This is HN. We understood exactly what “exposed … confidential files” meant before reading your overly dramatic scenario. As overdone as it is, it’s not even realistic. A likely single mother is likely tiny potatoes in comparison to deep-pocketed legal firms or large corporations.
The story is an example of the market self-correcting, but out comes this “building code” hobby horse anyway. All a software “building code” will do is ossify certain current practices, not even necessarily the best ones. It will tilt the playing field in favor of large existing players and to the disadvantage of innovative startups.
The model fails to apply in multiple ways. Building physical buildings is a much simpler, much less complex process with many fewer degrees of freedom than building software. Local city workers inspecting by the local municipality’s code at least has clear jurisdiction because of where the physical fixed location is. Who will write the “building code”? Who will be the inspectors?
This is HN. Of all places, I’d expect to see this presented as an opportunity for new startups, not calls for slovenly bureaucracy and more coercion. The private market is perfectly capable of performing this function. E&O and professional liability insurers if they don’t already will be soon motivated after seeing lawsuits to demand regular pentests.
The reported incident is a great reminder of caveat emptor.
> Building physical buildings is a much simpler, much less complex process with many fewer degrees of freedom than building software.
I don't...think this is true? Google has no problems shipping complex software projects, their London HQ is years behind schedule and vastly over budget.
Construction is really complex. These can be mega-projects with tens of thousands of people involved, where the consequences of failure are injury or even death. When software failure does have those consequences - things like aviation control software, or medical device firmware - engineers are held to a considerably higher standard.
> The private market is perfectly capable of performing this function
But it's totally not! There are so many examples in the construction space of private markets being wholly unable to perform quality control because there are financial incentives not to.
The reason building codes exist and are enforced by municipalities is because the private market is incapable of doing so.
The story is an example of the market self-correcting, but out comes this “building code” hobby horse anyway. All a software “building code” will do is ossify certain current practices, not even necessarily the best ones. It will tilt the playing field in favor of large existing players and to the disadvantage of innovative startups.
The model fails to apply in multiple ways. Building physical buildings is a much simpler, much less complex process with many fewer degrees of freedom than building software. Local city workers inspecting by the local municipality’s code at least has clear jurisdiction because of where the physical fixed location is. Who will write the “building code”? Who will be the inspectors?
This is HN. Of all places, I’d expect to see this presented as an opportunity for new startups, not calls for slovenly bureaucracy and more coercion. The private market is perfectly capable of performing this function. E&O and professional liability insurers if they don’t already will be soon motivated after seeing lawsuits to demand regular pentests.
The reported incident is a great reminder of caveat emptor.