Reader Quiz: Network Security
Apr. 10th, 2008 09:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Q: Do you usually secure the latch on the door of a stall in a public restroom?
Q: Do you think this would stop anyone who really wanted to get in?
From The Switch Book by Rich Seifert. A really exellent book on LAN switching technology with surprisingly entertaining sidebars.
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Date: 2008-04-10 03:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-10 03:09 pm (UTC)(In Korea, stall doors not have locks, just latches. It is customary to keep the door closed whether the stall is in use or not; if one wants to use a stall, one knocks; the occupant's response is to cough or clear one's throat.)
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Date: 2008-04-10 03:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-10 03:13 pm (UTC)I suppose this particular example resonates with me because of one of Richard's war stories. Ask him sometime how he got wounded in Vietnam.
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Date: 2008-04-10 03:25 pm (UTC)I take his point, but I don't think it's a good example. Bruce does better with this sort of analogy.
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Date: 2008-04-10 04:09 pm (UTC)No, actually, its not. I mean, yes, there are always tradeoffs to consider in security, but that wasn't the point he was making. In the case of the restroom door there is no significant tradeoff - it's just as easy to lock the door as not to lock it. This particular metaphor was about a false sense of security. Maybe you had to see the article that the sidebar was associated with to get that.
Like I said, ask Richard sometime about his war story....
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Date: 2008-04-10 04:36 pm (UTC)it's just as easy to lock the door as not to lock it.
Well, most restroom stalls I've been in won't stay closed if you don't lock/latch it, so not locking it would mean trying to keep it closed with one hand while conducting one's business. MUCH more effort!
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Date: 2008-04-10 03:10 pm (UTC)I have heard that, in certain communities, NOT latching the stall door (when combined with other signals) indicates a preference for companionship.
So, I view it as a communication issue.
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Date: 2008-04-10 04:29 pm (UTC)And, on the other end of things, I think that the locks on some of the stalls in my building *would* substantially slow down someone who really wanted to get in. I mean, it probably wouldn't stop them entirely, but I imagine it would take throwing your body against the door more than a couple times unless you're a professional door-buster. Or, y'know, climbing over the top of the stall. In any case, they're built to last, which I appreciate, not because I'm worried about people getting in, but because they always work.
All of which is totally beside your point, but that's what you get. :-)
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Date: 2008-04-10 09:32 pm (UTC)That is, if someone tried to force it, I'd push back, and if someone tried to crawl under, I'd stomp their hands or kick them in the face if necessary.
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Date: 2008-04-11 03:33 am (UTC)I'm with the "privacy" people--I've actually had the door the one of the changing rooms at the downtown Minneapolis Target swiing open after I was sure I'd locked it.
What gets me are how many bathroom stalls (at least in the men's rooms) don't have coat hooks. I mean, I got this big, honking duster, and I don't want to put it on the floor. I have enough trouble with things falling out of my coat pockets as it is. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's how I lost two flash drives when I was in Winnipeg...