LAST week’s column on technology forecasts for 2007 netted some reader replies, including one from Steven, who sent me to a security group’s “fear list” of predictions. A panel of them got together to pick out the what they belive are the ten top security trends. For one, organisations that store customer and patient data will finally become embarrassed enough to make encryption mandatory on laptop and mobile devices, they say.

Other horrible trends include an increase in the theft of PDA smart phones, of targeted attacks by terrorist groups looking for military information, of cell phone worms infections, of vulnerabilities in Voice over IP (VoIP) systems, and of complex spyware, viruses, and bots. They mix that lot with a predicted increase in legislation protecting customer information, along with harsher penalties for those that lose the data. Number ten on their list of predictions is the increasing use by organisations of network access control as a defensive strategy against malicious entry to a network. The list was narrowed down from 40 by a panel of 20, which included experts from SANS, the Internet Storm Centre, the Naval Surface Warfare Centre, the Centre for Internet Security… you get the picture.

Meanwhile, another reader was interested in my caution against buying a new computer now, with Microsoft just about to release Vista. “Sounds like you were enjoying the Microsoft products!” wrote James. I am sorry I can’t take up his kind offer of lunch to talk about them. My office is not anywhere within walking distance (I live in Montpellier, France). But we can still have a “chat” about new products via e-mail as you suggest. On the topic of Vista, a security expert in Bermuda sent me links to the first wave of criticisms from the professionals about the flaws in the new operating system. One is from Peter Gutmann, a self-described “professional paranoid”, who fingers a problem in Windows Vista’s content protection system for “premium content”, typically music and video.

“Providing this protection incurs considerable costs in terms of system performance, system stability, technical support overhead, and hardware and software cost,” Gutmann writes.

OSA Editorial Comments:

What a great article please go and read more of Computer security is set to be the hot tech topic for 2007:

Your Online Security Authority
Bill Wardell

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