CNET is reporting that @Stake fired Dan Geer yesterday: http://news.com.com/2100-1014_3-5082649.html Over a recent CCIA report coauthored by him, and released Wednesday: http://www.ccianet.org/papers/cyberinsecurity.pdf @Stake's comments - "The values and opinions of the report are not in line with @Stake's views" explaining Geer's termination are concerning for a company that claims "we must not be afraid to take things apart, understand how they work, and share that information with the world." [http://www.atstake.com/research/] It should be noted that the CCIA report tries to examine the Microsoft desktop monopoly, and its effect on the security of the Internet and the digital world at large. This is in direct line with @Stake's stated research objectives. The fact that the conclusions drawn may not be the same as those drawn by other @Stake researchers does not justify silencing this discussion. @Stake and other security companies and organizations need to act now to encourage discussion of root causes of insecurity on the net - even if these causes are not fundamentally technical in nature. It is, in fact, these causes - the political and economic ones - that are the most difficult ones to fix. As a result, it is these factors that must be brought into the public eye, exposed to more scrutiny, so that we may address them. What @Stake has done here is simply confirm to other security researchers that the publication of unpopular research will directly affect their pocketbooks. @Stake has set researchers' financial security and job security at odds with their professional ethics and research standards. Will the next researcher working at @Stake or Symantec, or Security Focus hesitate to publish controversial research because he is worried for his financial well-being? PK -- "I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President next year." -- Wally O'Dell - CEO of Diebold, Inc. (One of the largest American manufacturers of election machinery)
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