Monday - 2008-0811-2230 - Rain - Vancouver BC; The Gratifying Experience of Local Rain; Graham Norton; Graham Norton and the "Canoe" Man; "Lost in the post - 25 million at risk after data discs go missing"; A couple of comments on data security; Web security and Gary McKinnon

Rain - Vancouver BC Larger Image "Vancouver BC rain by the very prolific Tom Harpel.

It actually started sprinkling here during the night. This morning it was a slow eaves-dripping kind of rain.

At lunch, I was able to look out the windows at Ichiban and watch the traffic splash down Lakeland Drive. Actually, on Friday the first, I had the same experience.

It's not a big event but certainly one I find deeply gratifying.

One of my guilty pleasures is to watch the first part of Graham Norton on BBC American on Saturday night. Graham has a puckish charm with the ability to say what you're thinking, but you are far too genteel to say them.Wikipedia says, "After this early success, Norton moved to Channel 4 to host his own chat shows including So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton. As a performer who is not only openly gay, but also naturally camp and flamboyant, it was here that Norton's act was fully honed as a cheeky, innuendo-laden joker."

A couple of weeks ago, it suddenly struck me that his mannerisms are very akin to those of Bob Hope. Of course, if you're doing a monologue there are only so many movements you can make.

My one complaint about BBC America is that I'm certain when the show was taped. From backtracking through news reports, this episode appears to dates from November of last year. In this case his discussion concerned the reappearance of "the canoe man". John Darwin, a missing British canoeist who disappeared on a Thursday morning in March 2002 when paddling his red kayak out into the North Sea, turned up again on December 1, 2007, claiming amnesia. (It was later revealed that his wife, Anne, who was now living in Panama City, Panama, was also part of the deception in a scheme to obtain insurance money, See Time - Canoe Man's Wife Stands Trial - Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Graham indicated that after the story came to light, a member of the public Googled the terms "John Darwin panama" and discovered the following photo taken of the couple in July 7, 2006.

John Darwin and his wife Anne Darwin beside Mario Vilar, boss of holiday company Move to Panama

The photo was a revelation to the police, who noticing the date became very suspicious. I'd read about the situation when the stories first came out, but I missed the part about the photo.

Graham, with tongue-in-cheek, said the police asked the member of the public to enter the phrase "Osama bin Laden, home address." They indicated they were too busy trying to find some lost discs.

In November, one office of the British government sent some data discs to another office of the government by courier. But the discs never arrived. The data discs contained the personal records of 25 million individuals, including their dates of birth, addresses, bank accounts and national insurance numbers. Possibly the largest data security breach of personal information in British history.

The following article from "The Guardian" "Lost in the post - 25 million at risk after data discs go missing" gives more details of the events. Of note is the sentence: "MPs gasped when the chancellor, Alistair Darling, told the Commons that discs containing personal details from 7.25 million families claiming child benefit had been lost."

As of this date, August 12, the discs have never been found. Of course, if I found myself, for some reason, with them at this point, I don't think I'd race forward and say, "Oi, I have them!"

Consider that this and similar stories of stolen or missing data are the ones we hear about. But what about the one we don't hear about. In this case, what happened was the result of sheer stupidity. What about the concerted effort of an individual or group to obtain info.

I would guess that severe ruptures occur frequently but are hushed up for fear of the damage that the institution could suffer. Several years ago, I read of a tryst between an executive of an insurance company and his executive assistant that ended very bitterly. However, before leaving she wiped out the main database and the backups. If the company were to have gone public, customers would have deserted in hoards. Eventually, the information was restored from paper records to a cost of $10,000,000.

Currently, the US has accused UK citizen, Gary McKinnon, of ""biggest military hack of all time" after he penetrated the defences of 97 Pentagon and NASA computer systems." McKinnon is fighting extradition to the US, a wise move on his part given the nation's current state of paranoia and "example making." He could easily disappear into the forges of the US homeland security system and never be seen again. The House of Lords refused his request, so he appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. and been given a two-week delay. (See PC Pro - McKinnon granted extradition delay.)

From what I've read elsewhere, he did not even have broadband. He used a 56k dial up modem. Which may be how he was able to get into so many sites. Anytime upgrades are made to a computer network, the focus is on getting the new system to work. The old system is forgotten. This has been the "standard" from the earliest days of networking. (In Monday - 2008-0811-2230 / Out - 2008-0812-1500) This entry was written in multiple settings.

Pax! Erin go braugh! Je accuse...