Gregory Bergman wrote in his 2008 book "BizzWords" that the devices were "essentially homemade Lite-Brites". Bergman concluded: "That this occurred in Boston, home to Harvard, MIT, and other famous schools of learning, is embarrassing." Computer security expert Bruce Schneier wrote in his 2009 book "Schneier on Security" that Boston officials were "ridiculed" for their overreaction to the incident. Schneier wrote, "Almost no one looked beyond the finger pointing and jeering to discuss exactly why the Boston authorities overreacted so badly. They overreacted because the signs were weird." Schneier characterized this as a form of "Cover Your Ass" security.