Fragments of the book “If It’s Smart, It’s Vulnerable”, by Mikko Hyppönen.
Regulations
There is a gravity that is organizing the Internet to be more optimized, complex, fragile, centralized and attractive to regulation. (…) governments have legitimate interest in what happens online and regulation invariably follows unchecked innovation. It is up to us, those who understand the technology, to work toward better policy outcomes, fair and transparent algorithms, and inclusive and accountable environments.
Online
We will be remembered as the first people who went online. We are the first generation that is living part of our lives online and part of our lives in the real world.
Linux would never have become a global success story if subjected to license terms or limitations or if its innovations had been patent-protected.Wired magazine once named Tornals the leader of the free world.
Commmodities
Ransomware trojans make money by locking us out of our memories.
No patch or hotfix is available for the human brain. The only way to update people’s skills is through training.
Vulnerabilities have become commodities.
Some inventions are so good that they change the world. When a new innovation is useful enough, we no longer want to live without it – and once a technology is practical enough, it soon becomes compulsory. Electrical networks are a good example of this.
Software
All companies are software companies, regardless of what they build.
Google sets a cookie in your browser that expires every two years. However, this timer is reset every time you use a Google service. In practice, this means that Google will never forget you, unless you spend several years in prison. Murder charges and the Google cookie never expire.
If the use of strong encryption is criminalized, only criminals will have access to it.