As expected, self-described "longtime security expert" Bruce Schneier has responded to the recently published Microsoft internal memo outlining Bill Gates' new-found motivation for security.

I think some of what he asks for is over the top, but it provides something to gauge their actual efforts against.

"Making security Microsoft's first priority will require a basic redesign of the way the company produces and markets software. It will involve a difficult cultural transition inside Microsoft. It will involve Microsoft setting aside short-term gains in order to achieve long-term goals."

SecurityFocus home news: Results, Not Resolutions

Lucas Mast responds to Dorothy Denning's "Why I Love Biometrics" article.

On Thursday, January 24, Joseph Atick of Visionics, Mark Rotenberg of EPIC, Dorothy Denning of Georgetown, and John Woodward Jr. of RAND met at The Cato Institute in DC for a policy forum on the topic of biometrics. Three documents, including this one and "Nameless in Cyberspace" (which discusses Georgia's HB1630), were distributed to attendees.

Biometrics: Hold On, Chicken Little - TechKnowledge Newsletter

JLM: Author and professor Dorothy E. Denning explains why good biometrics systems will succeed without keeping secrets. Both direct and concise, it's worth reading. She mentions two startup companies whose biometrics technologies look promising.

Decius: There are so many problems with this I don't even know where to start. I just LOVE how she brushes off the privacy concerns with a few words at the bottom of the essay, and she doesn't even mention the accuracy problems and the difficulty of accuratly determining "liveness." In network computers there is a huge problem with trust of remote biometric identifiers...

The key problem with this essay is that biometrics don't eliminate passwords in most implementations and really don't have anything to do with the problem with passwords. Basically, a single sign on infrastructure is the problem, biometrics or no. Fortunately, Biometrics are not the least expensive solution to the "password problem" and for that reason law enforcement is likely to be denied their dream of having your fingerprint taken every time you engage in a commercial transaction.

Information Security Magazine

Internet Advertisment developments...

Offline giants eat up Web ad space - Tech News - CNET.com

Many popular p2p programs include very intrusive spyware.

Spyware, In a Galaxy Near You

Global Crossing releases free IP management tool.

Yahoo - Global Crossing Releases Free Software Tool for Efficient IP Addressing

This is the email that Bill Gates sent out to everyone at Microsoft about their new security focus.

Bill Gates: Trustworthy Computing

This is one of the most surprising tech stories I've seen in a while. Gates plans to focus on computer security and privacy. Did they finally get a clue over there? Hrm... I'll beleive it when I see it... I imagine they finally must have started loosing sales because of their track record.

Gates: Security is top priority - Tech News - CNET.com

"The problem isn’t figuring out how to get people to become more “innovative”; it’s figuring out how to get people to accept and apply innovations more productively."

Why Weeds?

Philip S. Antón, Richard Silberglitt, and James Schneider
Prepared for the National Intelligence Council. 92 pages.

This (c)2001 RAND publication is freely available online in HTML and PDF. It provided input to the US government's Global Trends 2015 document. Here's the publisher's summary:

Various technologies have the potential for significant and dominant global effects within the next few decades. This report provides a quick look at global technology trends in biotechnology, nanotechnology, and materials technology and their implications for information technology and the world in 2015.

The Global Technology Revolution