Weak Interface
When the computer people meet the other side

     Although I focus on the weak interface in computers and software, it also has great affect on the “physical” world.  The life of the average person in the US is intertwined with computers.  If you doubt the go to any hospital, bank, restaurant, etc and you will find computers so integrated with the business that they could not operate without them.  Not understanding computers and modern technology is not just risky it’s flat out DANGEROUS.

What does the headline “US bank loses unencrypted data on 4.5m people”  mean to you?    (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/02/ny_bank_lost_data_flap/)

If you are on the more techie side of things hearing this about your bank would have you looking into your accounts and/or changing banks.  Unfortunately for those on the other side of the weak interface the headline might be harder to understand.  The term “unencrypted data” needs explained.

For the sake of the less techie audience it’s like this - The bank wrote everything needed to empty your account on computer then lost that computer.  Someone out there can take all your money, open credit cards in your name and max them out, ruin your credit, and steal your identity. Had the bank encrypted your data you might be safe, but they didn’t.  To make it even worse they hid the fact that this happened until the government discovered it so who ever has the data had 3 months to have fun without anyone being the wiser.

The bank could have protected the data or the physical media it was on or both but it didn’t.  The days of a guy with a gun sticking up a bank are over, it’s MUCH easier electronically.  In this case the criminal may never be seen or caught. Bank of America is going to court over someone who is suing them after being electronically robbed. (http://searchfinancialsecurity.techtarget.com/news/article/0,,sid185_gci1294358,00.html)

Knowledge is your best defense. Knowledge will remove the weak interface for you.  IN other words learn about computers and software PLEASE.  This is the equivalent of telling you to be aware of who’s around you in a bad neighborhood.  Pay attention to the environment you are in.  The internet is an amazing tool and place to work through but there are also wolves out here.

You can find out if your bank of state has potentially lost your information search here:
-=      http://datalossdb.org/      =-

Let me know what you think.  I’m looking for comments to improve the blog, and motivate my lazy arse to write more often.

Thanks for reading.

Until next time.

I was critical about DRM in a previous post.  Worse than failed DRM is the means of enforcing it.  This involved lawsuits and a lot of hurt feeling.  Well now there’s good news and bad news:

The Good news:

The Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) has decided to stop suing people.
If you don’t know the RIAA are the ones who have dragged people into court for downloading music.  They don’t know what they are doing.  This is classic weak interface issue.  The ones who are downloading know how to use the internet but the group chasing them has no idea how to find them.  Instead of intelligently asking a person who knows how the internet and downloading work they decided to sue anyone they thought they could find.

Suing everyone they could find included:
- a teenager
(src: http://www.1010wins.com/pages/193237.php?contentType=4&contentId=298727)
- an 83 year old DEAD woman
(src: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/05/riaa_sues_the_dead/)
- even XM radio!
(src: http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/05/17/0250238&from=rss)

There’s even a blog of lawyer who specifically deals with the RIAA nonsense I suggest you give it a read: http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/

Even if you win a RIAA lawsuit, as almost everyone has, the time, money, and energy you put into it are irreplacable.

So the idea that they are going to stop suing people is great.  After millions of dollars waste and countless hours of the judicial system down the drain they have stopped.  Yeah.

Why am I not more excited well be cause of…

The Bad News:

The Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) has decided to conspire with internet service providers(ISP).
Your ISP, the folks you pay for internet access are going to police you.  I don’t know how this will play into privacy but you should know that the RIAA has asked them to watch you.  Here’s why it is bad.  VERY BAD.

“The new plan circumvents the law, and puts the power directly into RIAA’s hands, which means that more innocent people than ever will get harassed by the RIAA.”
(src: http://techgossip.net/2008/12/riaas-new-piracy-plan-cuts-off-people-without-a-fair-trial/)

In the near future the intrnet you pay for will now be watched for what “looks like” illegal activity.
Knowing how computers work I suspect some of the speed you pay for will go towards watching you.  As for me if I pay for it I should own it.  If you cut my speed to watch me you better charge a lot less.
And who knows what they will flag as suspicious?  What about get large emails from friends who send pictures? (this happens often) Or what about large files I send my self from my job?  The very subjective standard of “suspicious activity” is a slippery slope towards controlling what you are allowed to see and do online.

Think about all this and let me know what you think.

Till next time….