October 31 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

The Blog Avian Flu Diary has posted a wonderful commentary on the unwarranted optimism of government officials and other leaders who continue to make public statements professing preparedness for pandemics. Drawing from the informed preparedness of the general public during the Cold War in the 1950’s, the author contrasts the ability of average citizenry to cope with a disaster then as opposed to the misled and placated masses of today. The piece is definitely worth a read.

Posted in Disaster Management, Health Preparedness, North America | No Comments »

October 30 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

In world where the illegal trafficking of humans shows no abating, curtailing the apparently legal trafficking of exotic pets seems highly unlikely despite the clear benefits that might be derived by society.

The Times Online has reported that:

“Dorothy Crawford, Professor of Medical Microbiology at the University of Edinburgh, said that the risk to people from zoonoses – animal-borne microbes – had never been greater, and that there was a need to reexamine our relationship with wild and domestic animals.

Professor Crawford also predicted that global travel would need to be restricted in the event of an avian flu pandemic.

Most emerging infections, including HIV, severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and bird flu had been acquired from animals and no one could say how many other devastating diseases could yet mutate to human beings, Professor Crawford said. “Who knows what could be hiding around the corner? We really have to think about what we are doing,” she said.

Professor Crawford highlighted the example of a consignment of giant Gambian rats, which were flown from Ghana into the US as exotic pets. The rats carried monkeypox virus, which transferred to prairie dogs that were sold in the same pet shop. The prairie dogs then passed the disease to their human buyers. The chain of infection was only terminated after the microbe had infected 71 people. In another instance, crocodiles being farmed in Papua New Guinea to provide luxury items for the West had been infected by a virus from wild pig meat, which crossed to their keeper.” Click here for more.

It’s very unfortunate that the plight of billions of people will never improve until humans can manage to see so many issues from a better vantage point. Professor Crawford’s points are very logical and certainly valid. Are the needs driving people to have exotic pets so sensible? Should the rights of so few really override the safety of so many? If the exotic pet industry is really the only means for those in poorer countries to survive, perhaps it is our wider system that should be risked, not the health of a typically ignorant Western population.

Posted in Disaster Management, Health Preparedness, Africa, Europe | No Comments »

October 24 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

By: Lisa Williams, senior writer, Intergovworld

Governments face a unique challenge when it comes to battling cyber crime, according to a recent report entitled, ‘Countering Cyber Crime: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility’.

In a report released last week by Toronto-based market analysis firm International Perspectives, it outlines challenges governments face and the actions they can take to counter cyber crime.

Essentially, a lack of understanding on what cyber crime really is, is one of the biggest barriers for government to counter cyber crime, according to Alicia Wanless, executive director of International Perspectives.

“I think it’s difficult for the average person to get a grasp of what it is, the ‘cyber’ in front of it makes it seem as though it’s some new type of crime,” explained Wanless. “In most cases it’s traditional crime that’s been facilitated by ICT (information and communications technology).”

Wanless said the government has to start acting immediately on cyber crime.

“There’s been a lack of adequate movement towards countering cyber crime, just even on a public awareness level - putting up Web sites isn’t enough,” she said.

Wanless added that catchy media campaigns would be more effective and could be used to “put it in every user’s face that this is something that does affect them.”

Government should also be increasing education and putting pressure on some of the higher educational institutions to change their curriculum, said Wanless.

“Canada should probably at least be trying to adopt more of the international standards and approaches that have been pushed forward,” she said.

A big impediment to addressing cyber crime is the fact that it’s technical, she said. “If you’re a minister and have only been using computers for the last 10 years, it’s pretty daunting.”

Another barrier, noted Wanless, is that cyber crime hasn’t been as evident as other crimes, like street racing, stressing that the effects of computer crimes has not seemed “as tangible yet.”

Ultimately, for people to become more engaged in countering cyber crime, it has to happen at a grass-roots level, she said.

“If individuals start accepting their own responsibility in this, and they get active and interested, then their bosses will, and then politicians will; it becomes a chain reaction,” Wanless said.

The cyber crime report outlined the following key recommendations for the government:

• Establish a separate agency to deal with cyber crime, which should go beyond a task force housed within a bigger department.

• Create an oversight body for technical matters in security and investigations. The oversight body should consist of representatives from industry, privacy, security and law enforcement, law and academia.

• Ensure activity that is currently not recognized as illegal under existing legislation is criminalised as soon as possible. Many types of cyber crime are enforceable under existing legislation, but those that are not need to be addressed.

To purchase a copy of ‘Countering Cyber Crime: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility’, which offers simple ways individuals and organizations can effectively counter cyber crime, click here. International Perspectives is proud to be a part of IT Security Week this November, for more information click here.

Posted in In The News, Cyber Crime, North America | No Comments »

October 23 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

InformationWeek has reported that “With the help of a Secret Service case review, a Utica College study finds the median actual dollar loss for identity theft victims was $31,356.”

The study apparently quantifies the dollar value loss caused by cases of identity theft both from the impact to individuals as well as companies, which is a far more accurate assessment given the nature of most crimes. Of course, the total dollar value does not take into account the long-term social and emotional implications for victims.

Posted in Cyber Crime, North America | No Comments »

October 22 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

The following interview with Shelby Steele was published in The Globe & Mail over the weekend. Mr. Steele presents an interesting perspective on the fabric of modern North American society, making the interview a worthy read. Mr. Steele will be speaking in Toronto this week as part of The Grano Speakers Series.

