Security As Someone Else's Problem

Brian Krebs: “The Web’s Bot Containment Unit Needs Your Help”

Anyone who’s seen the 1984 hit movie Ghostbusters likely recalls the pivotal scene where a government bureaucrat orders the shutdown of the ghost containment unit, effectively unleashing a pent-up phantom menace on New York City. Now, something similar is in danger of happening in cyberspace: Shadowserver.org, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that works to help Internet service providers (ISPs) identify and quarantine malware infections and botnets, has lost its longtime primary source of funding.

It seems bonkers to me that such critical aspects of the security of the Internet are handled by volunteers, with only breadcrumbs of support from the big industry players.