Digital Security, a Risky Business

Architecture and Background

DEF CON 16 - Ian Angell: Digital Security, A Risky Business In this talk Professor Angell will take the Devils advocate position, warning that computer technology is part of the problem as well as of the solution. The belief system at the core of computerization is positivist and/or statistical, and that itself leads to risk.

Vulnerability Analysis

The mixture of computers and human activity systems spawns bureaucracy and systemic risk, which can throw up singularities that defy any positivist/statistical analysis. Using black humour, Angell discusses the thin line between the utility of computers and the hazard of chaotic feedback, and ends with some advice on how to survive and prosper amongst all this complexity.

Exploitation and Demonstrations

Ian Angell has been Professor of Information Systems at the London School of Economics since 1986. Prior to that he researched and taught Computer Science at Royal Holloway College, and University College London.

Remediation and Defensive Strategies

Angell has very radical and constructive views on his subject, and is very critical of what he calls the pseudo-science of academic Information Systems. He has gained a certain notoriety worldwide for his aggressive polemics against the inappropriate use of artificial intelligence and so-called knowledge management, and against the hyperbole surrounding e-commerce. His main research work concentrates on organizational and national I.T. policies, on strategic information systems, and on computers and risk (both opportunities and hazards), particularly the systemic risks inherent in all socio-technical systems and the security threats posed to organisations by the rapidly diffusing international information infrastructure. For copies of the slides and additional materials please see the DEF CON 16 Archive here: