When it comes to accessing your information:

--Organized criminals are innovating.

--Foreign Intelligence services are innovating.

--Global terrorists are innovating.

So it's now CRITICAL that the security industry step up it's INNOVATION.

Big ideas often come from small compaines, and the people closest to the problems often come up with the best solutions, so I'm proud to join General Keith Alexander, Commander, U.S. Cyber Command on the steering committee for the:



The Security Innovation Network presents Showcase 2011 at the National Press Club

Apply to be selected as a SINET 16 that will present in front of 400 Buyers, Builders, Researchers & Investors

Call for Papers please click here June 10th deadline

Supported by the Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate



Keynote: General Keith B. Alexander, Commander, U.S. Cyber Command &Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service

Three of the top SINET 16 automatically receive entry into ASC’s second round

October 26th (Workshop) & 27th (Showcase) 2010, Washington DC www.security-innovation.org

Tom Patterson
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Top-Five 2011 Security Wish List

Having been active in the security world since the 80's -- first as a user in the middle-east, then building products, services, R&D, and several roles in critical infrastructure protection-- I've lived through questionable security implementations and decisions that cost both lives and dollars, but I'm excited about the security opportunities that await us in 2011.

2010 brought us leaky cables, crazy countermeasures, fiery sheep, government-sponsored targeted attacks, organized criminals that compromised hundreds of millions of identities, and zombie armies that effect business bottom lines and Government's policy. All of this came at a great cost to commerce, citizens and civilization alike, so it is incumbent upon the professional security world to utilize the one additional thing these villains brought us-- the greatest cyber security awareness in history.

Think big, think bodacious, think important, and think possible. Move beyond password length discussions, blabbing on Facebook, and x-raying your belly bulges, and focus on what's really important in the new year. To start, I offer five from my 2011 security wish list, and encourage you to suggest your own.

My Top-Five 2011 Security Wish List


1. Public Private Partnerships that really work, which means that 'public' needs to share more, and 'private' needs to focus on the greater good, and not just selling more of their stuff. This is vital to protect critical infrastructure and key resources (CI/KR), and it is vital to protect our juiciest targets from foreign governments, organized criminals, terror groups and wannabes, and home grown bad guys.
2. A Mobile Security ecosystem that unites the vendors, rather than divides. We all now carry and cherish our mobile phones the same as we do with our credit cards (always with us, never shared, losses reported immediately), so it's time to make them work as identity tokens across the board.

3. U.S. Congressional support for comprehensive cybersecurity, rather than trying to address it bill by bill, earmark by earmark, and press release by press release. We have a cyber-czar that wants to put good security over politics, and many good folks that are returning to govern after success in the security private sector, and a strong push from Congress would serve to unite security across the board.

4. Educational shift toward real cyber security education and training. Humans are still our weakest link, and cyber-education is still the most cost-effective countermeasure. Plus, our shortage of skilled cyber security professionals is not even close to being met by our university systems and handful of professional associations. Despite what a few experts will tell you, security is not black magic, but can be trained to a wide range of people from all walks of life. This needs to be a high priority from K-12, through vocational, university, and advanced education offerings that meet the needs of today and tomorrow.

5. Purchasing agents of the world unite, to agree to no longer buy software that has not been developed in a demonstrable and testable security development lifecycle, be it in a shrink wrap box, a gold master, or a 'secure' cloud. Self-regulating sources haven’t worked, so testing in a crystal box for all to see is needed.

And this just skims the surface... There are many more, and now is the time to work together on the biggest stage we’ve ever had, to make a real difference in the safety and security of all we hold dear.

I wish you the happiest of holidays, and I’ll see you again in 2011 !

What if copying was legal?

What if it was legal to make copies of our favorite movies, tv shows, music, games, books and more?

With almost half of the total Internet usage in the U.S. being peer to peer file sharing, it’s clear that users WANT to make copies, but why?

Do they like the ease of use? Do they like ‘having’ the files on their machines? Do they like being able to make a backup copy just in case? Do they like being able to move copies between their computers, phones, and DVRs? Do they like the efficiencies that systems like BitTorrent provide? Do they want what they want when they want it? Are they just sick of the often ridiculous DRM systems they’ve been subjected to in the past?

In my experience, the answer to ALL of these questions is YES.

In fact, they like it so much, otherwise law abiding citizens will even break the law to do it. Some break it blatantly, some rationalize with “I didn’t know” or “everyone’s doing it”, but break the law they do, because they want to be able to copy and share entertainment files.

So what if instead of (lamely) prosecuting these folks that copy and share, we flip the entertainment world on its head, and reward this behavior?

We know that all the users would love it. All the benefits of sharing files, with none of the guilt! But what of the entertainment companies that create all this content?

If no one watched ads or paid, we would be reduced to skateboarding bull-dog videos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlyhq6ncGWg ) , (I had over 500 to choose from!) ), instead of professionally made movies, tv shows, music, games, books magazines, and more. All of these creative works are paid for with advertising dollars today, and will need to be paid for in the future if we expect them to continue to be produced.

So we need a system that’s as easy to use as a Google search, paid for with ads that are as innocuous as those on a Google search, and that is so inexpensive to distribute (no server farms, no fat bandwidth pipes, and no costs for customer acquisition).

Look, up in the Internet-- It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane. It’s SuperDistribution!

Superdistribution has been talked about since the early 90’s (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.09/superdis.html ) but until now, no one has been able to perfect a system that allows content owners to maintain the controls they need to succeed, while leveraging the low cost, high reach, best of both worlds solution originally envisioned.

All of that changes on Tuesday, the 12th of August, 2008.

