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Security by obscurity, won’t even work on my dogs

Thu, 01/31/2013 - 00:01

Security by obscurity is a great thing, the assumption that nobody will pick up on a vulnerability because it is buried deep in somewhere that is obscure enough that people won’t go looking for it. Even my dogs won’t fall for it. Had to zoom home at lunchtime today because one of the dogs had just wandered into the local pet shop (he knows where the treats are given out freely). After taking him home it was time to inspect is escape route. Sure enough - the same hole in the corner of the fence at the back of the hedge that he had got out last time and which I had subsequently bodged a fix on. Sure it looked secure, but to Mr Dog it was an area worth inspecting further, and maybe trying to nudge a bit, use a bit of brute force, and hey-presto freedom!

The alternative? Best practices. Because the 1.8m high wooden fence is beyond him, as is the steel pool fence - both put in to a standard specification. He has tried hard, especially on the latter, to no avail. Sure they took more time and effort to assemble, but at the end of the day, they do the job they are meant to and result in less embarrassing security leaks.