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IP: Living Riskier Electronically
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 08:18:59 -0400
NO SAFETY NET Living Riskier Electronically By AMY HARMON CONSIDER the recent string of electronic events: A virus that becomes known as the love bug causes nearly $1 billion worth of damages as it ravages computer systems across the world. The Office of National Drug Control Policy admits that it may have violated federal privacy guidelines by implanting software on the computers of its Web site visitors that tracks their travels across the Internet. Hackers seize control of Nike's corporate Web site to announce that "global justice is coming -- prepare now." <snip> "The Net's going to go fumbling along until there's a massive intrusion," said Dave Farber, an Internet pioneer and chief technologist for the Federal Communications Commission. "Then everything will hit the fan. Congress is going to go ballistic, and we're going to panic our way into doing something." He added, without much hope, "It would be much nicer to start talking about it now." The technological roots of the Internet's vulnerability are well known. Conceived by the Defense Department as a decentralized communications system that would continue to function even if chunks of it were destroyed, the Internet is by its nature open and interconnected. "The Internet was built in an age when we all knew each other, we all trusted each other, we were talking about where to have dinner and what silver futures to buy," said Mr. Farber, speaking of the scientists who built it. "Now we've moved it into an environment where the country counts on it. And it's very hard to retrofit security." <snip> http://www.nytimes.com/library/review/062500elec-signature-review.html
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- IP: Living Riskier Electronically Dave Farber (Jun 25)