Most people (including myself) considered piracy to be a problem of previous ages until the capture of a US flagged ship a few days ago. As the media finally got around to researching the problems we learned that crews are unarmed for a myriad of reasons. Evidently the simplest solution is not always the most politically palatable, so we begin an interesting process. We look into finding "High-Tech" solutions to the problem.

The coolest solution so far looks to be the Mobility Denial System which is just a foam that can be sprayed basically anywhere causing a total loss of traction -- I would think of it as portable teflon. The least interesting in my opinion is the Force 80 Water Cannon. It just conjures images like this up to me:

Yep, NOT a pirate repellent to be feared. I'm sure it's effective enough, but if you're going to the trouble of shooting them with something, why not use something with more of a guarantee? These new ideas for fighting piracy to bring up an interesting point: will this lead to an ever escalating "arms-race" of sorts? Crews will implement bigger and better defences while pirates overcome and continue their business?

The strangest solution: the LRAD - Long Range Acoustic Device. Hopefully John Galt will be operating it.

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Well, we certainly can't say we didn't see it coming.  This relates pretty directly to my earlier post on the Cybersecurity act currently making the rounds in Congress.  The WSJ article on the electrical grid hacks connects these as well.  While I have no doubt that hackers would certainly like to target our infrastructure, this is strange timing.

The most interesting piece of the article in my mind is that the current network in the U.S. is actually 3 in 1, the East, the West, and Texas.  Looks like a great idea Texas has there, the grid should probably be divided into even more segments.  I wonder which portion of the grid appears to be the most vulnerable?

Another question I have about this...why in the world are these systems even connected directly to the internet?  What good could possibly come from that?  If something doesn't need full network access it should NOT receive it.

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There are some issues, but all is not horrible. Check out the pdf to bring yourself up to speed on what's coming.

Basically, Section 14 is potentially unconstitutional based on the 4th amendment. See the text beginning on page 38 of the document I've linked above:

(a) DESIGNATION.—The Department of Commerce
shall serve as the clearinghouse of cybersecurity threat
and vulnerability information to Federal government and
private sector owned critical infrastructure information
systems and networks.
(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary of Commerce—
(1) shall have access to all relevant data con-
cerning such networks without regard to any provi-
sion of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting
such access;

The emphasis above is mine. First of all, the government having unfettered access to private sector ANYTHING is highly problematic. Secondly, why on earth would they need access to the data concerning these networks? Access to any private data requires a warrant. Enough is enough with the OMGEMERGENCY policy.

I see where banks have taken TARP money from the government are now unable to get them out of the banks even by paying the money back. And now with the forced management change at GM, here is another timely piece:

SEC. 18. CYBERSECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHOR-
ITY.
The President—
(1) within 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, shall develop and implement a com-
prehensive national cybersecurity strategy, which
shall include—
(A) a long-term vision of the nation’s cy-
bersecurity future; and
(B) a plan that encompasses all aspects of
national security, including the participation of
the private sector, including critical infrastruc-
ture operators and managers;
(2) may declare a cybersecurity emergency and
order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic
to and from any compromised Federal government
or United States critical infrastructure information
system or network;
[snip]
(6) may order the disconnection of any Federal
government or United States critical infrastructure
information systems or networks in the interest of
national security;

I do not trust anyone in government with this level of power. At this point I wonder if this could even be enforced? Could the President order the disconnection of private networks if they are deemed "critical infrastructure?" What is the penalty if someone says "NO" or simply provides a way around these controls? We already know how well the DMCA has been working for our best interest...

Here's hoping there will be loads of negotiation over this and the bill will be corrected as it must be.

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This is how not to do tech gifts.

1) Don't give the Prime Minister DVD's (for the wrong region even)
2) Don't give an iPod to the Queen.

START DOING BETTER. Thanks!

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