High West

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:10:05 GMT

(B)logging off...

As you can tell from the Radio silence, the Highwest blog is coming to a close, and my efforts have been moved to the new blog at www.privacygroup.org. Thanks for reading, and see you at the new site!

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 21:53:18 GMT

Off-topic post: New Year's Resolutions

I'm going to join the bottom feeders of the blogosphere by announcing my New Year's Resolutions to a disinterested world. This post will be edited as I come up with fresh ideas (or anyone suggests anything worthwhile).

Weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, blah blah blah (but this year I'm REALLY going to try)
I will finally complete unpacking my possessions and hanging the pictures (only two years late)
I want to find out what's the best condiment for horse meat. I don't intend to eat it (the local butcher doesn't stock it) but I've got no idea what goes best with a Shergar burger...
I'm going to learn how to start a fire with two sticks and no matches
I'll start work on my magnus opus - I have no idea what it will be yet, but I need to ensure I leave a dirty great manuscript behind to be discovered when I'm gone and greeted with a great critical raspberry

More ideas to follow as soon as I come up with them...

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 09:16:46 GMT

Wanted: hired gun

This story is delightful. Seems a Congressman's aide wanted to get his academic grades boosted, so he contacted the folks at Attrition to see if they'd run a hack for him, but instead they posted up the email exchange. Read on...

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:58:59 GMT

Tagged!

Robin has dragged me kicking and screaming back into the blogosphere by tagging me. If it weren't for the esteemed company of his list, I might have declined, but after scratching my head for a while (why have I done so little with my life?) I think I have a workable list:

I was once held by police on suspicion of causing an explosion.
My first job was designing and testing ceramic transducers for deep-sea transponders that were used to locate the remains of the Challenger tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico.
I'm a big fan of the No 4 Lee Enfield Rifle. Not in a strange, fenced compound, 4x4 driving, "they'll take my gun when they prise it from my cold dead hand" sort of way, I just enjoy going for the occasional plink with one of the best firearms ever designed.
I've put my arm inside a cow. Not for fun, obviously, but as part of a calfing.
I have polythelia. Twice. Don't google it if you don't want to know :)

Like Jerry, I'm going to sit on these tags for a few days and contemplate who to hit with them next.

Best wishes to one and all for Christmas and the New Year.

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 16:36:44 GMT

A plug from Robin

Robin's very kindly mentioned my blog in dispatches, but please don't be disappointed if you've arrived here and been shocked at the infrequency of postings. I'm completely focussed on delivering Enterprise Privacy Group materials at the moment, with numerous new Members signing up and a really exciting programme of work coming together for next year. I've also commissioned the new EPG website, and this blog will be absorbed into that once it's ready in January.

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 08:09:25 GMT

So where's the liability?

I've been ranting on about the issue of limitations of liability in identity schemes for a while now, so I thought it high time to put my head over the parapet and see what happens.

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 08:01:36 GMT

ID Cards protect privacy

Jerry has pointed out an article by Joan Ryan MP in which she states that ID Cards will protect privacy. I think what she (or her advisors) means to say is that ID Cards - if designed, implemented and managed correctly - could protect privacy. I've yet to see evidence that will happen.

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 07:58:22 GMT

Privacy all over the place

So today's headlines include:

Logica CMG suffered a burglary in which a laptop containing the Met Police's payroll was stolen;
the Lantern mobile fingerprinting trial starts with Bedfordshire police. As I understand it, Lantern takes only a template rather than a full image, and does not enrol the fingerprint in IDENT1, so as such there's not a privacy hit here - although far more worrying is the compulsion to provide a print, which exists because if you refuse then you'll get arrested, which in turn means that the police will have the right to take (and keep) your DNA record...
Laura Bush, daughter of the world's most powerful person, had her handbag stolen despite the presence of numerous secret service agents.

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 07:50:12 GMT

It's oh so quiet...

I've been rather busy over the past month or so, including signing up a number of new members to EPG, plenty of speaking engagements, and a consulting job (have to pay for Christmas somehow), hence why there's been so little traffic here. However, that should all change in the New Year - we've commissioned a brand-new EPG website with extra bells and whistles and a side portion of interactive stuff, which will include the blog. Watch this space.

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 18:04:19 GMT

The EPG website is down

We're transferring our email hosting and DNS records to a new hosting provider because of problems with the current supplier, so the website is down. Normal service will be resumed shortly.