The Homeland Security Department has announced the new National Cyber Alert System, a program that will send an e-mail announcement about new computer viruses to anyone who signs up for the service. At first glance, the new system is a good plan to make Americans aware of dangerous computer viruses, but the method of using mass e-mails is too risky and insecure.
Ohio University's very own College of Communication Student E-News, which is distributed via mass e-mails, was recently affected by the Beagle/Bagle virus, a sign that even carefully monitored systems are still vulnerable to hackers. And while OU's level of internet security does not rival that of the U.S. government's, more sophisticated viruses will be targeted at more sophisticated systems.
A mass e-mail issued by the Homeland Security Department will undoubtedly become a target for hackers across the world. The possibility of spreading a virus via the U.S. government is too tasty a treat for serious hackers to pass up, and the idea of disabling millions of computers across America probably already has thousands of hackers licking their lips with excitement.
The Homeland Security Department should consider adding a virus announcement to its Web site as a safer, more practical alternative to distributing information via e-mail. The Web site could contain the same up-to-the-minute information about viruses and cyberspace security. Unlike similar commercial sites already established by McAfee and Norton, the U.S. government's site would be an unbiased forum that would provide information without trying to sell a product.
In addition, with technology improving by the second, it would take a large staff of highly skilled personnel working long, expensive hours to maintain the security of the National Cyber Alert System. A Web site would not be nearly as much of a hassle.
Cutting tests hurts drug war
Federal authorities have eliminated an important tool used to fight the war on drugs in favor of a less effective and politically motivated system.
ADAM, the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program, which was established in 1986 and has been integral in studying drug-abuse trends and epidemics, was quietly canned this week after 18 years of existence. The importance of the ADAM program has been overlooked, the reasons given for cutting it are unconvincing and its elimination was a mistake.
Sarah V. Hart, director of the National Institute of Justice, a research branch of the Justice Department, cites budget cuts as her reasoning for axing ADAM. This year Congress granted the National Institute of Justice a $6 million budget, pocket change compared to last year's $20 million. The ADAM program costs $8.4 million annually.
With the government starting new programs nearly every day (the National Cyber Alert System or Defense of Marriage Act, for example), it is hard to believe that government officials can't spare $8.4 million to keep ADAM alive. The U.S. government also is pouring $50 million dollars into household surveys that ask people to voluntarily report drug use and $23 million more into testing high school students for drugs.
While both of these measures are somewhat helpful in the war on drugs, inmate testing still should be used. By giving convicted criminals drug tests, the government is targeting the problematic members of society. Instead of catching a few high school students experimenting with marijuana, ADAM works from the base of the problem, providing the justice department with valuable statistics on what drugs are popular among convicted criminals and which have the potential to rise to become epidemics.
And, by testing inmates before incarcerating them, the prison system is better prepared to deal with inmates who may be heavily addicted to narcotics or experiencing drug withdrawals.
Victim to a bungle of misallocated funds and a refusal to recognize the significant benefits of testing prisoners for drugs, the loss of the ADAM program is a devastating blow to the war on drugs.
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