FUD happens

I joined Fortinet senior strategist Derek Manky, security practitioner Mike Fabrico and Securosis' Mike Rothman for a panel discussion on security hype at the Fortinet booth during the RSA conference.

Below is the video and some additional thoughts on the subject.

Part 1:



Part 2:



The subject of security hype has always been a touchy one for me. We journalists are always being accused of over-hyping threats for the sake of getting traffic to our sites.

I've personally been accused of this more than once. In fact, last month when I wrote a post announcing the panel captured above, an anonymous reader sent me this message:

"I've heard your talk about DDOS, Bill. You spread more FUD than any journalist I know. You should try and be more like Brian Krebs."

I don't entirely disagree with his statement. I think every security journalist should be more like Brian Krebs. As for the rest of the reader's comment: Whatever.

I do think we journalists sometimes deserve the criticism we get for over-hyping things. Have I done it? I'm sure I have, though it's not intentional. Sometimes, in the heat of deadline, when writers and editors are thinking up headlines that will maximize traffic, FUD happens.

Hopefully, I keep it calm and reasonable most of the time. If not, I'm sure you'll call me on it -- as you should.

When FUD happens, the best thing to do is clean it up, move on and keep digging for better, more level-headed perspectives on the given threat.

--Bill Brenner