Wednesday, April 16, 2003

Crypto-Gram: Automated Denial-of-Service Attack Using the U.S. Post Office. Bruce Schneier. Attacks like this abound. They arise when an old physical process is moved onto the Internet, and is then automated in some unanticipated way. They're emergent properties of the systems. And they're going to become more prevalent in the years ahead. [Tomalak's Realm] 5:16:33 PM

Da Vinci: Father of Cryptography?. A new novel from a cryptography expert mixes fact with fiction to tell a story about Leonardo Da Vinci, the occult, secret societies, modern forensics and the history of religion -- among other things. By Michelle Delio. [Wired News] 5:15:12 PM

Road Race Pits Fast and Flirty. Styled after cross-country racing movies of the '70s and '80s, the Gumball 3000 is a five-day road rally from San Francisco to Miami. It's a rolling party of millionaire dilettantes, speed freaks and former centerfolds. By Noah Shachtman. [Wired News] 5:09:42 PM

Via Doc Searls who has a great idea about the sacking of the Iraqi Museums: From The Connection.org: The Lost Cultural Treasures of Baghdad An Iraqi civilian walks through the looted vault of the National Museum in Baghdad, Iraq (AP)   View images from Dick Gordon's tour of looted sites in Baghdad. Seven hundred and fifty years ago, Mongol warriors sacked this city. Hundreds of thousands were killed, and many of the treasures of the Islamic empire were smashed and stolen. To look today at Iraq's National Museum, to smell the stench of burning books at the National Library, it's not hard to conclude that Baghdad's treasures have once again been plundered. This time, though, it seems the looting was done from within. Despite urgent pleas for protection and consideration from archaeologists around the world, many of the finest pieces, priceless items of art and archaeology, are now missing, whisked away by professional thieves and amateurs under very barrels of American tanks. It is as if the physical objects in the book of this planet's history had been destroyed. The shattered cradle of our civilization. 3:44:47 PM

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