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Products Seek Antiterrorism Certification

Posted by simoniker on from the look-for-the-special-logo dept.

Makarand writes "According to ABCNews/Forbes, businesses with antiterrorism products for which they are unable to find insurers to provide liability coverage are lining up to seek the Homeland Security Department's seal of approval. Products certified as antiterrorism products enjoy some protection from liability suits and an official 'seal of approval', making them easier to sell. The Department has started accepting applications for certification, many likely to come from technology companies such as Qualcomm, Unisys, and others, starting Sept. 1."

5 of 290 comments (clear)

  1. PTO, the sequel by Lord+Grey · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Why does this make me think that this is going to end up like the PTO's apparent inability to weed out the crap from the legitimate requests?

    Is it because the Department of Homeland Security isn't even remotely qualified for that task?

    Naw, couldn't be....

    --
    // Beyond Here Lie Dragons
  2. Truly Useless and Quite Opportunistic by Dukeofshadows · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Homeland Security couldn't even say what caused the blackout in New York except that it wasn't terrorism. I, for one, will more likely avoid products with that seal on them instead of running to purchase them.

    I hope Microsoft Windows is the first product to get certified since I find that it and Homeland Security have quite a bit in common (including the facts that neither does its advertised job and both hold enough power to quash anything that gets in their way)

    --
    As long as there is a Second Amendment, there will always be a First Amendment.
  3. Internet services? by qtp · · Score: 3, Interesting

    An Internet trade group representing Verizon Communications and other companies wants its members' Internet services certified because they play a "unique and pivotal role as a conduit for deployment of antiterrorism technologies."

    My bet is that the certification requirement for internet services amounts to "We spy on our users."

    --
    Read, L
  4. Terrorism Sells by Valen0 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I think its funny how our culture has so rapidly changed in the last few years. Since the 2001 attack, you can practically get away with selling anything if you claim it makes you "safe" from "terrorism". Even the Bush Administration has used this war to repeatedly justify its misguided "War on Terror" campaigns and ominous "Homeland Security Department".

    I personally think it is sad that America has let the terrorist win. Thanks to media and government hysteria, terrorists have become the "boogie man" that everyone seems to fear. In sustaining this hysteria, the US Government has created an environment where they can do practically anything as long as it is keeping the country "safe" from "terrorism".

    The good news is that this environment is starting to slowly change. Some of the government's massive corruption is starting to get questioned by members of Congress. I think this marks the first steps in stopping the legacy of tyranny the Bush Administration has caused and restoring the values on which America was founded on.

    --
    -Valen
  5. Won't this be a magnet for hacking? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If a company's software products were certified I bet everybody would be trying to prove the true weaknesses as fast as possible.

    Would this essentially make those who perform the certification the next laughing stock?

    Microsoft has shown us that declaring something secure doesn't mean that it actually is.

    I certainly hope the certifying individuals have more capacity upstairs than the US patent office when it comes to understanding technology.