Category Archives: Security
US accuses China of cyberwar
The subtext of the Associated Press story on computer espionage is that China has breached US computer defenses:
“China is stealing vast amounts of sensitive information from U.S. computer networks,” said Larry Wortzel, chairman of the commission set up by Congress in 2000 to advise, investigate and report on U.S.-China issues.
The commission of six Democrats and six Republicans said in the unanimously approved report that China’s massive military modernization and its “impressive but disturbing” space and computer warfare capabilities “suggest China is intent on expanding its sphere of control even at the expense of its Asian neighbors and the United States.”
The commission recommended that lawmakers provide money for U.S. government programs that would monitor and protect computer networks.
Even though markets are down and many face certain layoffs, the security business is booming.
Fire kills 27 horses
The Associated Press reports tragedy for a stable of race horses:
Fire swept through a barn at a former race track Thursday, killing 27 horses.
It was the second deadly blaze this year at Riverside Downs in western Kentucky, near the Indiana border. Among the horses killed was Kept Lady, which won a race Sunday at Churchill Downs.
The cause is unknown so far. The first fire was attributed to an electrical cord for a vending machine. Imagine the cost of secure electrical conduit, in such a highly flammable environment, versus the loss from these fires.
Electric Cars and Regulation
The Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn, explains to Time magazine where zero emission cars are a 2012 reality because of governance:
You are going to have a collaboration between cities, government and car manufacturers toward making it easy for the consumer to go for zero emission cars. We have been very surprised by the very positive collaboration we have seen from many governments — we’ve signed Portugal, Denmark, Israel, France. We’re working with the Chinese. The overwhelming response from public officials is amazing. When zero emission cars are on the market, all the others are going to look really obsolete.
There are different ways of getting there. In Israel, for example, you don’t buy the battery. You buy the car, but you lease the battery. You pay a fee per month. We are working on quick charges where you can get the battery mostly charged in 25 minutes.
The leased battery model is interesting. Clearly the US is missing from the list of “positive collaboration”.