We've known for a long time that information is a commodity. We now face the real existence that more and more of our lives are spent 'on-line' in some fashion or another. Even when shopping or vacationing, we are being tracked, logged, evaluated, and assessed (how long have places like las vegas tracked visitors and their spending habits, and what about the tracking databases of companies that have been in the data collection business perhaps the longest; those mail order folks), how many times are you 'required' to submit your social security number, employee number or some other identification in applying for access and or goods and services such as personal entertainment, work, medical/dental services, paying assorted local and federal taxes and license fees, etc... The point is, we exist in information bases all over the place, and have for alot longer then it took for folks to suddenly take alarm. Warnings existed for a along time on the net about various 'potential' weaknesses in the popular protocols. Even Tsutmu Shimomura ignored known, at that time 'potential' threats in the security of the systems under his control when poor ole Kevin Mitnick was running rampant about collecting information that threatened e-commerce at it's first initiation, the publicizing of the internet, forever known now as the time that the BBS's world became the basis for the fiefdoms of local and even then, national ISP's. Point here being; no one takes a 'potential' threat all that seriously, until it's abused and made a 'real' time threat. Even though we tend to learn early on, that others might not protect or regard what is ours as safely as we ourselves do, we tend to be trusting, trying to close the holes that allow a potential for available information to be abused (i.e. Hatch, local telemarketer reach settlement http://www.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisSlug=DAMA04&date=04-Dec-1999&word=damark), always one step behind those exploiting newfound weaknesses to abuse on the systems in use. The need has always pushed development to precede caution and an evaluation of security in implementation. This has been true in business, whence we find ourselves faced with a soft chewy center and forcing an attempt to secure the perimeter boarder entry points. So is it now (Microchips, megachange http://www.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisSlug=chip05) as we progress from wanting and needing easy access to our virtual offices from home and we now start wanting easy access to our homes from within and out. The future is here, and the gates are being once again, left open. This will likely continue, until perhaps some kids find the access codes from some architect or builder father, and in playing with access holes and buffer overflows, burns down a housing complex or something similar. We're trusting, often up until the point that the threat becomes something more then potential... So, perhaps security folks will, if they are not already, finding a place in the ranks of the home security market already in place. And if the focus of 'smart homes' continues it's growth cycle, even contractors and builders and architects will be brining in consultants to secure the perimeter. Smart HW card makers of the future might find themselves forced to look not just first at implementing the easy point and click functions into their devices, but, also security, same for the chip manufacturers themselves. These two areas my find growth in areas such as experts who track not only the functionability of the chips and cards being produced for service for the security measures built into some and not defined in others, another area that I'm sure is already seeing a focus. Any way, I think security folks should perhaps be seeing expanding markets where the primary customers are not big and middle level businesses, but more tending towards home end users and the like. Thanks, Ron DuFresne -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the business of hate, debauchery, and self-annihilation." -- Johnny Hart ***testing, only testing, and damn good at it too!*** OK, so you're a Ph.D. Just don't touch anything. - [To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe firewalls" in the body of the message.]