“Race-relations scholar Shelby Steele is among the boldest thinkers in America - and also one of the most controversial. His recent book White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era is a brilliantly argued and uncompromising condemnation of self-serving white liberals and self-victimizing black leaders. It is also a moving meditation on his own journey from the racist world of his Chicago youth. His forthcoming book, A Bound Man, focuses on Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama.” Click here for more.

Posted in North America, Politics | No Comments »

October 19 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

The following cartoon was done by artist Larry Wright for The Detroit News:

ClassBrain re-published the cartoon along with 10 points the Centre for Disease Control in the U.S. wants everyone to know about H5N1. The points are certainly worth reading.

Posted in Health Preparedness | No Comments »

October 19 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

International Perspectives is happy to announce the release of our long-awaited report on cyber crime entitled “Countering Cyber Crime: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility.” Click here to view the report overview and highlights as well as sample text from the paper.

“Countering Cyber Crime: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility” can be ordered through our company website at www.internationalperspectives.org. The cost per report is $175 plus applicable taxes.

Posted in Cyber Crime | No Comments »

October 18 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

Everywhere one turns there is an expert or an official proclaiming this or that organization is ill-prepared for a pandemic. It’s been over four years since the last outbreak of SARS was contained and the deadly strain of bird flu, H5N1, appeared in South-East Asia. Four years and we still aren’t prepared - what gives?

Last week alone, The Federal Times reported that a pandemic flu could cripple the U.S. government, FEMA reportedly stated that “a pandemic will overwhelm (U.S.) infrastructure” and the World Health Organization claimed that “the European Union is inadequately prepared for a pandemic influenza outbreak.” All of the purportedly ill-prepared showcased in these articles are among the most developed and heavily funded organizations in the world. So, what’s the excuse?

If the article from The Federal Times is any indicator, the inability to prepare for something as potentially catastrophic as a pandemic stems from the usual bureaucratic issues: a lack of funding, priorities and ability to co-ordinate amongst key stake-holders. The question remains, when will such bureaucratic limitations be cast aside in favour of implementing effective plans for a possible pandemic? Probably never.

Security, in the face of a pandemic or other extreme emergency, will only be increased from a bottom-up approach. Although governments and other organizations should play a crucial role in maintaining overall stability, given their already proven inability to create and implement effective plans, such institutions should not be solely relied upon to see wider society through such a catastrophe. If individuals and local groups take action now to implement smaller-scaled plans that consider the needs of the surrounding community, the odds of overcoming a pandemic with as limited a negative impact as possible can increase dramatically.

Society cannot afford to wait for national and international organizations to enact effective pandemic plans. The cost is simply too great. At present, the impact of such organizations as the E.U. and U.S. government not being prepared for a pandemic is considerable to the wider population. With the proper local-level planning, however, effective preparations made now could greatly diminish such risks. The time to act is now, though, another four years might just be too late.

Posted in Disaster Management, Health Preparedness, North America | No Comments »

October 18 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

David Shapiro has published, in The Times, an interesting and informed perspective on the state of financial forecasting. The article is definitely worth a read, providing insight on the current global financial situation as a result of U.S. economic woes as well as the inability of forecasters to accurately predict “what lies ahead.”

Posted in Economic Issues, North America | No Comments »

October 17 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

The following is an insightful article published in The Boston Globe on the expansion of NSA wiretapping privileges in the U.S. passed by Congress last August:

“JUST AS CONGRESS was about to break for its August recess, President Bush pressured it into passing a bill allowing widespread wiretapping of Americans’ phone calls and e-mails without judicial warrants. The only saving grace in this odious legislation is that it expires in February. Now, two committees in the House of Representatives have drawn up a new bill that establishes some degree of judicial oversight on this surveillance. If the House and Senate cannot come up with an even stronger bill, it would be better to let the current law die an unmourned death in February.

Last summer’s law legalized the warrantless wiretapping that the administration began on the president’s order - in secret - after Sept. 11. In fact, the bill passed by Congress in a rush that justifies its low approval ratings gave the administration even broader powers than it had taken on its own. Under the president’s secret program, warrantless eavesdropping was permitted only when one of those involved in a communication was a suspected terrorist. There is no such requirement in the August legislation.

Also, under the president’s order, telecommunications companies participating in the wiretapping did so at their own legal risk. The bill Congress passed granted them immunity from lawsuits by individuals who believe their privacy has been violated.

No one is proposing to block all wiretapping of terrorism-linked communications. But a 1978 law sets out a flexible process for judicial oversight of taps in which investigators can start a tap and then wait as long as 72 hours before getting a warrant if time is of the essence. By railroading Congress into approving the bill last summer without hearings, the administration has never had to explain to the American public why the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is not a workable framework for electronic surveillance.

To its credit, the House drops the immunity provisions for the telecommunications companies in the new bill and carries its own expiration date, two years from passage. It also requires warrants from a special court set up under the 1978 law for surveillance of individual calls or e-mails to persons in the United States. But the bill would permit “basket” or “bundle” warrants for interceptions of communications by groups of people for a year, subject only to some scrutiny by the special court. This provision could be a loophole for overzealous eavesdroppers.

The pending expiration of the existing law in February shifts leverage to Congress. It should make sure that any surveillance legislation it approves does not detract significantly from the privacy protection afforded by the 1978 law - not to mention the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition of “unreasonable searches and seizures.”

Posted in Wiretapping & Surveillance, North America | No Comments »