[Dailydave] 2013 - A New Hope

[Haroon Meer]

Hi Dave (all)

On Tue, Dec 24, 2013 at 6:50 PM, Dave Aitel <dave at immunityinc.com> wrote:
> o The Snowden Event
> ...And everyone who says Cyber is a asymmetric warfare should be
> eating their words now, since you cannot believe the US Intel Community has
> succeeded to the level they have in this space and think it was a game for
> small players anymore.
> ...
> o The cementing of Leaks as cyberweapons
> Every reporter I talk to now who is starting a new venture has a
> foundational element of "some place people can send me leaked documents".

Your point on corporations vs. governments is well made, but I still
don't easily get to the point where we have killed off the "Cyber is
asymmetric" meme.

It is clear from the leaks that the US IC has invested a lot (more
than many other countries can afford to), and reaps the rewards of
that investment (backing your argument that its symmetrical) but at
the same time, "leaks" which are to be "cemented as cyberweapons" are
typically carried out by individuals and "reporters starting new
ventures".

These are so tiny, yet capable of causing so much disruption to their
bigger chosen nemesis that it almost defines asymmetry.

When people talk about the "cybers" being asymmetrical, it doesn't
mean that big guys are bad at it by virtue of them being big, it just
means that the opposing ends can fight using completely different
tactics (allowing the lil guy to effectively punch above his weight
class).

/mh

-- 
Haroon Meer | Thinkst Applied Research
http://thinkst.com/pgp/haroon.txt
Tel: +27 83 786 6637