![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
One whoosh of a day...
Feb. 19th, 2014 11:31 pmToday was one of those days where the inbox was piled high with incoming jobs by the time I crawled out of the rack, and the deadlines were basically "ASAP" all the way around.
Accordingly, the morning was not much fun, but by the time I stopped for the day, all of the jobs were out the wire. The only problem at this point is, I'm not really sure when I stopped for the day.
I'm pretty sure it was before 6 pm local time, but don't hold me to it. :^)
In other news, I've had more time to think about authentication (and its cousin, encryption) in today's world as it applies to translation, but I'm not entirely sure I've been rigorous enough in my analysis. One thing remains clear, however: If it was merely very, very hard to get people interested in these subjects two decades ago, it's only become much harder since.
A case in point is the reaction I've gotten in the past in response to my providing potential clients (two of them) with my public key because their nondisclosure agreements called for me to undertake draconian measures to protect their data while it was in my possession. (In one case, this consisted in keeping the data files on removable media, which was to be locked in a safe when I was not actually working on the assignment, and granting the company to right to audit my compliance with this requirement with no prior notification and with no compensation offered in exchange for disrupting my work schedule.)
As it turned out, these potential clients had no idea that email (and associated attachments) pass through the Internet unencrypted and can be intercepted by anyone with a modicum of determination. But upon learning the facts, neither client felt the "cleartext" nature of email represented a credible threat of unauthorized disclosure (at least, as compared to my possession of their data), which is why I've never worked for either company.
To be frank, had the company requiring the safe and unannounced audits accepted the use of my public key, I would've found some other reason not to work for them. Clients like that are bound to have other, even worse habits.
Cheers...
Accordingly, the morning was not much fun, but by the time I stopped for the day, all of the jobs were out the wire. The only problem at this point is, I'm not really sure when I stopped for the day.
I'm pretty sure it was before 6 pm local time, but don't hold me to it. :^)
In other news, I've had more time to think about authentication (and its cousin, encryption) in today's world as it applies to translation, but I'm not entirely sure I've been rigorous enough in my analysis. One thing remains clear, however: If it was merely very, very hard to get people interested in these subjects two decades ago, it's only become much harder since.
A case in point is the reaction I've gotten in the past in response to my providing potential clients (two of them) with my public key because their nondisclosure agreements called for me to undertake draconian measures to protect their data while it was in my possession. (In one case, this consisted in keeping the data files on removable media, which was to be locked in a safe when I was not actually working on the assignment, and granting the company to right to audit my compliance with this requirement with no prior notification and with no compensation offered in exchange for disrupting my work schedule.)
As it turned out, these potential clients had no idea that email (and associated attachments) pass through the Internet unencrypted and can be intercepted by anyone with a modicum of determination. But upon learning the facts, neither client felt the "cleartext" nature of email represented a credible threat of unauthorized disclosure (at least, as compared to my possession of their data), which is why I've never worked for either company.
To be frank, had the company requiring the safe and unannounced audits accepted the use of my public key, I would've found some other reason not to work for them. Clients like that are bound to have other, even worse habits.
Cheers...
