I had a conversation with a friend of mine recently about the physical protection of his home.  I have a bit of a reputation as a gun enthusiast that is somewhat earned.  What surprised my friend and got him to urge me to post this entry is that my advice was a surprise to him and something he admits he had never heard before from anyone.

The issue wasn’t computer or even company security, but security at home.  How do I protect my family in a world where convicts escape, kids kill and home invasion is a common occurence?  I do have weapons including an AK47, but they are not ready at a moments notice.  I have kids so I have bolts out and disassembled, ammo stored away from the weapons and trigger locks (in the case of the AK there is a cable locked through the barrel).  I can’t just run and grab one of these weapons for the defense of my home and that works since that isn’t my plan.  We have 3 dogs who average about 70 pounds each and should they alert me to a problem I am most likely to grab my paintball gun or a wooden sword to join the fray.  If I confront an intruder in my house with a paintball gun then there are several advantages.  I won’t be having rounds going through walls and hurting my family or pets, I won’t be causing a fire or water damage with paintballs, but if I put 20 rounds into someone at close range they will be down.  Anyone who has played paintball knows what I mean, especially if they have been hit from 10 feet or less (not recommended).  I live in NH which means that I am unlikely to be prosecuted should I kill someone invading my home, but why make killing the person a goal?  I view it as impossible for a court to convict someone if they choose an obviously non-lethal weapon especially when given more deadly alternatives.

I know this seems to be off the topic of security as it relates to technology, but if you have been reading my posts you know that I don’t see a distinction in most cases.  Security is security.  I would welcome your comments on how this concept (well recieved by all I have discussed it with) might apply to technical security.  I will reserve my analogies for now.