Why It’s All Snake Oil – And That May Be OK

Explore the intricacies of security product claims in this 10-minute conference talk from BSidesSF 2016. Delve into the history of exploitation and computer science theorems to gain insights on evaluating security vendors' promises. Learn to distinguish between genuine solutions and potential "snake oil" by understanding key concepts like automata, the Turing machine, and the halting problem. Discover how to ask critical questions to determine if a vendor's assumptions align with your organization's needs. Gain valuable knowledge to engage in honest conversations about security products and their real-world capabilities, ultimately improving your decision-making process when considering new security solutions.