Computers, Freedom and Privacy 2003

THIS YEAR'S CFP kicked off with a keynote from security expert Bruce Schneier, who talked about how to build effective security measures with particular reference to the current situation. There are, he says, always trade-offs. Are the freedoms we're being forced to give up worth it?

The talk of the conference this year so far is the recent US government announcement -- so bizarre it could have come out of a Terry Gilliam movie -- that the National Crime Information Center database no longer has to be accurate. In his keynote address this morning, security expert Bruce Schneier argued that this is not just bad social doctrine but bad security, because it will increase the number of false alarms. (You can sign a petition to reverse this lame-headed decision here.

It's also worth noting that attendance has been hit this year -- some people weren't willing to fly, others have too many demands on their time. A number of non-US attendees, however, aren't here because they were refused visas. Long-time CFP recidivist and privacy campaigner Roger Clarke decided not even to try.