Ok this is my first rant on this blog. Bear with me and if you don't agree with me I'd love to hear why.

The definition of the term "Generalization" is as follows:

gen-er-al-i-za-tion Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[jen-er-uh-luh-zey-shuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
.noun
1. the act or process of generalizing.
2. a result of this process; a general statement, idea, or principle.
3. Logic.
a. a proposition asserting something to be true either of all members of a certain class or of an indefinite part of that class.
b. the process of obtaining such propositions.

As I get older it really has begun to strike me when people speak in generalizations regarding the security of some product/process/etc. Recently I was listening to someone speak and they said something to the effect of "Foo technology is horribly insecure. It is one of the most insecure technologies in use in XYZ industry today." This comment troubled me. There is no way for this person to back up these statements nor did they present any reasonable evidence as to exactly how this technology was broken. It was said off the cuff and generally in passing. As far as I'm aware this person has very limited knowledge at all about this particular technology (although *I* could be wrong about this).

Normally this wouldn't have bothered me, but as I get older I find that the majority of times I hear these types of comments they are either not entirely true or completely unfounded and continue to spread someones opinions based on the whims and most likely limited knowledge of the person speaking.

Am I getting old and grumpy? Is it a function of me understanding more things than I have in the past and having a tendency to want to call people out on things? Or is it just general bad practice that I have finally come to realize? No matter what it is I'm going to be making a concerted effort not to speak in generalizations any time in the future when it comes to security related topics.

I'm sure I'll flub up and speak in a general sense on my very next post here on Donkey On A Waffle. When I do, don't be afraid to call me out and make me back up my FUD.