might argue that the guard is not needed. The question is how many holdups were thwarted by the guard? In the same manner, how many network breaches are thwarted by a network secured by personnel with relevant, efficient and up-to-date IT Security Training? It is not a measurable statistic, but the assumption that many breaches were probably thwarted does stand to reason.

Unlike almost any other IT problem an organization may face, a security breach is far more serious than a broken router or a crashed hard drive which can be routinely remedied. After all, information assets such as customer databases, trade secrets and intellectual property are probably the most valuable assets on a commercial organization’s balance sheet; or, in the case of government or military entities, their databases contain some of the world’s most sensitive secrets. Information assets are usually the worst things to lose because when they are stolen, they are probably not insured and invariably create irrecoverable or irreversible damage.

What I am attempting to articulate here is something fundamentally obvious, but which no one seems to have adequately addressed. What is the difference between a “specialty IT security trainer” and a “great general instructor with a mediocre to great book”? An executive director of a large Asian delivery partner asked this question recently and it is a great question. It occurred to us that the difference isn't in the quality of instruction, or in the curricula, or in the courseware, or in the frequency of updates. It is in the just-right combination of all these elements.

A premier IT security training vendor does not sell training programs, or instructor days, or courseware; he sells an organization's security. Program graduates secure their organizations because they know what to do, when to do it and how, and they understand why. Good IA training vendors deliver on this promise time and again because they don't train just anybody (they insist on prerequisites), they don't rely on books and their instruction is a mix of from-the-field experience and pedagogical excellence.

In an effort to provide the best possible protection for their clients’ information assets, Mile2 Security Training Partners have elected to bring in “hired guns” from Mile2 to make sure students have everything reasonably required to create and implement effective security policies.

Good Training Companies will continue to utilize their internal team of multifaceted instructors to provide great training value for “commodity” training courses such as Microsoft, Cisco and Citrix to name but a few. However, with respect to IT Security Training, they bring in the experts. This decision allows local students a quality alternative to the “class in a box” security options offered by other training vendors and delivered by all-purpose trainers. These courses are generally obsolete by the time the courseware or book is shipped, let alone presented in class. IT Security evolves constantly and in keeping, related curriculum should be printed only a week or two before each event to allow for crucial last minute updates; hence, covering the latest threats.

You may be the decision maker for training budgets or you may have to go “hat in hand” to management for funding; either way, before you make a decision on what training to pursue, do a quick mental check list of EVERYTHING your organization can least afford to lose. Once you have the list, estimate the losses if that information is lost or stolen. If it is a customer database, how much would you lose if your customers lost their trust in your organization and went elsewhere with their business? This “scenario planning” is a great way to justify the training budget you need.

When management compares the cost of potential losses against the relatively low training fees, they will find an excellent return on investment. Quality information security training programmes equate to a very low insurance premium for your priceless information assets.