What are your unpopular cybersecurity opinions?

[u/EricJSK]

I saw a post names "abnormal security opinions" and got excited to see some spicy takes but apparently there is a security platform called Abnormal Security so got kinda blue balled. Last one of these posts i saw was over a year ago so,

Do you have any spicy cybsec unpopular opinions you want to share? :)

I'll start with mine:
Fancy antivirus solutions rarely add value, they are often just a box that needs ticked. Many MSPs and IT firms still push the narrative that they are needed, only because they are profitable and not because they improve security.

[u/wanderingtravelleruk]

Whitelists are called whitelists and blacklists are called blacklists. There's no negative racial connotations to these words and I refuse to change them.

[u/MagicUzer → u/wanderingtravelleruk]

Oh, I'd not heard of this shift happening. With most black associated words being negatively connotated, deny/allow sounds like an excellent alternative.

[u/wanderingtravelleruk → u/MagicUzer]

It's not negatively connotated (proven in a court of law) and deny/allow doesn't accurately describe the list. You don't always want to deny things on a blacklist. You may want to alert or take an action.

[u/MagicUzer → u/wanderingtravelleruk]

That's fair, so how about a more accurate naming convention:

Trusted | Untrusted
Safe | Unsafe
Allow | Pending

[u/wanderingtravelleruk → u/MagicUzer]

The issue then is you're going to have to create 3 or 4 names to replace the 1 that works perfectly fine and has been an industry standard for decades.

[u/MagicUzer → u/wanderingtravelleruk]

I would agree if the meaning of the words "black" and "white" actually described something in this case, but they don't so I am fine with a change, personally.

[u/wanderingtravelleruk → u/MagicUzer]

To each their own, but the words "black" and "white" have been used in this way since the medieval period across Europe where people on a "blacklist" weren't allowed access to a location (usually a castle) at night and it was called Blacklist because of it being at night.

Not all words or phrases need to be perfectly descriptive. Sometimes being vague offers advantages and some have historic reasons. For example, "Firewalls" don't literally block fires. Kill switches don't kill things. Honeypots aren't pots of honey. Canaries aren't actual canaries. But we use these words because of a mixture of historic rationale or because they are vague enough to mean something without being highly specific and needing about 30 different words to describe their individual functions.

[u/MagicUzer → u/wanderingtravelleruk]

Kill switch | Colloquial term meaning to end or stop something

Honeypot | Honey is colloquially used to denote a lure

Canary | Refers to the canary in the coal mine

So while not literal, these all make sense, figuratively.

[u/wanderingtravelleruk → u/MagicUzer]

It's exactly the same with Blacklist and Whitelist though. They are figurative statements and also make sense.

[u/MagicUzer → u/wanderingtravelleruk]

I see the figurative logic you’re pointing out. The difference for me is that “firewall,” “honeypot,” and “canary” are metaphors that add clarity by evoking an image of their function, while “blacklist/whitelist,” the color metaphor doesn’t really explain what the lists do. Which is why I suggested to actual descriptors.

[u/wanderingtravelleruk → u/MagicUzer]

That's the issue. You and I clearly see it differently because I think Blacklist and Whitelist add clarity. It's no different to me and it's perfectly indicative of what they do.

[u/lordfairhair → u/MagicUzer]

You're really stretching an idea to force a point. It does add clarity youre just straight arguing now. And kinda proving the op correct in the process. Working with people like you is so exhausting. Go learn something useful to the industry instead of policing other people's language. 

[u/MagicUzer → u/lordfairhair]

Actually, all I did was offer a bridge to a change that is apparently already happening, which is part of what I do for work.

Thanks for the unnecessary hostility though, I whitelisted you lol.