[LINK] RFC: 'The [Insecure] Future of Consumer Computing'

Roger Clarke Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au
Sat Jan 15 17:15:19 AEDT 2011


[Sorry about the erroneous re-send at 15:27.  It was meant to go to 
an individual, but it escaped ... ]

Thanks to the several people who've offered valuable feedback already.

Bruce Schneier works on some similar themes in this piece out today, 
although he says he's looking a bit further into the future.


Security 2020
http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-1101.html#1

Originally written as a foreword to "Security 2020," by
Doug Howard and Kevin Prince.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0470639555/counterpane/


This bit reads well (as Bruce always does.  What? me? green with envy?):
" ... IT in 2020 -- it's not under your control, it's doing things 
without your knowledge and consent, and it's not necessarily acting 
in your best interests. And this is how things will be when they're 
working as they're intended to work; I haven't even started talking 
about the bad guys yet".

But I don't think it's all that futuristic.  Try this small variant:
" ... IT in 2011 -- it's not under your control, it's doing things 
without your knowledge and consent, and it's not necessarily acting 
in your best interests. And this is how things [are] when they're 
working as they're intended to work; I haven't even started talking 
about the bad guys yet".


The APF's second submission to the Senate's Online Privacy Inquiry, 
on 30 Nov 2010, said this:
"Of much greater concern than expressly criminal behaviour is the 
'mainstreaming' of malware and malbehaviour, by which is meant their 
adoption by corporations as weapons against consumers".  We used the 
present tense, not the future tense:
http://www.privacy.org.au/Papers/Sen-OLP-Sub2-101130.pdf


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University



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