“Never ask a person what computer they use. If it’s a Mac, they’ll tell you. If it’s not, why embarrass them?” — Tom Clancy

Here is an interesting take on the Dean scream that was played by the media over 700 times the next day. It turns out that the footage we’ve been seeing on TV had his voice isolated, so the viewer hears the scream out of context. Turns out, had you been in the room, or had his voice not been processed through the isolator, you would have heard the background noise of the crowd that he was trying to talk above. An interesting insight into the impact of technology and the media on a 30 second snapshot in time.

Doc first brought this statement by the Judge in the Richard Reid case to my attention:

“There is all too much war talk here. And I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, where we deal with individuals as individuals, and care for individuals as individuals, as human beings we reach out for justice, you are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice. So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You’re no warrior. I know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders.”

While communication with Internet users about security is a great idea, it still does nothing to hold corporations and other organizations accountable for security negligence. I am not a big fan of the HS Threat Alert level, so I am not very likely to get excited about this one unless they clearly communicate what citizens can do to be part of the solution.

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to announce details of a cyberalert system on Wednesday, two days after a virus called MyDoom spread rapidly across the Internet. The system, which will be detailed by the department’s National Cyber Security Division, could mimic the color-coded scheme the government uses to warn citizens and alert law enforcement authorities of terrorism threats, a source familiar with some details of the plan said” Full Story

From Government Computer News - > “Cyberwarfare—a sustained digital attack on critical infrastructures—isn’t easy to wage, but there are indications that some groups might be preparing to try.

“We really haven’t seen an act of cyberterror,” Matthew G. Devost, president of the Terrorism Research Center of Burke, Va., said at a recent conference held by the Terrorism Research Center and the Washington Metro Transit Police. “It’s more difficult to execute than you have been led to believe.”

Terrorist groups, however, could be financing the education of computer science students to get the necessary expertise. “We’re starting to see an increase in sponsorships of degrees in computer science,” Devost said, although no students have been tied to particular organizations. ”
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The interesting thing is I don’t even remember doing this interview! Enjoy…

Matthew G. Devost: Ready the Defense

States should be working with private organizations and companies to ensure critical infrastructure and information technology are not vulnerable to cyber terrorism. By Steven Ferry, Government Technology, February 2002
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From athis Security Focus Article.

“Dave had some surprises up his sleeve as well. You’ll remember that I said he was using a ThinkPad (running Windows!). I asked him about that, and he told us that many of the computer security folks back at FBI HQ use Macs running OS X, since those machines can do just about anything: run software for Mac, Unix, or Windows, using either a GUI or the command line. And they’re secure out of the box. In the field, however, they don’t have as much money to spend, so they have to stretch their dollars by buying WinTel-based hardware. Are you listening, Apple? The FBI wants to buy your stuff. Talk to them!
Dave also had a great quotation for us: “If you’re a bad guy and you want to frustrate law enforcement, use a Mac.” Basically, police and government agencies know what to do with seized Windows machines. They can recover whatever information they want, with tools that they’ve used countless times. The same holds true, but to a lesser degree, for Unix-based machines. But Macs evidently stymie most law enforcement personnel. They just don’t know how to recover data on them. So what do they do? By and large, law enforcement personnel in American end up sending impounded Macs needing data recovery to the acknowledged North American Mac experts: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Evidently the Mounties have built up a knowledge and technique for Mac forensics that is second to none.”

I’ve been interested in the dynamics of social networks for some time at both a professional personal level. I’ve finally decided to test out one of the social network sites, namely Orkut as it was designed at Google and is invitation only. Thus far, with only two friends signed in, I am linked to over 5000 people. If you are interested in signing up, please email me and I’ll add you to my list.

At New York’s Kennedy airport today, an individual, later discovered to be a public school teacher, was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a setsquare, a slide rule, and a
calculator.

At a morning press conference, Attorney general John Ashcroft said he believes the man is a member of the notorious al-gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.