Return-Path: <sentto-279987-1742-1000266142-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.1.0) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Tue, 11 Sep 2001 20:43:17 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 32469 invoked by uid 510); 12 Sep 2001 03:42:40 -0000 Received: from n2.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.52) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 12 Sep 2001 03:42:40 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-1742-1000266142-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.4.54] by hi.egroups.com with NNFMP; 12 Sep 2001 03:42:22 -0000 X-Sender: fc@big.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-7_3_2_1); 12 Sep 2001 03:42:22 -0000 Received: (qmail 15089 invoked from network); 12 Sep 2001 03:41:54 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by l8.egroups.com with QMQP; 12 Sep 2001 03:41:54 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO big.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta1 with SMTP; 12 Sep 2001 03:41:54 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by big.all.net (8.9.3/8.7.3) id NAA22677 for iwar@onelist.com; Tue, 11 Sep 2001 13:12:51 -0700 Message-Id: <200109112012.NAA22677@big.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 13:12:51 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] Today's Events -- The Bigger Risks Start Now (fwd) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org [ To subscribe or unsubscribe to/from this list, please send the command "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" respectively (without the quotes) in the body of an e-mail to "pfir-request@pfir.org". ] Today's Events -- The Bigger Risks Start Now September 11, 2001 The death count from today's events seems sure to be at least in the thousands, perhaps the tens of thousands. It is impossible at this stage to adequately convey the combination of grief, frustration, anger, and other emotions that we all feel. Specific recriminations will come in due course -- now is not the time for them. But in a broader sense there are significant points worth mentioning now, while these events are fresh in our minds and in fact still unfolding. First, today's man-made disasters are more than a stunning success of terrorist planning and activities. They also represent a stunning condemnation of our own attitudes as a society. For many years, technology experts and others who have expressed the view that the biggest risks would come from relatively low-tech attacks have found themselves routinely marginalized. Emphasis, in terms of money and political capital, have continued to be poured into hi-tech systems (e.g. missile defense) possessing clear conduits for the flow of defense dollars but often very limited practical value. We saw the results in Oklahoma City, and we're seeing the even more serious results today. The unfortunate truth, however, is that such low-technology attacks are very difficult to defend against. There are too many targets, and too many opportunities. Explosives are easily available to people who want them. Airport security has long been known to be largely window-dressing, nor is it even theoretically possible to plug all possible security holes in such an environment. Given enough fanaticism and money, terrorists will frequently find ways to their goals. The even bigger risks start right now -- not the risks of more attacks today or tomorrow, though these may happen. Rather, we must not fail to heed the lessons of today's events, lessons which may be easily misinterpreted. What we should take from today is not the desire or inclination to convert our country into a security police-state -- for that would make us little different from our adversaries and would still not protect against terrorism. The ultimate lesson is that the United States does not exist in a vacuum, and must play an active role in world events. Isolationist attitudes or policies do not insulate us from the rest of the planet, they merely make us a more tempting target. By often not stepping up to the plate as leaders, we encourage world events to spin along without our sincere input, making us even more vulnerable. We've allowed superstitions, muddy thinking, trivialities, and economic gamesmanship to override reality and the very real dangers we've long faced. We have two kinds of enemies in this regard -- the people out there who want to hurt us, and our own attitudes. We need to deal with both of these enemies, while keeping in mind the basic principles of civil rights and responsibilities that make living in this country worthwhile. My best wishes to you and yours. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren@pfir.org or lauren@vortex.com or lauren@privacyforum.org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy "Reality Reset" Columns - http://www.vortex.com/reality ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Secure your servers with 128-bit SSL encryption! Grab your copy of VeriSign's FREE Guide: "Securing Your Web Site for Business." Get it Now! http://us.click.yahoo.com/n7RbFC/zhwCAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ------------------ http://all.net/ Your use of Yahoo! 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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-09-29 21:08:41 PDT