This week I am attending the Gartner Symposium ITXpo.  One of this morning’s keynote presentations featured an interview with Phillip Rosedale (Founder and CEO of Linden Labs -- creator of the virtual world, Second Life).  During this interview, Mr. Rosedale addressed many interesting topics; including some of the types of judgments that I and others have made.  All in all, I was impressed with Mr. Rosedale and the interview.

Maybe it is just me, but I think that the recently announced "Month of MySpace bugs" is taking the "Month of ______ bugs" concept too far.  This is fundamentally different than the other examples (e.g. month of kernel bugs, month of browser bugs, etc...) because this has the potential to impact a specific demographic.

MySpace has already proven to be a virtual breeding ground for perverts and pedophiles looking for their next victims.  Publishing MySpace vulnerabilities may serve to further the reach and capabilities of such miscreants.

I ran across an interesting article by Bruce Schneier.  Bruce details how New York City emergency 911 call centers will soon be able to receive photos and video sent via camera phone. 

It is fascinating to see how cell phones have changed the way that people are able to report and respond to emergencies.  I’m sure that many of us vividly recall how cell phones were utilized on September 11. 

Well, now it looks like camera phones will take such capabilities to the next level.  If someone witnesses a crime, he/she will be able to take send photographic evidence directly to the 911 call center.  This will help with issues such as fading/unreliable memories. 

OK – so maybe this isn’t the *worst* idea in the world – but it’s pretty bad.  Let me explain.

Over the weekend, I was listening to a radio program that mentioned a new site called StolenIDSearch.com.  This site is apparently legit and has even received a write-up in CNET and a video news report from San Jose’s NBC affiliate.  The site’s purported function is to provide a service that allows consumers to find out if their personally identifiable information has been compromised. 

It seems that, many times, information security professionals conduct themselves honorably in their day-to-day tasks but, during times of crisis (i.e. during incident response or when performing investigations), the rules go out the window.  It’s not that good people suddenly turn bad; rather, the increased sense of urgency – then need to know what happened – pushes people to cut corners.  Unfortunately, such deviations from proper procedure can have dire consequences.  These consequences could lead improper handling of data, which (depending on the data in question) could lead to a larger incident than what sparked the initial incident response.  Further, within the litigious society in which we live, there is always the possibility of a lawsuit.  Lawyers love to find out that procedures have been circumvented.

Maybe I'm just too old or not "Web 2.0" enough; but, after reading a report detailing Representative George Miller's (D-Calif.) appearance in a virtual House of Representatives within Second Life to outline short-term goals for House Democrats, I am just confused.  To be honest, I've never understood the allure of Second Life -- I barely have enough time and energy for my first life...