Slashdot Mirror
Bush Names New Cyber Security Czar
goombah99 writes "The Washington Post reports that Cybersecurity "czar" Richard Clarke has confirmed widespread reports that he is leaving the White House, to be replaced by former microsoft security chief Howard Schmidt. He was also part of the Air Force's 'Computer Crime and Information Warfare division'. In related news, the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace has received Bush's signature and will be released to the public in the next few weeks. Clark's blunt staements on the to the need to avoid erosion of privacy rights is rumored to have rubbed the administration the wrong way, prompting his exit. Anyone know how Schmitt will view the relative security of closed versus open source?"
Nothing says "Security" better to me than "Former Microsoft Security Chief".
Oh shit. We're in trouble.
Blarf.
screen of death
Our top story - Previous cyberspace advisor sacked after coming worringly near to sticking up for rights of normal Americans. Now replaced by Microsoft "security" manager in amusing henhouse/fox style situation. Corporations breathe freely again. Film at 11.
"To any truly impartial person, it would be obvious that I am right."
Next, RIAA advisor appointed as judge in IP case, Disney spokeperson heads the new congressional committee for copyright term balance, and Pakistan appoints Hans Blix's replacement at the head of the UN Arms Inspectors Committee.
Daniel
Carpe Diem
May be White House is using MS products and this is in fact a housecall support. Can you think of anyone to fix White House servers better than the security chief from MS?
"In heaven, the Italians do the cooking, the Swiss do the accounting, the German fix the cars, the French are the lovers, and the British are the police.
In hell, the English do the cooking, the Italians do the accounting, the French fix the cars, the Swiss are the are the lovers, and the Germans are the police".
I guess we can add something about who's in charge of cyber security in either places... and I'm pretty sure where Microsoft has a bigger footprint.
Oh, I can't help quoting you because everything that you said rings true
from the desk of Howard Schmidt
Subject: Plan for implementing National Cybersecurity Strategy
United States SP1
This service pack addresses the following security holes and bugs found in the current public release of United State version 2003:
- free speech buffer overruns
- memory leaks of useless patents
- higher intelectual property security
- copyright roll-over
- civil rights run away processes
- stronger backdoors for stronger crypto
- cpu race conditions
- elimination of privacy APIs
Oh you mean Bruce might be good at securing things rather than being a shill for whatever line Karl Rove thinks will play in the opinion polls?
Looking for an Information Security student project suggestion?
Try http://dotcrimeManifesto.com/
That he is just as incompetent in this job as he was at Microsoft
Don't Tread on OpenSource
It's all about Fear.
What? People thinking and exchanging news and information on the web? Horrors! They might all be saying bad things about us, (the Powers That Be)! We must put a stop to this!
The best part is that, after all is said and done, after all the fire works and torture and human carnage, the bastards will lose. You cannot channel that much destructive force without being destroyed. Such minds deteriorate as they cling to their nice comfy illusions of grandeur, (and they are illusions. Everybody knows that Bush is a coke-snorting moron, no matter how hard he tries to pretend otherwise, no matter what sly tricks he participates in, his brain remains a piece of cheese. And he continues to rot.)
In the end, the darkness is self-consuming. It's like a black hole; that's the perfect metaphor, actually. The perfect symbol. Selfishness wants and takes and takes until it collapses under its own weight. Selfishness is the frightened child which wants to cling to (and control) its mother, and damn it, climb back into the womb if at all possible. Because the bright and beautiful world is just too damned frightening. (Beware the clingy child.)
Beauty and the Unknown are for the strong and bright-eyed children, who grow accordingly, and seek outwards; never to control, but to test themselves against the world and grow stronger and more capable of participating in the wonders they seek.
Selfishness and Fearfulness, by contrast, seek ultimately, to return to the dark warmth of sleep, and there disintegrate into dream and into nothingness. --And that's fine, (Let 'em vanish!). The only problem being that they can't bear to think there is a bright and beautiful world out there populated with heros and the brave. --Simply, because the contrast between the worms and the brave is a painful one! Nobody wants to be a fearful worm; especially not the worms; especially not the worms! --They have the least ability of all in dealing with hard truths. They are not about growing or changing; they are about warm illusions and control. A brave man winces at his faults but then sets about the task of fixing them. While, a coward cringes in horror at his faults, and seeks to tell himself stories where really, he, is the hero, and then he goes about trying to enforce this image upon all those around him; to maintain the illusion. And all the while, in reality, he degenerates further while the Brave Man grows ever stronger.
Like I have said many times before, Good Guys Always Win. Always. Always. (Despite the millions of messages to the opposite we are bombarded with daily by the Fear-controlled media! Despite the deep cultural programming which begs women to seek 'bad' boys while in the same stroke, casts a homosexual in the role of Smallville's 'Superman') But you watch. You'll see. It all pans out in the end. There will be carnage and there will be blood, but in the end, the worms will turn to mud and vanish, and the heros and the brave will remain. --I firmly believe in reincarnation and in many lives, and that the Heros and the Brave will continue; that Death is just a train station platform. I also believe that the worms will return as well, although in a reduced form, (thanks to Karma). The only way to destroy a soul is for it to continually participate in debauchery and petty fear, until it regresses, finally, into primal matter. Let 'em regress. Let 'em go. Let the little worm people try to control the world and the internet, let them try to control thought itself. (And if it's an MS clone who'll be running things over at the White House, then you can bet they'll keep a thumb on the pulse of such net indicators as Slashdot; Are you listening, you chumps? I am talking about YOU.)
The forces of Fear will cause friction for a time, and they can influence thought, even to a large degree. But only for a time. And not the minds of the strong, who will only shake their heads. And then, finally, they will pass. Good riddance.
Chumps.
-Fantastic Lad
If you wanted a White House Cabinet that played to the opinon polls, you should have elected Al Gore.
If you wanted a White House Cabinet that played to the opinon polls, you should have elected Al Gore.
We did.