This blog is brought to you by Tamiflu.
In one way, I’m glad America overreacts to things like the Swine Flu. For example, Obama led off his speech about his first 100 days with telling Americans to cover their mouths when they cough and to wash their hands frequently. This one instruction alone didn’t prevent a mass outbreak, but it did make me use another extra squeeze of soap in the bath room at my favorite local deli where I eat pork sandwiches. And since when is being extra clean a bad thing?
I can make the same comparisons about information security. Do financial institutions really need a 15 page incident response plan? No, but they will be glad they have it when some kid in Russia sends out a lame phishing scam to try to get debit card PIN’s via text message (this has actually happened to several of our clients.) So, do we need to shut down school districts and all UIL events for weeks? I say, better safe than sorry and it still makes everyone feel safe, which is very important. And look, no one got sick!
Do you need quarterly Penetration Tests to go along with your 365 and 24 by 7 Intrusion Detection? Probably not, but better safe than sorry right? Just ask your examiners. Just look at the increased TSA measures since 9/11. If someone really wants to terrorize an airport, they will find a way to do it, but just knowing that they are there makes you feel better and the bad guys think twice about carrying nitroglycerin in their water bottles.
I think some overreactions help us more than hurt us and make us feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Yeah, you have to hear about the Swine Flu on every media outlet possible, but you should also be glad you don’t have it, because of all the protections put in place because of overreaction.
Finally, why won’t the Mavs get rid of Dirk…he only averages 30 points and 10 rebounds per playoff game. GEEZ!