There's a great article published at NetworkMagazine.com (
http://www.networkmagazine.com/article/NMG20020930S0016 ) which
describes the erosion of privacy in the name of patriotism.
Some excerpts :
As the name implies, cyber-terrorism is a virtual threat,
existing only in marketing and political rhetoric. While
respectable vendors have realized that savvy IT managers
won't fall for claims of al-Qaeda interest in enterprise
networks, others continue to prey on home users' ignorance
and fear to sell unnecessary security products. Our leaders
are using the same paranoia to crack down on legitimate
hacking, while legalizing intrusion by government agents
and corporate monopolies.
.... and on the Cyber Security Enhancement Act :
Maybe you're not concerned about this either. After all,
the IRS and the post office are supposed to have our best
interests at heart, and giving up some privacy may be
worthwhile if it makes us all safer. But the government
isn't the only entity now allowed to pry into your network;
carriers and their cronies can also do so, and they aren't
working in anyone's interest but their own.
... and then the gloves come off :
One irony of the New Public Network (NPN) bubble is that
even while analysts and trade magazines hyped the threat
of small-time black hats, we encouraged the outsourcing
of critical tasks to companies such as Enron, WorldCom, and
Qwest. With many telecom carriers now seemingly run by
big-time criminals, they are best relegated to basic voice
or packet transport. I'd rather entrust my data to Kevin
Mitnick than Kenneth Lay.
... and it finishes with this little gem :
In the extremely unlikely event that terrorists do break
into my network, I'll be happy that they've turned to playing
computer games instead of killing people.
--
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
