Computer Security is simple, the World is not.

Presented at DeepSec 2019 „Internet of Facts and Fears“, Unknown date/time (Unknown duration)

Information security is too often seen as a highly technical field in computer science, and one where the more technical someone is, the more right they are likely to be. But security is part of systems of life, that not only include computers and phones, but systems of living, cultures, history, politics, and interpersonal relationships. Technical knowledge is important in those systems, but on its own, it accomplishes very little -- as the sorry state of the computer security in the world demonstrates. Knowing how computers work doesn't gives us an empirical knowledge of what people do with their devices, what their job is, what context they live in, what their adversaries want from them, what their capabilities or resources are. In this talk we will explain why listening is the most important part of practical security, and how to listen effectively and efficiently. We will touch on practical examples from our own life experience, from helping journalists, activists, and lawyers, to students, sex workers, and survivors of partner abuse. We will explain why in the end, information security may have more in common with anthropology -- investigation and analysis of practices in the real world -- than it does with math and software.

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