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>yes we still use faxes in our office much more than any other method: THEY ARE SECURE.

Regular faxes are absolutely NOT secure, though a secure "fax" server can be. It's unusual for anyone who needs to be HIPAA compliant to use unencrypted means to send patient data. Leaving patient data in a fax receiving bin would result in fines if you're caught.

http://www.securitymagazine.co...

You don't need to cut off someones head to fool them. A good digital camera and printer will do the trick:

Security Magazine Article: 04/10/2004

"Many secure facilities employ iris scanners, which analyze the features that exist in the colored tissue surrounding the pupil including rings, furrows and freckles. To help prevent "fake eyes" from being used, these systems shine a light into the user's eye to monitor pupil dilation. However, they have been routinely defeated in the laboratory by several astute experimenters. To accomplish this, a high-quality digital image of an authorized person first was obtained by the experimenter, then enlarged to show the eye detail and subsequently printed out on high-quality photographic paper. Then, a small hole was cut in the photograph where the pupil was printed to expose the pupil in the experimenter's own eye. The experimenter would then place the photo up against his eye so that his pupil could be seen behind the hole. This very basic and inexpensive technique was effective in routinely fooling the iris scan readers of several manufacturers."

I agree in terms that this would violate our right to privacy. However, this is something that is already commonly done by your peeping toms.

So that means because voyeurs do it, our government can too? I'm not following that logic. Our current "security" systems in place for passenger screening, immigrant tracking, and ID verification are not protecting anyone from another terrorist attack. How much more difficult is it to forge five documents as opposed to two? Not much. It might just cost a little more. How secure are biometric scanners (thumb, iris, voice)? Not very.

There are so many breakpoints in the "security" systems that the systems themselves are laughable. How hard would it be to bribe a security screener with a several thousand dollars to let someone get through a little easier? How difficult is it really to get a muslim extremist (especially a white, middle-aged one) hired at an airport and start working the plan from the inside?

I honestly believe that we're just making it harder for honest Americans to go about their normal lives.

If you're talking about MANY MANY hard drives, you could still recycle them after shredding them back, nearly to sand, with something like this. Nevermind degaussing, the rds, and all the techno-jargon. This is something that even grandpa can enjoy!!!

http://www.securitymagazine.com/CDA/ArticleInforma tion/features/BNP__Features__Item/0,5411,133140,00 .html