An interesting item is the supercomputer in Japan. Now that there is computational power greater than anything the U.S. has done, there are fears that the U.S. will fall behind in critical defense objectives. I am taking a neutral stance on this because the supercomputer we're speaking of requires massive support, environmental specializations, and maintenance to run. It's not a feasibly easy weapon of war.

Also of note is the mass of identity theft busts that are occurring in the U.S. and abroad. All of this was made possible through the use of technology. Credit card companies are exploring biometrics, but again, the infrastructure isn't there to support full scale implementation.

What 2003 will bring

I do think there will be a much heavier focus on internal investigative security products in 2003. Forensics are growing at a phenomenal speed with good reason. With the advent of Enterprise functionality, required internal audits are made much easier and more precise. Investigation into incidents and remote response to these incidents becomes a requirement of doing business.


I see further development in the area of single sign on and more usable examples of its implementation. I know its currently in use at AMEX but I think Universities and governments may want to explore that option.

I do see some form of National ID card becoming mandatory in the UK and the U.S., but I could be very wrong.

I believe that our security market has been completely over saturated with products. There are numerous suites, customizables, add-ons and supertools and it's very confusing at times. I believe we will continue to see the death of mediocre vendors and the slow amputation of security analyst firms from our industry. More and more companies are turning toward capable staff to handle security issues and less and less are relying on the big analyst firms.