The Case of Secure By Design

It was another Monday morning. The sign on the door said Private Investigator.

But the sign below that said closed and I was saying yes to a third cup of coffee.

It was hot, but left a bad aftertaste, like a vendor pitching AI to solve secure code.

My partner was out of town looking into a criminal trespass. But that case was like a bad API – all swagger and no authorization –

When there was a knock at the door.

“You’ve got some debts to pay,” grumbled a bulky silhouette. “And I know you’re in there.”

I looked at the door. The sign was still turned to closed and the bolt was still turned to locked.

I knew secure by default when I saw it.

They knocked again.

“Last warning,” they said, long on vowels, but short on patience.

Then before I could respond, a crowbar came through the door’s glass panel, held by a fist that looked ready for a conversation of its own.

And that’s how I learned about secure by design.

I revisited the noir style this week after having a lot of fun with it in episode 250.


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