Tech: One of the first online periodicals I started reading regularly, when I first got access to USENET back in 1989 or so, was comp.risks — Peter G. Neumann’s RISKS Forum. Since then, I’ve been reading it religiously, in various formats over the years.
It appears that RISKS has just celebrated its 20th anniversary.
Every couple of weeks it provides a hefty dose of computing reality to counter the dreams of architecture astronauts and the more tech-worshipping members of our society, who fail to realise that just because something uses high technology, doesn’t necessarily make it safer.
I got to meet PGN a couple of weeks ago at CEAS, and I was happy to be able to give my thanks — RISKS has been very influential on my code and my outlook on computing and technology.
Nowadays, with remote code execution exploits for e-voting machines floating about, and National Cyber-Security Czars, I’d say RISKS is needed more than ever. Long may it continue!
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