Information Security Bulletin

Web Editorial

Last Printed Issue of ISB – And Future Plans
Niels J Bjergstrom, Editor.

This issue of ISB is the last we plan to print, and also the last issue in this format. It is the last issue in volume 11 and rounds off a publication cycle that started in 1996.

At the time it was planned to publish ISB for a period of five years. I estimated that by 2001 the field most likely would have been commercially consolidated and security integrated into the fabric of software, hardware and networks. This is finally happening six years later, and the days of the smaller independent security solution providers are numbered. The security integration phase, depending on political will and business forces, will probably take another five or six years – or perhaps large vested interests in the infosec field will be able to prevent it from taking place altogether. What is on the mind of these interests is of course the bottom line, not whether their customers continue to be ribbed off by one elaborate fraud after another.

ISB, as readers will know, has always had an entirely different agenda, not anti-industry – an accusation often raised – but pro-user. From the day I entered the information security field, prompted by the first computer viruses in 1986, my single goal has been to promote and help establish the foundation for a safe and secure user experience, not so much for commercial entities, but for individuals, to allow the free promulgation and discussion of ideas globally. Ultimately my hope is that a global exchange of ideas might eventually lead to the establishment of global democratic institutions strong enough to take away political power from the anti-democratic forces currently wielding it (and eventually the unviable and unnatural nation state system largely imposed on the world by European colonialism). Democracy presumes free and open exchange of ideas in an educated population. Freedom of speech must be largely unlimited and unrestricted, although not necessarily without accountability, and it must be practical. In countries where the printed press is owned by establishment-friendly monopolies its main task is popular indoctrination and propaganda, and it can not be used to conduct popular free discussions. This is why a free, accessible, and uncensored Internet is such an important issue.

From the point of view of proponents of democracy the Internet is a two-edged sword because it also fragments people, an ideal situation for those in power. As long as activists sit in front of their computers they are not in the street throwing tomatoes or demonstrating – or gathering to establish future democratic institutions. A downside for those in power is of course that communication on the Internet is really difficult to suppress – the Net has great resilience – allowing e.g. Iraqi freedom fighters to use it to coordinate actions against the occupiers of their country, much to the consternation and chagrin of those attempting to steal the Iraqi oil resources.

ISB is no longer needed in this context and the bulk of my time is spent better elsewhere.

In terms of future plans for ISB, the web site will be continued and expanded as a source of information and reference. It will be possible to publish papers on the site, and we expect to be able to continue to provide the peer review service which has always been part of the publication process in the journal.

With regard to access to the site a subscription system like the one currently in place for the e-book edition of the journal may be introduced – after all none of this is possible without some system of financial support. Existing subscribers will be moved to this new system once established. Some may not like that so I take this opportunity to remind subscribers that ISB subscriptions have always been covered by a refund guarantee allowing any subscriber to receive a pro rata refund of their subscription fee in case they cancel their subscription before it expires. Current subscribers who might want to exercise this option should contact , quoting their subscriber number.

So, provided financial viability can be created, isb-online.net will continue and expand. People interested in publishing papers or other information on the sites should as usual contact .

A few readers may be interested in how I intend to spend my time now that ISB will play a secondary role in my work. Well, I have spent a considerable amount of time over the past two years or so studying the changes currently occurring in the global climate, initially intent on convincing myself that the sandal-wearing bearded leftist climate whiners were wrong when claiming that we human ants had anything to do with it – let alone would be able to do anything to change the course of these forces of nature (as an ocean sailor I have convincing personal experience of the complete impotence of humans against the forces of nature). Instead this study left me with little doubt that the climate change situation is the most serious challenge facing mankind in historical time, that it will inevitably lead to the death of millions (unless humans, e.g. in places like Bangladesh and London, by a genetic miracle quickly develop gills), and that the future of civilisation – if not of the human species – is in serious doubt.

If you are at all interested in these issues, please read The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery as a suitable introduction to the subject area. Once you have finished reading, read the new IPCC report on climate change. Whereas there was still reasonable doubt with regard to the human role in promoting climate change at the time Flannery wrote his book the new IPCC report shows that there is still doubt – but no longer reasonable doubt.

Let me just give you a few headline figures to illustrate the trends as currently measured and documented by years of thorough research:

the atmosphere heats by 0.13°C per decade
compared with the situation just 20 years ago 1.3 times as much carbon dioxide is currently entering the atmosphere per unit of time
the oceans have warmed significantly to a depth of 3km
human activities are the cause with a certainly of around 90 per cent

All these trends are accelerating.

So, is there anything humanity can do about it? Possibly, but the time to react is counted in single-digit years, not decades. Worse than that, much worse: doing something effective to slow down, halt, or ideally reverse, climate change, requires a concerted international effort. Not just verbal consensus and nice words such as accepting the contents of the newest IPCC report, but actual action.

Several factors clearly points in the direction of this type of thing being impossible:

governments in ‘second-world’ countries like China and India will find it extremely difficult to survive reducing or postponing industrial growth in their countries enough to switch to cleaner energy generation and consumption
ever since the introduction of the Monroe doctrine the USA has shown complete disregard for international law, conducting a sustained campaign of global terror (most overtly against small victims they are sure to be able to beat militarily, either directly or through mercenary clients like Israel). This lawless country’s reaction to the Kyoto agreement is completely in character, and there is no reason to believe that the world’s largest polluter by far will change behaviour. Because of the US’ permanent war economy – manifest through the US military/industrial complex and the Pentagon economy – making deep enough economic reforms to fight climate change will be particularly painful for this country (see www.docuticker.com/?p=10851). A possible way forward might be to make a Pentagon supported agency responsible, to keep the gravy train rolling, but as the magnitude of the problem starts to dawn on the American people in general the possibility of a real democratic uprising in this already polarised country cannot be ruled out
there is no reason to trust the large fiduciaries to change their spots and behave responsibly in this particular context – but there may be hope

As if all these immediate and current political realities weren’t bad enough it is necessary to consider a deeper factor, which is fundamental: the completely crazy assumption behind capitalism, that the planet is an infinite source and an infinite sink that can be used without costs. The idea that growth in itself is desirable is plainly wrong. Likewise the idea that the global human population can continue increasing in numbers and be part of a consumer society without consequences. The fact is that as consumption per capita grows, the number of individuals participating in the consumption needs to be managed and limited. As so far the only country, China has shown some responsibility in this respect (the way they go about it is a different issue).

So, the planet is run by a system bound to self-destruct (capitalism), and although a global social contract concerning population management and consumption control is urgently needed we hardly have suitable institutions in which to discuss these issues, let alone do something about them. It is also important to realise that the political system has quite limited power – the real power lies with the money.

Hence the political realities indicate that it will not be possible to avert a climate catastrophe. It will hit the third world the hardest so why would Western politicians and capital owners care deeply anyway? Of course, London will probably also be submerged in fifty years’ time, not to mention US hurricanes.

Knowing that I can only move small stones, not large rocks, I’ll be doing small practical things to combat climate change. Soon to come: www.zero-c.co.uk, where the ‘c’ stands for ‘carbon’. To quote Homer Simpson: “Trying is the first step towards failure”...