From The Security Theater … Meet The Hygiene Theater

From The Security Theater … To The Hygiene Theater

Well, our world has been turned upside down. But what has a cybersecurity paradigm to do with COVID-19? Well, the core principle comes from Bruce Schneier in his Beyond Fear book. In the book, he outlined the “security theatre”, and where the events around 9/11 led to the banning of things such as nail scissors and cigarette lighters. For this, he proposed that the measures were useless, but helped reassure passengers that the airlines were enhancing their security. The cost of this enhanced security, though, has been more than $100 billion.

For COVID-19, Bruce outlines that we are now in a hygiene theatre, and it is one that is based on bad risk analysis. For the pandemic, the usage of hand gel is probably more to do with the public’s perception of the danger, as it is the airborne particles that we should be most worried about. A simple step of opening windows in a pub probably does much more than all guests using hand gel. In fact, the chance of getting COVID-19 from an infected surface is less than 1 in 10,000. In the end, along with opening windows and getting out into open spaces, it is the mighty face mask that is the true savour.

If you want to read more, and about the wasteful nature of those single-use plastics and antibacterial wipes, read on: