ZOMG! Cyberpunks!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7740483.stm

As the article says, the USA is under increasing threat from Chinese cyberspies.

There are a couple of reasons for this. First, the USA is proud of technology. And while it makes some really neat toys, neither government nor enterprise understand how to use and abuse them properly.

Second, because any human product is inherrantly flawed and an sufficiently dedicated hacker can get into just about anything given time and resources.

I say this not because I am some ub3rl33t h4x0r capable of "hacking the Gibson" or "hacking all the internets at once", but because I'm moderately I.T. aware and moderately paranoid. You build defenses expecting that some other bugger is working on ways to crack them.

In this case, if you want to secure information from cyberspies my immediate thought is "stop leaving it on vunerable networks". Print it, put it in a box, lock the box in a safe, lock the safe in a room, lock the room in a building, lock the building. This low tech solution is neither interactive nor sharing, but it will flat foot 100% of computer based hacking.

If information is sensitive, why is it being shared? If someone needs to see it, do not allow the information to go to them, make them come to the information. This is also simple, low tech, and irritatingly obvious.

In the same sense, if your government officials leave laptops full of sensitive data on the tube, take away the laptop, give the man a desktop bolted to his desk and don't let him work from home ever.