Maxim Weinstein’s blog

Last post related to Epidemic!: The World of Infectious Disease edited by Rob DeSalle.

• “Different cultures perceive disease differently,” and “Successful control of that disease requires understanding these differences.” [p. 155] At StopBadware.org, we’re seeing this as we try to understand how and why malware is perceived differently in China than in the U.S. and Europe.
• The only way to control global epidemics is to integrate public health concepts into every aspect of society (health delivery, education, urban planning, agriculture, industry, etc.) and for nations, industries, etc., to coordinate their efforts with each other for surveillance, monitoring, and response. [p. 168] There are definitely some aspects of this happening in the IT security world, such as the recent coordinated DNS patch response, but far more needs to be done.
• At a more local level, an essay in the book describes New York City’s efforts to combat TB and AIDS via a coordinated local response including public education campaigns, free clinics, needle exchanges, etc. [p. 171-175] Can we learn from this? What about free “get your PC checked for up-to-date patches and security software” clinics? Coordinated, extensive public awareness campaigns? Free anti-malware software provided by government agencies?

This entry is part of a series. See the introduction for more information.