5 Years Since Katrina

Contents 1 Katrina 1.1 The Move 1.2 The Storm 1.3 The Evacuation 1.4 The Night before the Storm 1.5 The Morning of Truth 1.6 The Afternoon/Evening of Boredom 1.7 The Trip to Shreveport 1.8 The Aftermath 1.8.1 Share this: Katrina I haven’t written much about my time during Katrina, but I wanted to put some thoughts to paper as I don’t want to forget when I am older. I have waited 5 years to write this, I hope it was worth it. ...

August 30, 2010 · 16 min · Nick

“Netcraft confirms PGP Email Encryption is Dead!”

Rakkhi posted a great Lessons Learned on implementing email encryption: http://rakkhi.blogspot.com/2010/08/implementing-email-encryption-lessons.html The post got me thinking because I struggle dealing with subcontractors getting encryption. I refuse to send sensitive or even somewhat sensitive data over unencrypted links, but find that small (and even midsize companies) do not have the resources to implement. In a bind I have trained them on installing GnuPG and doing trusted exchanges, but the same pitfalls occur. ...

August 28, 2010 · 3 min · Nick

Log File Size

I struggle with ROM for log file storage. It is one of those things that no one EVER looks at, but everyone covers their asses. As an example DHS requires 90 days online, 7 years offline. Anton Chuvakin from Security Warrior posted this today and I thought it was pretty good: 100,000 log messages / second x 300 bytes / log message ~ 28.6 MB x 3600 seconds ~ 100.6 GB / hour ...

August 22, 2010 · 1 min · Nick

Happy 17th Birthday Debian!

I love Debian (looks over lovingly @ the fileserver) and look forward to many more years of stable releases. Debian was my first distro when I ran 1.3 at the ripe old age of 12. I built a VM a few years ago just to see how far we’ve come: http://geekyschmidt.com/2008/03/29/login-looking-back-on-debian-13 A link to some interesting history: http://digitizor.com/2010/08/16/happy-17th-birthday-debian-and-some-interesting-history/

August 16, 2010 · 1 min · Nick

Going Agile

Agile Software Development using SCRUM is one of best force multipliers a team can utilize to speed-up cycles. It can take a disorganized team and allow them to execute with precision and does so with very small changes to the battle rhythm. I would go as far as to say it increases my ability to manage by applying the same process to documentation, negotiating, and management. With all of that said (and with very little disagreement I’d wager) Agile is going nowhere in defense contracting. The fact is that the 3-letter agencies contracts are written in a way that only allows for waterfall systems engineering approaches. We as an industry have not done well to engage and educate our customers in the benefits. ...

August 16, 2010 · 3 min · Nick