RE: Castles and Security

[Lance Spitzner <lance () spitzner net>]

On Thu, 11 Jan 2001, Robert Graham wrote:

> Ancient castles weren't about "defense", but "offense". A castle served as a
> base of operations from which warriors could sally forth, strike their
> enemies, then retreat back to safety. 

Which is exactly why the enemy attacked castles, to eliminate this
threat.  The more strongly defended the castle, the more difficult
it was to eliminate the threat.  That is why over hundreds of years
fortifications have perfected defense in depth, it is that much
harder to successfully attack.  This analogy was not based on why
castles were built, but how they could represent defense in depth.

> I really dislike the entire class of military analogies. Warfare is about
> battles, well-known enemies, two parties fighting and responding to each
> other. 

Dooh!  I am going to majorly disagree with you on this (but then again,
I'm biased).  Warfare is not about two well-known enemies fighting.  Anyone
who ever simplified warfare as such was long ago defeated.  For example,
our military has entire divisions and training dedicated to "Operations
other then war".  These units are dedicated to fighting when the enemy
is not well known, when there are a variety of other parties.  I remember
our armor training was signifigantly modified after Somalia.  How does a
tank platoon fight when a downed helicopter is surrounded by hostile 
civilians?   In many ways we are faced with the same challenges, adapting
to new threats, technologies, and rules.

I feel the military analogy is an excellent fit.  We are attempting to
defend resources against an enemy.  That enemy may not be well defined,
then again throughout history this has often been the case.  The problem
that we are having is that the rules have changed.  Historically,
the sides that have adapted first usually win.  In our case, the blackhats
are adapting faster, and thus are winning.

> The reason I prefer this model is that with military analogies, you think in
> terms of "enemies". Script-kiddies aren't your enemy, they aren't out to get
> you in particular. 

They are attacking my resources.  Regardless of their motivation, that
makes them my enemy.

Thoughts from an previous tread head :)

-- 
Lance Spitzner
http://project.honeynet.org

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