The Internet Is Broken, and Shellshock Is Just the Start of Our Woes

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Looks like it's time for Wired's annual announcement that "the web is broken".

I believe Robert McMillan was writing about security back in 2003. He's apparently forgotten all about it though. Maybe it's a mild form of PTSD. With the requisite trigger warning implied: we spent a year watching chunks of the Internet repeatedly get shut down by worm outbreaks. It made the front page of CNN. There were hearings.

Pretty sure the Internet isn't more broken today than it was then.

I think the biggest story here is the fact that the bug was fixed and ready to be installed via a single apt-get command within hours. To me, this is an immense success.

On the other hand, if its 2 months later and a fix still has not been issued, then it is safe to make the argument that the web is broken.

One of the most interesting outcomes of recent internet scale, headline creating bugs, such as heartbleed and shellshock, is what I think I'm going to start calling the "bugfud" effect. This could be either a combination of Bug and FUD or Bug and Befuddlement. This state of affairs is charactrized by the following:

1) argumentation about how best to address the issue systemically

2) argumentation about whether the issue even exists or is just being hyped, or at the very least overblown (even among people who should be qualified to understand it)

3) actual and expected hype from media outlets, usually not qualified to discuss the issues, speaking to a mostly unqualified, mostly disinterested audience

4) the blame game

And I think these states just scratch the surface of bugfud. Bugfud is a real complex social phenomena, which can be just as dangerous as the bugs themselves. It can prevent organizations and individuals from addressing these bugs in a timely, effective manner. So, bugfud is also a bug.

Surely everyone on HN already has an informed opinion on that topic but perhaps Wired's readers provoke further thinking and understanding in a larger group?

Ah the monthly (weekly?) software-is-broken column to get the clicks going.

Very click-baity headline.