IP: more on "cyber-corps" of network defenders -- A CHEAPER, SAFER WAY!!

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1999 12:24:21 -0800
To: farber () cis upenn edu
From: Jim Warren <jwarren () well com>


> CLINTON PROPOSES $1.4 BILLION FOR COMPUTER SECURITY
> ... Clinton administration is proposing that $1.464 billion be spent on
> "critical infrastructure protection and computer security," ...
> about $3 million would go toward new computer science scholarships ...

Three observations:

1.  Basically, that says 99.8% is pork for Beltway hustlers and 00.2% is
for scholorships.

2.  Of course, the cheap and *effective* way to create bullet-proof
information protection and computer security would be to facilitate
*automatic*, uncrackable encryption of every computer file and every
Internet message.  With everything scrambled, there would be little
incentive to crack the systems.  But with everything scrambled, then the
*government* couldn't snoop and peep -- and that power is obviously much
more important to the administration than corporate security or personal
privacy.  And anyway, if dispursed crypto was used, then the tax loot
couldn't be easily bogarted by the Beltway Bandits.

3.  Wonder how much of our taxes will be to finish making our nation
wiretap-ready?  You may recall that on the last night that the Democrats
controlled Congress, they authorized $500,000,000.00 to bribe the phone
companies to implement undetectable evesdropping from-anywhere
at-a-keystroke, "pursuant to a court order or other lawful authorization"
for use by all local, state and national agencies (and also by everyone who
can crack our notoriously insecure phone system).  The Clinton admin has
managed to spend $100,000,000.00 to thus demolish our privacy, and still
ardently desires to waste the remaining $400,000,000.00.

--jim-the-cynic; jwarren () well com
Jim Warren, Contributing Editor & columnist, MicroTimes Magazine
Also GovAccess list-owner/editor