FCC ignores more than 100 years of wisdom
,----[ Quote ]
| In 1883 French cryptographer Auguste Kerckhoffs published a set of six
| design principles for military encryption systems. The second of these
| principles is generally known today under the observation that security
| through obscurity is not security. The Federal Communications Commission
| (FCC) seems not to have read the history books or to be aware of how its
| sister federal agencies develop security standards....
`----
http://www.infoworld.nl/idgns/bericht.phtml?id=002570DE00740E1800257313005EC092
This makes you wonder if Microsoft and its ilk hijacked decision makers just as
it did a fortnight ago in New York (see below). They try to write and rewrite
policies to exclude their rivals.
Related:
The FCC, FOSS, and software radios: a mixed bag
,----[ Quote ]
| After studying the new rules -- published in the Federal Register last month
| and taking effect today -- the SFLC concluded that the laws are not
| FOSS-restrictive because they "apply to hardware manufacturers who distribute
| SDR devices, regardless if they use FOSS in them or not." And the Center says
| that since the rules specifically mention the GNU/Linux operating system, the
| FCC is actually acknowledging the importance of open source.
`---- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
http://www.linux.com/feature/116769
Microsoft Muscles the NYS Legislature
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft’s proposed change to state law would effectively render
| our current requirements for escrow and the ability for independent
| review of source code in the event of disputes completely meaningless
| - and with it the protections the public fought so hard for.
`----
http://nyvv.org/blog/bolipariblog.html
Changing the Report, After the Vote
,----[ Quote ]
| That agreement was nearly imperiled last weekend, though. Gerri
| Elliott, corporate vice president at Microsoft's Worldwide Public
| Sector division, sent an e-mail message to fellow commissioners
| Friday evening saying that she "vigorously" objected to a paragraph
| in which the panel embraced and encouraged the development of open
| source software and open content projects in higher education.
`----
http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/09/01/commission
|
|