Remember it wasn't a hack. After 9/11, the federal community was told to "share data" and remove the old stovepipes and State did just that - they State shared their cable data with DOD. DOD's controls regarding access were the issue and enabled Manning to do what he did. The focus now is creating a more roles based access policy without inhibiting sharing. It's not as easy as one might think.

As a recruiter for IT (in the past) I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Coast Guard had an exceptionally rigorous and broad training schedule for their IT ratings. In fact, they were "perfect" candidates for jobs that needed broad experience and the ability to work independently. I imagine the need to work afloat away from shore assistance had something to do with it. From what I could tell CG pay was pretty crappy but if you're looking for on the job IT training that has meaning outside the sevice environment, I'd go with the CG - they really impressed me.

Why do you ask? Did you ask to pay with your BitCoins?

When my trademark of "Taliban" and "Al Queda" is final, I think our action figures might have to see each other in court.

Once the encryption products mature for the iPads, and provide a secure environment for data at rest, they'll start penetrating the business market. Until then, they'll remain nice movie players.

There's an incoming generation (and here I'm thinking of kids just entering their teens) who may not buy into the same privacy fears you and I might share. "Why bother with privacy," they think. "Why do I need to be private?" I'm not sure if the change in philosophy is a generational shift to accomodate a wholly different social culture, or if, darkly, it represents an entire generation mindswiped by consumer overlords. Either way, it's troubling.

Once upon a time, SCO rented a car and the only improvement they made was to add a taxi meter. Because the SCO dispatcher was a zombie, and it was the only car in the fleet, the company died. The car is now driven aimlessly by the zombie dispatcher and the meter is still ticking. Nobody ever got into the cab but according to zombie law, somebody must pay.

The federal government hasn't done a particularly good job advertising their Scholarship for Service Federal Cyber Service program where promising cyber students are given scholarships in return for a promise to give the government 2 years of service as federal employees in a cyber security related position. Few in the IT field even know it exists. But it's an exceptional idea and most government agencies are lobbying for expanding it to bring in even more students. The federal government isn't entirely incompetent or bereft of good ideas or lacking the will to implement them. The SFS Cyber Service program is one of their success stories.

So instead of letting the air out of the car's tires, a car he loved, he simply wouldn't give the keys to dangerous drivers.