Drugs or COVID?
Wah wah.
Dan Kaminsky has died
181–190 of 216 posts
Re: Dan Kaminsky has died
#182I really wish HN had the black bar linked to an obituary or an article about the person (or some other method of distinguishing who it is for). It isn't always obvious who is being recognized or memorialized. Getting the black bar isn't that common
Re: Dan Kaminsky has died
#183My memory of Dan is seeing him speak on-stage at SF security b-sides, some time in the mid 2010s. He'd enjoyed a few drinks by the point he spoke to everyone, and the resulting honesty (accompanied by what I sensed as trepidation from the audience, about seeing a respected speaker in a vulnerable state) left a mark on me. He was right: software security nowadays is a swiss-cheese mess, and the industry isn't addressi…
The parent comment was written early into my reaction to the news and I think I was a bit histrionic in my commentary about the security industry. People are helping, and that's commendable.
It can be difficult when it appears that we are building and deploying so much more software than we are maintaining and securing.
I don't know exactly what mindset will win out - either an assumption that information always leaks and that that's helpful to catch people when they might fall, and/or a mindset that believes it's necessary to be able to create private channels -- if perhaps not private spaces, for safety reasons (is there a digital distinction there? could there be?). Fragmentation and/or consensus are two possible paths forwards (that different communities are already exploring).
Re: Dan Kaminsky has died
#184It feels wrong to upvote a story of somebody dying. How about such stories are pinned and don't have to be voted on to stay on the front page, at least for a couple of days?
I just wanted to say I agree with you and I don’t know why you were downvoted. This seems to me a well-intentioned and quite reasonable request.
You are simply upvoting to say “this submission is important”.
Re: Dan Kaminsky has died
#185Drugs or COVID? Wah wah.
Saudists or Diet coke?
Re: Dan Kaminsky has died
#186Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, I don't think it's a reasonable request. The best way to forestall speculation is to just say what happened. Presumably his family already knows so it's not going to shock them.
or you could respect the families wishes, instead of prioritizing your curiosity.
Families choose to hide AND lie about suicide and addiction deaths. I know from multiple first hand experiences.
THIS IS BAD FOR EVERYONE!
Yes, it's embarrassing for the family (though it shouldn't be) because they feel like they can do more.
But, it the prevalence needs to made public so we treat these things like the crisis they are!
And worse, in this case, people are even drawing ties to the vaccine!?!? What an insane intellectual lottery to play. But that speculation WILL cause direct negative outcomes!
Ugh, just ranting b/c as mentioned I have first hand experience with "it wasn't alcohol/drugs/suicide, it was cardiac arrest."
/End rant
Re: Dan Kaminsky has died
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder what the procedures are to change the Recovery Key Shareholders in the event of a death like this. Interesting article here https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/the-problem-with-the-... .
Currently being assessed, given current global issues it poses come additional challenges but the community will find a way.
Wow, your first comment since 2014! Are you deeply involved with ICANN? It seems you know are well-informed about the internals.
Re: Dan Kaminsky has died
#188My memory of Dan is seeing him speak on-stage at SF security b-sides, some time in the mid 2010s. He'd enjoyed a few drinks by the point he spoke to everyone, and the resulting honesty (accompanied by what I sensed as trepidation from the audience, about seeing a respected speaker in a vulnerable state) left a mark on me. He was right: software security nowadays is a swiss-cheese mess, and the industry isn't addressi…
The parent comment was written early into my reaction to the news and I think I was a bit histrionic in my commentary about the security industry. People are helping, and that's commendable. It can be difficult when it appears that we are building and deploying so much more software than we are maintaining and securing. I don't know exactly what mindset will win out - either an assumption that information always leak…
Maybe you weren't histrionic enough?
I couldn't name one class of software or hardware, nor one layer in the 'stack' that hasn't been compromised. The only conclusion is to admit failure (as an industry) and rebuild everything from the ground up.
Re: Dan Kaminsky has died
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
If they don't want speculation, they need to give facts. Otherwise all we have is wondering, which naturally leads to speculation. I don't mind them not giving facts. I just think it's silly to not give facts and then tell people not to speculate.
They don’t need to do anything. People aren’t morally entitled to demand information from a grieving family just because it would sate their curiosity.
Which is precisely what I said:
"I don't mind them not giving facts."
I demanded nothing. I simply pointed out that lack of information will always produce curiosity. If they don't want people curious, they have it in their power to stop them from being curious. Or they can be silent and leave people curious.
Perhaps I've missed the actual point of their request. As I think about it further, I wonder if they are simply requesting that people not spread baseless rumors, which is certainly a legitimate reminder for anybody to give at any time. Still, speculation seems to me to be more along the lines of an educated guess, rather than a baseless rumor.
Re: Dan Kaminsky has died
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's plenty of time for one then the other. I don't think the curiosity to know is just for curiosity alone. I think it serves a purpose for everyone to bear witness to the kinds of things that take us.
Unless he was killed by a bear and that bear is still on the loose, or something like that, then I think we can probably wait a few days for his family to be informed. There are a lot of people here making very high-minded comments about how it’s deeply important to the sum total of human knowledge that we learn the cause of his death so that we can reflect on our mortality, and so on and so forth. I can’t help but f…
> It’s morbid curiosity
I guess it's the caveman in all of us who really needs to know what happened to his buddy so that he can avoid it. And I guess those without this curiosity in their DNA died out rather soon... So it might not be insincerity but genetics.