Watch this space…

New and Improved Interfaces? Don't bother!

O L D FACEBOOK

New and Improved?

Why is it that in an effort to be ‘fresh’ and ‘new’, companies always take the user interface that we’ve grown accustomed to, and flip it around?

Notice how Facebook cleverly moved my head shot from the left to the right? And my friends list from the – you guessed it—left to the right? And my network and vital stats from the – getting old yet? -- left to the right?

N E W FACEBOOK

Do people get paid to make these changes? Wouldn’t a dime store mirror serve the same design purpose? I write this today, the 14th of July, because My.Yahoo home page has been warning me that today is the last day they will support their ‘old’ interface, but tomorrow they will be moving me onto the new version.

Maybe I should just get out a mirror and take a look!

I Found it!

As many of you know, after three years of getting Command Information up and running, I left for LA and the opportunities that exist helping to unlock the billions of dollars of unrealized value trapped within greatest content source in history-- Hollywood!

When I got here, I had 5 very straight-forward goals:
1) Find some truly disruptive technology, not simply a new area to ply old schemes.
2) Find a team of people that are evangelistic about their tech, and the markets it can help.
3) Find a business where I can personally add value, in the areas of operations, business development, fundraising, and more.
4) Find people that I liked working with, and that shared my passion for building a great company.
5) Find the specific niche in the digital media marketplace, where there is ample reward for the right solutions.

So far, I’ve met over 200 interesting players (according to my box of business cards on my desk), seen 20 corporate pitches, sat down with 5 interesting companies, and had to walk away from one promising deal due to diligence surprises.

I’m now very happy to report (in a blog-tease), that in less than three months in LA, I have found a company that meets all five of my goals!

This company has great technology, conceived and built by progressive geniuses over the past 10 years, for a digital media market that is just now ready to be monetized. Described by the few that have looked at it on my behalf as the ‘holy grail’ for the studios; in the proper hands, this technology will vastly extend the current ad-based revenue models, while opening up far greater monetization and distribution possibilities. After a couple of months of diligence, it really really works! All this, and they had the foresight to obtain patent protection for their role in digital media way back in the 1990’s!

The company was founded by, and is today managed by great people, that never lost faith in their invention or the value to the marketplace it could bring. While it’s easy today to think up new ways to monetize digital media-- after companies like Apple did it for music, studios are finally opening up their minds to digital distribution, and bandwidth is no longer much of a concern-- these folks had the idea over a decade ago, and never lost faith. Those are the types of people I like to hang out with.

After getting the technology ready for prime-time, and getting their full suite of patents awarded, and watching the market mature to its present state, they are ready to bring on a team of people that can deliver on their original promises. While all the skills I’ve learned in my career will be put to use, there is a good synergy between what is needed and what I’m good at doing.

Oh, and the market is Soooooo ready. Studios want to sell more ads, reach more people, open new monetized relationships, and lower costs. Software companies are delivering some fantastic packages like Air, Silverlight, and more, that can all be extended with ease. Search companies are starting to see the big business in finding just that right piece of content, as opposed to a list of web-sites that may have what you’re looking for. Even the telco’s, cable co’s, and mobile operators are desperately trying to grab their share of the digital media markets, and lock out their competitors.
So who is this wonder-company?

That will have to wait until my next post, as we’re just now working out the deal logistics, raising a small bridge round, and putting together the new core team.
As they say… watch this space.

P.S. I think my relaxing time at the beach has come to an end!

Adobe, Microsoft, Google-- SuperDistribution is the Answer!

I went to a breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel last week, and heard Tony Perkins (of AlwaysOn fame) talk about the digital media. In order to emphasize his point that Internet distribution is front of mind, he related a story about moderating a panel with one executive from ABC and another from FOX. In the panel, these two were discussing the various merits of Internet distribution—and their different takes on it. ABC drives all traffic to its web site, while Fox pushes traffic to its local affiliates. These two directions were being presented AS THE TOTAL DISCUSSION. How yesterday.

Now I’m the first to admit I tend to look toward the near future for business, having gotten into eCommerce in 1994 (when many told me it was illegal), and into IPv6 in 2005 (when many told me much worse!), but making people visit your website in order to see your content is not very forward thinking. In fact, it’s not how the next generation of Internet users will interact with content at all.

In order to fully utilize the Internet, content must be set free. Social Networks, Mobile computing, real peer to peer networks, texting-- this is how we use the net. Content must be able to flourish freely, while still maintaining metrics and monetization capabilities.

As we are starting to see peer to peer networks go from outlaw to mainstream, we cannot forget what makes them thrive. No, it’s not the elegant code of a BitTorrent, but rather it’s the users that choose to participate. In Peer to Peer networks, people are the key part of the chain. This leads me to SuperDistribution.

Superdistribution allows and indeed encourages digital products to be distributed freely in encrypted form, even as the product’s owner retains control over the ability to use and modify the product (WikiPedia) . This is the ideal, as long as content owners can retain control, while the content is passed around the net endlessly. Many have tried-- few have succeed.

Enter DigitalContainers.com. I just joined their board, but not just because they are singing the superdistribution song, because in 2008 there are a lot of startups that have now seen the light and are humming that tune. I joined the DigitalContainers board because they came up with this idea back in 1997, and did two very smart things about it. First, they patented the entire system flow. Second, they built the software so it actually works. Over these last 10 years, their patents have been awarded, and many have been successfully tested in court. These guys get superdistribution, and superdistribution will unlock the value in the digital media world.

As Microsoft’s Silverlight, Adobe’s MediaPlayer, and many more are searching for the latest new way to distribute valuable content on the Internet, little do they know that the answer is now 10 years old!