Stories about: Network Communications

In the first column of this year, I discussed computer security outlook and hopes for 2008. I forecast more of the same that we saw in 2007: more spam, more malware, more bad guys basically owning the Internet and our connected computers. I don't see any trends or new leaders with significant power to change the status quo.

Tony Soprano's dislike of computers is well-known, but in 2007, it's hard to keep a business running without one. (Another argument for creator David Chase ending the show after five seasons, but too late now.) Tony knows that yesterday's bookie can't compete with a txt-ing young punk offloading his risky punts on Betfair, and that though tradition's important, sometimes old-school thinking just doesn't cut it. To stay on top, a business has to move with the times.

Few, if any, of the industrial control systems used today were designed with cybersecurity in mind. Meanwhile, Australia's critical information infrastructure has never been more vulnerable . . .

Welcome to a world where projects fail, computers crash and secrets escape — and you don't have to be the fall guy.