[talk] Suggest meeting topic: role of BSD in response to ransomware

[James E Keenan]

Here's a topic I wouldn't mind seeing discussed at a future NYCBUG meeting:

Is there a role for the BSDs in response to massive ransomware attacks?

In the last few months ransomware attacks such as WannaCry 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WannaCry_ransomware_attack) have had a 
devastating effect on large organizations.  Organizations affected 
include one of the largest law firms in the country and one of the 
world's largest advertising agency networks.  Such organizations are, 
typically, "Windows shops."

Suppose that you are a sysadmin or other, non-executive-level techie in 
such an organization.  You've heard about FreeBSD and OpenBSD and you 
wonder, "Would using these OSes have helped us either resist a 
ransomware attack?  Could they help us recover better from such an attack?"

I ask because I know such people.  Their organizations have decades of 
investment in Windows, so, under normal circumstances, it's difficult 
for them to argue the case for other OSes.  But these are not normal 
circumstances.  Is there an "elevator pitch" we could provide them for 
exploring BSD?

Thank you very much.
Jim Keenan