contributed by Weld Pond
Reporter Joe Barr of LinuxWorld originally bought ISS's corporate pitch declaring no ties to the computer "underground." Upon further investigation, however, he learned that ISS is rife with underground experience. In order to please conservative clients, many security firms are preaching an anti-underground message, only to find that in order to best serve these same clients they require the expertise of all types of "hats."

LinuxWorld

contributed by Pyle
British Parliament is debating a bill that allows far-reaching surveillance of internet use by British citizens. Under much criticism from privacy advocates and business alike, the UK government wishes to attach a "black box" to ISP's that would be monitored by MI-5. At the center of the controversy is a loophole that would allow anyone's browsing habits to be observed, not just those of criminal suspects.

BBC News

contributed by Pyle
The recent explosion in usage of wireless devices and applications has outpaced security by a long shot. In a rush to put wireless tools in the hands of an increasingly mobile workforce, businesses are adopting technologies with questionable security measures. From the perspective of vendors, time-to-market has taken priority over precaution and a relatively high level of risk has been deemed "acceptable." (Haven't we seen this before?)

ZDNet

contributed by Weld Pond
Fred Cohen's College Cyber Defenders program in Livermore, California teaches students that virus writing is really pretty easy. Subsequently, writing virus defense programs is not so difficult either. The recent Washington Post article describing Cohen's school implies that little genius has yet been dedicated to the art of writing malicious code. Virus writing is compared to graffitti as an adolescant outlet for expression; reference the frequently attached comment lines that help investigators track down virus authors.

Washinton Post

contributed by m m
A British man is accused of breaking into Dubai's only ISP and creating serious service disruptions. The problem is that Dubai's laws covering communications do not have specific provisions for internet transmissions. The defendant's lawyer claims that the man did not actually break the current law because the law only specifically addresses cable and wireless communications. While the law is intended to cover all forms of public communication, the case brings to light the need for legislation to catch up to current uses of technology.

Wired

contributed by m m
Concerned that businesses in the US have been the benefactors of Echelon intelligence at the expense of European firms, the European Parliament has decided to launch a one-year investigation into the alleged damage. The specific allegations of industrial espionage are not clear however, and both the US and the UK still deny the existence of Echelon. The investigation is surrounded by public hype in numerous EU countries.

Wired