Week 4

Well, being a wannabe politician, lots of things interest me. But there are some things that royally honk me off. In a news story Bumper Crop: Cyber Security Legislation, I found out there are more laws to be passed that may infringe on our privacy. In the article it states, 

 “The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act would create a cyber security exception to all privacy laws and allow companies to share the private and personal data they hold on their American customers with the government for cyber security purposes,” a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says. The bill, the group points out, would not limit the companies to sharing only technical, non-personal data."

You know, I'm not a fan of the ACLU, but I have to agree with them here. What bothers me about this whole cyber security legislation though is the fact that, how do you create laws in a part of the world you do not possess or own?? Martin C. Libicki said in his book "Conquest in Cyberspace,"

 "This work is not entitled not "The Conquest of Cyberspace" but "Conquest in Cyberspace for a reason... Emphasizing "in"...reflects that while something akin to conquest can be defined for cyberspace, cyberspace itself cannot be conquered in any conventional sense." Cyberspace can be replicated, be in several places at once, it is built.

Do we need to catch those disgusting perverts that sell child pornography on the Internet? YES! But do not create laws that infringe on my privacy or liberty...Ok...off my soapbox...for now

Finally, I found this article: Japan's Plan for 'Good Computer Virus' Sparks Debate. 

"The words “good” and “virus” may look funny stuck together in a headline, but the words have become a popular way to describe plans by the Japanese government to use a program designed to attack the attackers."

WHAT!? Wait a second! I know what I'll do! I'll go to a thief's house and steal from him before he steals from me first! HA! *facepalm* It would not be long before a virus like this would be turned around for malicious intent...oh wait! It already has! The article points out, 

"the Morris worm was not written to cause damage, he noted. Yet it ended up causing a massive disruption of the Internet in 1988."

You know, for the most part, most computer users are fully aware of the risks they take when they get online. Not all of them may know how to secure their computers, but they do know risks are out there and are willing to accept those risks when they sign up for service with an ISP. Much like a person getting out and getting behind the wheel of a car to go to work. You can only do so much, but inevitably, you will run into that moron who dropped his taco in his lap or is drunk or texting on their cell phone and no matter how much you try to avoid an accident, there are just some things you can't prevent. I witnessed an accident the other day. Someone wasn't paying attention, ran a red light to turn left and was hit by oncoming traffic with the green light. Does this mean we need cars out there that will prevent car accidents? Or get rid of cars all together?

Just keep the security software updated folks and make sure your customers are up to date on the latest attack. We don't need to complicate things any further. Really, we don't.