The Internet Apologizes ... [telecom]

Very interesting article, thanks for sharing it.

Veteran computer developers always knew, from first-hand experience, that computer usage required some security controls to (1) prevent errors, and (2) prevent abuse.

Way back in 1969 (and probably earlier) kids were hacking into timesharing systems--some out of intellectual curiosity, but some out of mischief and malice. Going further back, electronics students utilized Bell System long distance control frequencies to hijack the telephone network to make free toll calls and call restricted numbers; this evolved into the infamous Blue Boxes.

These well known experiences should've been a lesson to the microcomputer and Internet pioneers that controls were necessary and the idealist concept of an "open environment" was not practical.

We need to ask how much virus/malware protection, virus/malware invasions, and identity theft all cost individuals and businesses?

We also need to ask if someone's youthful indiscretion should come back to haunt them ten or twenty years later when they are seeking a new job, mortgage, or insurance. In the old days, minor transgressions would stay buried in a filing cabinet never to be seen again. But today, they are easily discovered by anyone anywhere via computerized searches and Internet connectivity.