Skip to main content

The WiKID Blog

Viewing posts tagged Security and Economics

software-liability-a-bad-idea-that-will-come-too

Time for me to weigh in on the subject of liability for software bugs. Bruce Schneier posted about it here, and Pete Lindstrom responded here. I agree with Lindstrom. It is an incredibly bad idea. Software liability laws will increase the costs of software development so high that it will drive small firms from the market, reduce customer choice resulting in less choice, less innovation and even worse software.

spire-on-low-frequency-high-impact-events

Compare this Spire Security post to my previous post about hedge fund risks to see who has the better sense of humor.

schneier-questions-need-for-himself

I read with delight this quote from omnipresent security pundit Bruce Schneier questioning the reasons for the existance of the security industry:

"We shouldn't have to come and find a company to secure our e-mail. E-mail should already be secure. We shouldn't have to buy from somebody to secure our network or servers. Our networks and servers should already be secure."

stock-market-values-and-information-security

There has been some excellent research done on the impact of information security breaches on the market cap of affected firms (which directly impacts their cost of capital): "The economic cost of publicly announced information security breaches: empirical evidence from the stock market Katherine Campbell, Lawrence A. Gordon, Martin P. Loeb and Lei Zhou Accounting and Information Assurance, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, 2003" (http://brief.weburb.dk/archive/00000130/01/2003-costs-security-on-stockvalue-9972866.pdf)

This UMD study found that a firm suffering a breach of 'confidential information' saw a 5% drop in stock price while firms suffering a non-confidential breach saw no impact.

of-lexus-lanes-and-safety-spikes-tm

and information security.

I just finished reading the Undercover Economist by Tim Hartford. Great Read. He has a chapter on externality charges. While he doesn't use the term, he's talking about Lexus Lanes - toll lanes that charge a fee for access - think a paid HOV lane.

Recent Posts

Archive

2024
2022
2021
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008

Categories

Tags

Authors

Feeds

RSS / Atom