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International Conference on Cryptology in Africa

AFRICACRYPT 2008: Progress in Cryptology – AFRICACRYPT 2008 pp 50–79Cite as

The Psychology of Security

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNSC,volume 5023))

Abstract

Security is both a feeling and a reality. And they’re not the same.

The reality of security is mathematical, based on the probability of different risks and the effectiveness of different countermeasures. We can calculate how secure your home is from burglary, based on such factors as the crime rate in the neighborhood you live in and your door-locking habits. We can calculate how likely it is for you to be murdered, either on the streets by a stranger or in your home by a family member. Or how likely you are to be the victim of identity theft. Given a large enough set of statistics on criminal acts, it’s not even hard; insurance companies do it all the time.

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  1. BT Counterpane, 1600 Memorex Drive, Suite 200, Santa Clara, CA 95050,  

    Bruce Schneier

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  1. Bruce Schneier
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Serge Vaudenay

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Schneier, B. (2008). The Psychology of Security. In: Vaudenay, S. (eds) Progress in Cryptology – AFRICACRYPT 2008. AFRICACRYPT 2008. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5023. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68164-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68164-9_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-68159-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68164-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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