I would like to provide considerations on the concept of ethics that a security company should have respect to the users, the media and the security environment.
SecurStar GmbH made very bad things making that infosecuriguard.com fake independent research.
It’s unfair approach respect to hacking community.
It’s unfair marketing to end user. They should not be tricking by creating fake independent review.
It’s unfair competition in the security market.
Let’s make some more important consideration on this.
Must be serious on cryptographic products. They are not toys
When you do cryptographic tools you should be really aware of what you are doing, you must be really serious.
If you do bad crypto people could die.
If you don’t follow basic security rules for transparency and security for cryptography you are putting people life at risk.
You are taking the responsibility of this. (I want to sleep at night, don’t think SecurStar CEO/CTO care about this…)
Security research need reference and transparency
Security research have to be public, well done, always subject to public discussion and cooperation.
Security research should not be instrumentally used for marketing purpose.Security research should be done for awareness and grow of the knowledge of the worldwide security environment.
Hacking environment is neutral, should not be used instrumentally
Hackers are considered neutral, nerds, doing what they do for their pleasure and passion.
If you work in the security market you work with hackers.
If you use hackers and hacking environment for your own marketing purposes you are making something very nasty.
Hackers give you the technology and knowledge and you use them for your own commercial purpose.
Consideration on the authority of the information online
That’s something that pose serious consideration on the authority of information online.An anonymous hacker, with no reference online, made a product security review that appear like an independent one. I have to say that the fake review was very well prepared, it always posed good/bad things in an indirect way. It did not appeared to me at 1st time like a fake. But going deeply i found what’s going on.
However Journalists, news media and blogger went to the TRAP and reviewed their fake research. TheRegister, NetworkWorld and a lot of blogs reported it. Even if the author was completely anonymous.
What they have done is already illegal in UK
SecurStar GmbH is lucky that they are not in the UK, where doing this kind of things is illegal.
Fabio Pietrosanti (naif)
