cyber-"terrorism"?

[Owen Lewis]

----- Original Message -----
From: Ian Johnson <Ian.Johnson@uwe.ac.uk>
To: <ukcrypto@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
Sent: 20 September 2002 16:15
Subject: Re: cyber-"terrorism"?


> On this basis a statistical risk is calculated.  "High risk" generally
> means
> amnio is statistically a lower risk.  I believe these computations are
> generally done by computer, and as they involve date based arithmetic
> would
> have been vulnerable potentially to Y2K.

I rather think one might find that the vulnerability was to the humans who
opted to use a short date format over a turn of the century and failed even
to check for the effect immediately post-turn. The effect is hardly subtle
or difficult to forecast. If computers are fed garbage that is exactly what
they will return - as we all should know. But blaming the computer - or ,
even better, something mysterious with a jargon acronym - is so much easier
than doing things right.

It's the same sort of 'transferred epithet' logic that convinces some that
it's right to kick the dog whenever Granny breaks wind.