Both cyber security and physical security (but especially the latter) are plagued with poor products, flawed practice, and sloppy thinking. This talk discusses what we can learn from Oscar Wilde and Method Acting about how to think critically about security. We will then examine some of the snake oil associated with GPS, RFIDs, tamper-indicating seals, biometrics, and other “security” technologies.

Dr. Johnston is head of the Vulnerability Assessment Team at Argonne National Laboratory.