Ken Thompson Quotes

Security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day, they come out with a total exploit; your machine can be taken over totally.

The very promise of safety [digital security] is iresistable temptation to hackers, the invading hordes of the 21st century.

One thing about cyberattacks is that what works on Monday may not work on Thursday.

Hackers rarely have full knowledge of the technology stack of a target.

It is a fairly open secret that almost all systems can be hacked, somehow. It is a less spoken of secret that such hacking has actually gone quite mainstream.

There are two types of companies in the world: those that know they've been hacked, and those that don't.

Penetrating a company's security often starts with the bad guy obtaining some piece of information that seems so innocent, so everyday and unimportant, that most people in the organization don't see any reason why the item should be protected and restricted.

We want to detect malware, regardless of its source or purpose. Politics don't even enter the discussion, nor should they. Any malware, even targeted, can get out of hand and cause 'collateral damage' to machines that aren't the intended victim.

One bug in an SMTP server can open up the whole machine for intrusion.

From a security perspective, if you're connected, you're screwed.

Anything out there is vulnerable to attack given enough time and resources.

Hacking is exploiting security controls either in a technical, physical or a human-based element.

If you give a hacker a new toy, the first thing he'll do is take it apart to figure out how it works.

If you don't treat [computer and Internet] security like a religious fanatic, you are going to be hurt like you can't imagine.

The DNC hack shows the rapid increase in sophistication of nation states (and Russia in particular) in using the Internet to project powers. We're seeing skilled malicious actors pushing the boundaries of what they can accomplish.

Cyberattacks diminish rather than accentuate political violence by making it easier for states, groups, and individuals to engage in two kinds of aggression that do not arise to the level of war: sabotage and espionage. Weaponized computer code and computer-based sabotage operations make it possible to carry out highly targeted attacks on adversary’s technical systems without directly and physically harming human operators and managers.

The next Pearl Harbor could very well be a cyberattack.

Hackers will always be one step ahead of the Feds.

In our rush to connect everything [via the Internet], we have created a monster of bad guys just waiting to take advantage of a weak line of code in a very complex program.

Nobody should be too boastful or too proud about their security because there are people who have a major interest in cracking the security of networks, the security of companies.

Cyberattacks have long been hard to stop because determining where they come from takes time - and sometimes the mystery is never solved.

I think we could very easily suffer a seriously catastrophic cyber event.

From bank accounts to financial systems, power grids to air traffic controls - our most critical infrastructure remain attractive cyber targets, and if they are ever compromised, the effects could be devastating.

When Target gets hacked, I don't hear people saying, 'Hey, was it Kohl's? Was it Wal-Mart?' It doesn't matter. There was a hack; you deal with it.

If nothing else, the cyber attacks that occurred during the 2016 presidential election have laid bare the very real vulnerabilities that exist across our government and the private sector. Imagine the harm that could be done if our enemies ever hack into the Department of Defense or Homeland Security.