Amazing new server tech pitch: What to do with it?

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Weeth

Gawd
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Sep 7, 2011
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Last night I got dragged along to a venture capital forum as a JAFO (Just Another F***ing Observer) and nearly fell asleep from the pitches for incredibly stupid stuff that no one would ever buy, let alone finance. Then this guy made this presentation that stopped me dead in my tracks. He has a concept (no prototype yet but it seems fairly straightforward) to create The 100% Unhackable Server. There is an NDA on everybody there last night so I'm really limited on what I can say, but I swear it's mind-blowing and completely original. This guy might have a multi-billion dollar idea here. I'm drooling on how if I could help this guy make a deal I could get rich on even 1/10th of 1% of it as a finders fee. But... where do I start? This guy needs high level techys to verify the concept, etc. HELP! :D
 
The 100% Unhackable Server? That is the one in the corner, powered off and unplugged.

edit: well i guess that isnt even unhackable. someone could steal it.
 
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tricky0502 said:
The 100% Unhackable Server? That is the one in the corner, powered off and unplugged.
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Pretty much.

Is there such a thing as "unhackable" now?. Once you build it, someone will break/mod/enhance it.... It's just a matter of when.
 
Guys, it's unhackable. No crap. You can't hack what's not ON! :) PM me and I'll spill as many beans as I think I can get away with.
 
sethmo said:
Move to GenMay ... What is said in GenMay, stays in GenMay :p
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Yeah, and it stays on the forum as well so that some nosy lawyer can dig it up and stick that NDA I signed up my ass so far that it will tickle my tonsils! :D PM and I'll violate it as far as I dare! :)
 
Sounds like a bad marketing plan, probably wrapped in dubious technical application of well known techniques and concepts that the uninformed masses find "bleeding edge".

But that's just the cynic in me talking.

I'm sure it's brilliant and will revolutionize the world while making all security experts obsolete. Like the "unpickable lock", "inescapable prison" and of course, "unsinkable ship" before it, this will usher in a new age.
 
Innocence said:
Sounds like a bad marketing plan, probably wrapped in dubious technical application of well known techniques and concepts that the uninformed masses find "bleeding edge".

But that's just the cynic in me talking.

I'm sure it's brilliant and will revolutionize the world while making all security experts obsolete. Like the "unpickable lock", "inescapable prison" and of course, "unsinkable ship" before it, this will usher in a new age.
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Dude, I am the ultimate skeptic. Be cynical all you want but if you don't find out what it's about through PM you're talking out of your hat! This is so far out in left field that it's either genius or lunacy! :)
 
For major installations, if your server is getting hacked, you failed somewhere else upstream, too.
 
You can have un-hackable servers, they are just tougher to manage. OS images running out of Secure ROM with physical access needed to make changes. As soon as you make one part of IT 'un-hackable' focus is just shifted to easier prey. Witness Windows 7- I'm not saying it's un-hackable, but security is pretty good and focus has shifted to web players and some ingenious social exploits.
 
Unhackable, huh? Is it going to lock the doors to the server room by itself? Does it use DNA matching to identify that the person logging in is really who they say they are? Does it have hard drives that will automatically self-destruct if removed? Will it prevent a lazy IT person from granting full privileges to the guy in Sales who likes to stick his password on his monitor? Does it automatically know to disable an admin account after the person quits?
 
maw said:
Unhackable, huh? Is it going to lock the doors to the server room by itself? Does it use DNA matching to identify that the person logging in is really who they say they are? Does it have hard drives that will automatically self-destruct if removed? Will it prevent a lazy IT person from granting full privileges to the guy in Sales who likes to stick his password on his monitor? Does it automatically know to disable an admin account after the person quits?
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Better than that, dude. The only way to get at the data is at the point of a gun. If you're that desperate for bytes, I wouldn't take a bullet for the data, that's for damn sure! :D
 
Weeth said:
Better than that, dude. The only way to get at the data is at the point of a gun. If you're that desperate for bytes, I wouldn't take a bullet for the data, that's for damn sure! :D
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So, every time I need to access this server I risk getting shot? Brilliant! This is guaranteed to make billions. For sure. :rolleyes:
 
Sounds dumb to me, if you want a secure server, it would be for a private network or NAS or something to the affect where two servers would be in place, alternative uptime and downtime IMO would be best.
 
Nothing is unhackable. Period. There will always be a way to gain access to the data.

Just as an example, Apple has claimed that the last few iPhones have been unhackable, and they were jailbroken within weeks of release. Words are cheap.
 
Ask for PM details and thee shall receive. Of all the people who got the details nobody's shot it down yet. No point speculating about something you know nothing about! :)
 
Weeth said:
Ask for PM details and thee shall receive. Of all the people who got the details nobody's shot it down yet. No point speculating about something you know nothing about! :)
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sure, why not.
PM me with whatever info you can.
 
:confused:unhackable you say?
I say the internet has a nasty way of provng that wrong. rememberwhen microsoft claimed you wouldn't get a pirate cpy of windows XP due to the activation. 3 weeks before public release.

But PM me some info. very curious on this one!
 
SpaceHonkey said:
And then post it up here since you're not under an NDA.
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But that would violate the [H] code where we warriors at the cutting edge of the high tech field have sworn upon our holy honors to support and uphold the ethics and standards of the sacred [H] shield which is recognized across the galaxy as the ultimate symbol of the last remaining refuge of silicon sanity! :D

Yeah... maybe somebody will! :p
 
Not going to post the PM or my response, but all I have to say is that it is one of those ideas that sounds good on paper, but will end up A) requiring a complete rework of how certain internet systems connect to each other (which will require a predictable "random" pattern, thus opening up other security holes). B) Being an absolute nightmare for systems administrators.

