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When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'
– Mister Rogers
...
The
...
scope
...
of
...
the
...
citizenry
...
affected
...
by
...
cybersecurity
...
vulnerabilities
...
has
...
widened
...
considerably
...
in
...
recent
...
years.
...
In
...
the
...
past,
...
one
...
might
...
have
...
argued
...
that
...
only
...
computer
...
users
...
were
...
affected
...
by
...
vulnerabilities
...
and
...
their
...
disclosure:
...
this
...
is
...
no
...
longer
...
the
...
case.
...
Affected
...
users
...
now
...
include
...
those
...
who
...
have
...
smartphones,
...
watch
...
smart
...
TVs,
...
use
...
credit
...
cards
...
or
...
ATMs
...
for
...
banking
...
and/or
...
shopping,
...
drive
...
cars,
...
fly
...
in
...
airplanes,
...
go
...
to
...
the
...
hospital
...
for
...
diagnostic
...
imaging
...
or
...
intravenous
...
medicine,
...
live
...
in
...
houses
...
with
...
smart
...
meters,
...
and
...
so
...
forth.
...
The
...
list
...
goes
...
on
...
to
...
include
...
nearly
...
everyone,
...
and
...
"opting
...
out"
...
is
...
not
...
a
...
viable
...
position
...
for
...
most
...
people
...
to
...
take.
...
In
...
an
...
ideal
...
world,
...
software
...
would
...
do
...
exactly
...
what
...
we
...
expect
...
it
...
to
...
do,
...
and
...
nothing
...
we
...
don't
...
want
...
it
...
to
...
do.
...
In
...
an
...
ideal
...
world,
...
vendors
...
would
...
be
...
receptive
...
to
...
finding
...
out
...
about
...
vulnerabilities
...
in
...
their
...
products,
...
and
...
would
...
recognize
...
the
...
service
...
provided
...
to
...
them
...
by
...
those
...
who
...
find
...
and
...
report
...
problems.
...
They
...
would
...
be
...
motivated
...
to
...
place
...
user
...
safety,
...
privacy,
...
and
...
security
...
at
...
the
...
top
...
of
...
their
...
priorities.
...
In
...
an
...
ideal
...
world,
...
human
...
communications
...
would
...
be
...
clear
...
to
...
all
...
parties
...
involved.
...
Well-meaning
...
parties
...
would
...
never
...
misunderstand
...
or
...
misinterpret
...
each
...
other's
...
words
...
or
...
intentions.
...
People
...
would
...
always
...
be
...
polite,
...
patient,
...
humble,
...
calm,
...
without
...
guile,
...
and
...
willing
...
to
...
put
...
aside
...
their
...
own
...
interests
...
for
...
those
...
of
...
others.
...
We
...
do
...
not
...
live
...
in
...
an
...
ideal
...
world.
...
In
...
the
...
world
...
we
...
find
...
ourselves
...
occupying,
...
software-based
...
systems
...
exhibit
...
complex
...
behaviors,
...
increasingly
...
exceeding
...
the
...
limits
...
of
...
human
...
comprehension
...
[1].
...
As
...
a
...
society,
...
we
...
have
...
become
...
capable
...
of
...
building
...
things
...
we
...
don't
...
fully
...
understand.
...
The
...
difference
...
between
...
what
...
a
...
thing
...
does
...
and
...
what
...
you
...
expect
...
it
...
to
...
do
...
can
...
lead
...
to
...
uncertainty,
...
confusion,
...
fear,
...
and
...
vulnerability.
...
But
...
it's
...
not
...
just
...
the
...
technology
...
that
...
falls
...
short
...
of
...
our
...
ideals.
...
It
...
should
...
come
...
as
...
no
...
surprise
...
that
...
humans
...
have
...
diverse
...
emotions
...
and
...
motives.
...
Values
...
differ.
...
Feelings
...
get
...
hurt,
...
people
...
get
...
frustrated.
...
Words
...
are
...
misinterpreted.
...
Incentives
...
promote
...
individual
...
choices
...
that
...
conflict
...
with
...
each
...
other.
...
What's
...
good
...
for
...
the
...
individual
...
is
...
sometimes
...
bad
...
for
...
the
...
collective,
...
and
...
vice-versa.
...
And
...
so,
...
we're
...
left
...
to
...
muddle
...
through.
...
To
...
confront
...
each
...
day
...
as
...
an
...
opportunity
...
to
...
learn,
...
another
...
chance
...
to
...
improve,
...
and
...
make
...
tomorrow
...
start
...
a
...
little
...
better
...
than
...
yesterday
...
ended.
...
We
...
scan
...
the
...
horizon
...
to
...
reduce
...
surprise.
...
We
...
test
...
for
...
flaws,
...
we
...
probe
...
for
...
weaknesses,
...
and
...
we
...
identify
...
recurring
...
patterns
...
and
...
themes
...
that
...
lead
...
to
...
undesired
...
outcomes.
...
We
...
fix
...
what
...
we
...
can,
...
mitigate
...
what
...
we
...
can't
...
fix,
...
and
...
remain
...
vigilant
...
over
...
what
...
we
...
can't
...
mitigate.
...
We
...
coordinate
...
vulnerability
...
disclosure
...
because
...
we
...
realize
...
we're
...
all
...
in
...
this
...
together.
...
Thanks
...
for
...
reading.
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< 8.2 IoT and CVD | Appendix A - On the Internet of Things and Vulnerability Analysis > |
References
- S. Arbesman, Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension, Current, 2016.