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Model Context Protocols (MCP, see my post on their security) are the new glue between humans, chatbots, and old school IT. Here is the step by step approach that I followed to ‘vibe code’ a Model Context Protocol server for my CRM and mailing list manager. I journaled this description, so I have included most of the detours and false starts. For readability, I edited the description later, but the flow is as I went through it. ...
If you are in security and not fully on top of AI risk, you want to look at MCP now, as this is going to be popular and risky. Reach out to your development teams and beyond to offer your help in using them wisely, even if you know nothing about them yet. MCP, Model Context Protocol, was introduced in November 2024 as a standardised way to feed AI chatbots with extra information. You can extend Claude or OpenAI desktop with MCP servers, which are basically small programs that run on the desktop and have access to all information and services that the user has. ...
How does vibe coding work in the real? Vibe coding is having AI write your software. Coined by Andrej Karpathy, the hype is all over the map, with companies that are rethinking their hiring strategies for programmers. Sounds like disaster for software engineers and programmers. Not so fast. Curious to learn more about it, I reached out to an old friend who is an experienced software engineer. He was a co-founder in a SaaS company in the monitoring space. After a successful exit he now has a bit more time to pursue hobbies. But he is still professionally busy. ...
Het nationale sentiment is negatief over de afhankelijkheid van ‘big tech’. Overheidsdata staat in een Amerikaanse cloud, we hebben geen eigen sociaal netwerk, enzovoort. En vergelijkbare sentimenten spelen bij andere organisaties. Terecht wordt daarom nu op overheidsniveau een initiatief in gang gezet om wat aan die afhankelijkheid te doen. Dit initiatief staat ook bekend als Cloud Kootwijk. Maar met een motie in de Kamer zijn we er nog niet. Emoties zijn vaak een goede indicator, maar geen goede inhoudelijke analyse. Ze leiden daarom nog wel eens tot beslissingen die onhandig, of zelfs contraproductief uitpakken. Hier legt de emotie wantrouwen bloot, maar waar die zich op richt moet een analyse uitwijzen. ...
Five elements of cloud security Historically, IT security started with infrastructure security. Just protecting the data center was good enough. But that was before we had data communications. When data started to escape the confines of the data center we needed to protect it. Typically through encryption. Hence we need data security. As the world wide web developed, we saw applications being exposed to it, and frankly, be vulnerable. So that is when application security started to become more important. ...
How cool would it be to let an AI do some of the grunt work in analyzing the risk of applications and services. This has the potential to speed up the work of risk assessors. But, does it work in practice? Well, here is an example of AI-assisted risk classification. I downloaded some of the entries in the Dutch algorithm register, which is a public register of systems that use algorithms. For each entry about 30 fields are available, including name, classification, owner, et cetera. Some of the systems in the registry are AI-based. Indeed, we have AI to help check on AI… ...
Who is really doing Zero Trust? Well, the US Air Force is. Here is my summary, with some comments, of their strategy document for the benefit of my Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) learners. In fact, this is an edited version of a conversation we had during one of our classes. You can download the full strategy here, and the current roadmap here, all linked from this page. I think the fundamental first important point about the strategy document is that it exists at all. There is an actual organization of significant size that has a strategy and is implementing it. Many can learn from this. ...
Here is the draft design of the graphic novel version of this book, which may or may not happen..
Building Our Own Cloud Kootwijk: Rethinking Digital Sovereignty In the Netherlands, we are currently engaged in a heated debate about the undesirable dominance of big tech, particularly over a significant portion of the digital infrastructure of the Dutch government. This includes email, file storage, and many other forms of digital storage and processing—most of which are handled by American big tech companies. I am sure a similar debate is going on in many other countries. ...
A while back, I introduced my take on deployment diagrams for cloud and devops infrastructure. Some of the big points there are: it starts with intuitive drawings. Many people draw these things in similar ways, even without them having formal training. In fact, formal training in architecture diagrams will not necessarily make those drawings easier to understand for the uninitiated. But still. There are good drawings and there are drawings that can be improved. My other big point is that deployment diagrams can be a great tool for security analysis. I am in some conversations with friends at banks who use them. Recently I ran into the following example. Here is an explanation of the difference between VPC and security groups. Great story, but I have some comments on the diagram, which used to come from AWS itself, by the way, but has been removed. ...