The only real server that is unhackable is the one unplugged and bolted to the ground.
 
C7J0yc3 said:
Not going to post the PM or my response, but all I have to say is that it is one of those ideas that sounds good on paper, but will end up A) requiring a complete rework of how certain internet systems connect to each other (which will require a predictable "random" pattern, thus opening up other security holes). B) Being an absolute nightmare for systems administrators.

The only real server that is unhackable is the one unplugged and bolted to the ground.
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Valid opinion but keep in mind that the system as it currently exists is specifically engineered for email servers but I can certainly see the greater breadth of applications, although yes I will agree that the greater application would require some rejigging of how some systems interact. I'm not looking past the email server aspect as with the huge companies like Aweber and Constant Contact there is more than enough money for me to "dip my beak in". I'm not trying to disguise the fact that I'm a mercenary! I'll do anything for cash! :D
 
FYI: Just got off the phone with the server dude, and he said he is more than happy to cough up a finder's fee for VC cash. I am just as happy to split it with anyone who can help make it happen! See, not only can you enjoy the unparalleled advantages of being an [H] forum participant but you can pay off your mortgage too! (Knock on wood...) :)
 
Just an FYI, [H] is probaably the wrong place to make a pitch for VC money.
 
Why do I feel like I just feel into a wormhole and ended up back in 1998?
 
Guys, I'm trying to find some technical opinions which are more educated and informed than mine as to the validity of this concept and if that can be weaseled into helping this guy make a connection with $ then I get some and split it with whoever has helped. So I'm not pitching for VC money as the only thing I have to offer to a VC is that they invest in my dirty diaper collection which grows daily. :) So: NO PITCHES HERE. If there is a way to make a connection with someone who is high-techy enough to see the validity of the concept and if it leads somewhere and if I can make it worth the originator's while in a way that is measured in cash, then I am willing to split the windfall with whoever has helped, whether it be ten bucks or a lot more. That's it.
 
Weeth said:
Valid opinion but keep in mind that the system as it currently exists is specifically engineered for email servers but I can certainly see the greater breadth of applications, although yes I will agree that the greater application would require some rejigging of how some systems interact.
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I think you missed the part of my PM explaining the basics of how SMTP and DNS work with one another thus requiring a total rebuild of how servers talk to each other. Unless you were to forward to a single SMTP smart host that then delivers from there, but again you run into the same issue of a predictable pattern. That's the problem with RFCs they are open and universal, and thus they can become insecure.

I'm not looking past the email server aspect as with the huge companies like Aweber and Constant Contact there is more than enough money for me to "dip my beak in". I'm not trying to disguise the fact that I'm a mercenary! I'll do anything for cash! :D
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Check my reply to your PM and understand why it will not work in a large mail organization because of the physical access required.
 
I can only see this being cost-effective for data that rarely needs read, and even then relatively little data being read.

Otherwise it's just not cost effective, considering it needs to be manned in one way shape or form. Since automating it would, obviously, defeat the purpose since the automation system could get hacked.
 
Here is what I'm seeing (and I may be wrong) is the answer to both C7J0yc3's and j-sta's questions about this system. Let's look at Epsilon exclusively. In April they got taken to the cleaners and hundreds of their clients got sucked dry. So how does this work for them? They have thousands of email customers who send out a newsletter, say, once a week. Each corporate customer has (again e.g.) half a million customers on their email list. So all of this info for each corporate customer readily fits on 1 NAND. Each gets read once a week (naturally not at exactly the same time of day, etc.). The mail merge happens within the datacenter. The data that leaves the datacenter is in individual email form, not the whole list in one bulk chunk. Sure, any email can be intercepted by the bad guys, but that's a risk that you take every time you click Send. The criminals are after the whole list and there is no way (that I can see at least) that they can grab that. As for cost effectiveness, as I said before, Epsilon alone has a $100+ million dollar hole in their bank account for not having this system. How long would it take them to amortize this system? Weeks if that! :)
 
Weeth said:
Here is what I'm seeing (and I may be wrong) is the answer to both C7J0yc3's and j-sta's questions about this system. Let's look at Epsilon exclusively. In April they got taken to the cleaners and hundreds of their clients got sucked dry. So how does this work for them? They have thousands of email customers who send out a newsletter, say, once a week. Each corporate customer has (again e.g.) half a million customers on their email list. So all of this info for each corporate customer readily fits on 1 NAND. Each gets read once a week (naturally not at exactly the same time of day, etc.). The mail merge happens within the datacenter. The data that leaves the datacenter is in individual email form, not the whole list in one bulk chunk. Sure, any email can be intercepted by the bad guys, but that's a risk that you take every time you click Send. The criminals are after the whole list and there is no way (that I can see at least) that they can grab that. As for cost effectiveness, as I said before, Epsilon alone has a $100+ million dollar hole in their bank account for not having this system. How long would it take them to amortize this system? Weeks if that! :)
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that's exactly why I said it would be okay for relatively small amounts of data that is not accessed daily.

beyond that, it would not at all be cost effective; especially if a single "set" of data was across numerous NAND

Not to mention the much higher probability that data can get overwritten, due to human-error. That alone could completely offset the "savings"

and then, where's the FAT? a piece of paper, computer, etc?
What happens if that data gets lost? You're boned since you wouldn't know what's where.
 
Here's my opinion of unhackable -

Ever heard of perpetual energy? It is a concept that flat out violates the the first law of thermodynamics - somehow creating energy where none existed.

If you are clever enough to come up with something "unhackable", some one else is clever enough to hack it.

Really difficult to hack - sure. Unhackable - won't ever happen - period. Save your $$$ for an education, unhackable is unpossible.
 
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