Online security & outrunning lions

Being one-step ahead can make a world of difference.

I found myself in a conversation the other day about the hypothetical futility of additional security measures like multi-factor or two step authentication because ultimately even extra security measures like these can be compromised — therefore what’s the point?

Which for me sort of missed the mark and reminded me of the old joke about two wildlife photographers out on a game reservation filming some lions. One of the lions notices the photographers and starts pacing towards the pair with menacing intent. One photographer instantly jumps to his feet and begins to sprint off, noticing his colleague sitting on the ground, patiently swapping his boots for a pair of running shoes.

Photographer 1: “You’ll never outrun a lion wearing those!”

Photographer 2: “True, but I’ll outrun you.”

If you take any one security hypothesis to its ultimate conclusion then nothing is 100% secure, particularly if fallible humans are involved somewhere in the process. But investing in a password manager app like 1Password and using it to generate fifty-character-long strings of unmemorable gibberish passwords doesn’t mean your password won't ever be cracked if an online service provider’s security credentials database is compromised but, comparatively speaking, your password is much more likely to be one of the last passwords the hackers can crack while everyone else who ran with “password”, “123456” or their pet’s name will fall pretty quickly.

And, yes, using two-step authentication could hypothetically be compromised if you somehow left your smartphone or authentication device lying around in a public place but but, logically, using 2SA also significantly lengthens the odds of an account compromise at the very least compared with those users who don’t employ 2SA.

For as long as we choose to have valuables locked up somewhere there will always be nefarious people who want to unlock them. And the first step towards protecting yourself often begins with just doing a little better than the next person.