Wall Street Journal (January 15)
Encryption and security protections “have significant social and public benefits.” These are becoming “more important as individuals store and transmit more personal information on their phones—including bank accounts and health records—amid increasing cyber-espionage.” The U.S. Attorney General wants Apple to provide law enforcement with a backdoor. It won’t and it shouldn’t. “Any special key that Apple created for the U.S. government to unlock iPhones would also be exploitable by bad actors.”
Tags: Apple, Backdoor, Bad actors, Bank accounts, Benefits, Cyber-espionage, Encryption, Exploitable, Health records, Law enforcement, Personal information, Phones, Security, U.S., Unlock
The Economist (April 28)
“There is no consensus on what a crypto-asset is. Even within countries, authorities disagree on how to classify them. Are they a commodity, a currency, a security or their own, peculiar asset class?” The Swiss regulator, FINMA, took what may become a popular approach. FINMA’s treatment of crypto-assets will be based “on their actual function—ie, whether they are used for payments; as a utility token that gives its holder access to a specific service; or as an investment. This also means a token’s classification can change over time.”
Tags: Asset class, Authorities, Commodity, Consensus, Crypto-asset, Currency, FINMA, Regulator, Security, Switzerland, Treatment
The Straits Times (February 20)
“In spite of a substantial budget surplus,” Singapore is planning to raise taxes to meet “the challenges that lie ahead—in the form of financing healthcare in an ageing society, meeting infrastructure needs and ensuring security.” This approach starkly contrasts with the U.S., which has cut taxes despite running an enormous budget deficit, but fiscal sustainability has been “a mainstay of Singapore’s economic planning since independence.”
Tags: Budget surplus, Challenges, Deficit, Economic planning, Fiscal sustainability, Healthcare, Independence, Infrastructure, Security, Singapore, Taxes, U.S.
Institutional Investor (July 18)
Following a tumultuous weekend with a failed coup, another police officer shooting in the U.S., and continuing Brexit worries, investors may want to consider “whether security and geopolitical threats to stability will undermine the impact of aggressive easing actions of the world’s central banks. A recovery in the Turkish lira and global equity indices and a retreat in gold prices, seemingly fueled by the coup’s failure, suggests that at least some parts of the market believe central bank policymakers still trump security threats when it comes to financial asset valuation.”
Tags: Asset valuation, Brexit, Central banks, Easing, Equities, Failed coup, Geopolitical threats, Gold, Investors, Lira, Police, Recovery, Security, Shooting, Stability, Threats, Tumultuous, Turkey, U.S., Worries
Time (July 15)
First there was the Charlie Hebdo attack that killed 17 people. “Then came the Paris attacks—a devastating blow, from which the country had only just begun to shake off the anxiety and grief.” And now the deadly tragedy in Nice. All within a year and a half. “For France, the attack on Thursday night is likely to be deeply distressing—and to raise the question about how the country can possible avoid further attacks, given the extraordinary security measures already in place.”
Tags: Anxiety, Attacks, Charlie Hebdo, Devastating, Distressing, France, Grief, Nice, Paris, Security, Tragedy
Dallas Morning News (July 8)
“Our hearts are broken. For the dead and wounded Dallas officers. For their loved ones, friends and colleagues.” Snipers shot 11 officers, killing five. “These were police officers who had earlier posed for photos with the demonstrators, shaken their hands and provided security for their rally. Throughout the evening, mutual respect was visible between the two groups.” The unfathomable has happened. “Dallas must awake from this nightmare united.”
Tags: Dallas, Dallas. Snipers, Dead, Demonstrators, Nightmare, Police officers, Rally, Security, Unfathomable, Wounded
Washington Post (June 29)
Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) “has the potential to rebuild Saudi Arabia into a more dynamic country that’s much more able to protect its security and that of its neighbors.” Unfortunately, he is “also capable of driving his country off a cliff with his headstrong, sometimes reckless behavior. The stakes for the United States are enormous.”
Tags: Cliff, Dynamic, Headstrong, MBS, Neighbors, Reckless, Saudi Arabia, Security
Institutional Investor (March 21)
“The Internet and all its mixed blessings are currently in full flower with the Internet of Things (IoT).” Connected things are forecast to grow by 30% this year and by 2020, there will probably be over 20 billion things connected to the Internet. “The pressing question: Is the IoT floor too far along for security to be, as technologists like to say, baked in?” To hackers, the IoT represents the ultimate honeypot” and already a significant share of botnet attacks are taking place not on PCs, but from connected things. “Welcome to the insecurity of things.”
The New York Times (December 12)
“Canada’s generosity—and Mr. Trudeau’s personal warmth and leadership — can serve as a beacon for others.” Prime Minister Trudeau was on hand to welcome the first groups of Syrian refugees to Canada. He even helped one man find a winter coat that fit. Canada’s warm reception of refugees in need “puts to shame the callous and irresponsible behavior of the American governors and presidential candidates who have argued that the United States, for the sake of its security, must shut its doors to all Syrian refugees.”
Tags: Canada, Generosity, Leadership, Refugees, Security, Syria, Trudeau, U.S.
The Economist (November 21)
“The West has two things to defend: the lives of its citizens, and the liberal values of tolerance and the rule of law that underpin its society. Where these are in conflict, it should choose policies that minimise the damage to values in order to make large gains in protection. Sadly, in the scramble for security, that principle often seems to be the first thing to go.”
Tags: Citizens, Conflict, Liberal values, Lives, Protection, Rule of law, Security, Society, Tolerance
