Category Archives: Security

Food, Security

From water into fake wine

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More supply-chain woes as Bordeaux wine is apparently fighting a rash of fakes on the market. Things are made worse as the AFP reports a tendency by winemakers to deny there is a problem rather than deal with it:

Molyneux Berry [who is currently working for Koch gathering evidence for the upcoming trial against Rodenstock] agreed that the tendency was to keep quiet about fakes.

Because of the publicity associated with court cases, he said it was hard for one chateau to stand up and say what was happening. It would be better therefore for action to be taken as a group, he added.

Another French auction consultant, based in the western French region of Brittany, Giles de Pontavice, who offers advice on fake wines via his website VinorumCodex, agreed that legal action by chateaux was necessary.

Wonder if someone is going to advocate preventive measures as well as detective?

To help counter the problem, [Berry] has called for all top Bordeaux chateaux to put their name to a written statement that they would fight counterfeiting as members of a fraternity.

“That will put the fraudsters off completely,” he said. They could also support Koch’s case financially, he said.

Another wine auction consultant, Alex de Clouet, based in Paris, said he believed chateaux must take systematic legal action.

Legal action and written statements will put off fraudsters completely? Maybe the current generation of noble fraudster would be stopped by such measures, but if the prices remain high and the opportunity (vulnerability) for fraud is left unresolved…. Would winemakers ever consider using public-key crypto or a similar strong relationship with buyers to verify bottles/labels? Perhaps the wine consultants will evolve into supply-chain security consulting.

History, Poetry, Security

18 JUNE 1961

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by Dag Hammarskjold (1905-61) tr. by Leif Sjoberg

He will come out
Between two warders,
Lean and sunburnt,
A little bent,
As if apologising
For his strength,
His features tense,
But looking quite calm.

He will take off his jacket
And, with shirt torn open.
Stand up against the wall
To be executed.

He has not betrayed us.
He will meet his end.
Without weakness.
When I feel anxious,
It is not for him.
Do I fear a compulsion in me
To be so destroyed?
Or is there someone
In the depths of my being,
Waiting for permission
To pull the trigger.

History, Security

Army blogs and security

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Interesing article by Felberbaum about the risks of blogging as a soldier:

In one incident, a blogger was describing his duties as a guard, providing pictures of his post and discussing how to exploit its vulnerabilities. Other soldiers posted photos of an Army weapons system that was damaged by enemy attack, and another showed personal information that could have endangered his family.

“We are a nation at war,” Warnock said by e-mail. “The less the enemy knows, the better it is for our soldiers.”

It’s not a good sign when a guard thinks it is ok to post details about vulnerabilities of his position on a blog. Hmmm….

On the other hand it is important to remember that information also can be used to fake out the enemy. Perhaps the most interesting recent example was when rubber aircraft and tanks were deployed before D-Day. Could there be blogs setup to fool the enemy?

Knowing that German intelligence would be trying to find out more, double agents planted stories and documents with known German spies. US General Patton was supposedly commander of the non-existent force. Pretend radio transmissions were broadcast, just as if a large army were busy being organised.

Also, hopefully not all blogs are restricted when the foolish ones are being shut-down. It would be nice if bloggers from the conflict could share information about soldiers learning to live in peace with the Iraqis (since there is no timeline for their withdrawl). I remember a blog some time ago (lost the link, unfortunately) that had images of a children’s playground in Iraq made by Americans from used Hummer parts including wheels and springs. Although it was sad to see the results of an overwhelmingly dire situation (destroyed Hummers, destroyed playgrounds), the ray of humanity was nice.

Energy, History, Security

China sweetens relations with developing states

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I have written about this trend before, but the latest news clearly shows how China is moving into natural resource markets in a way the US used to pride itself. In other words, while the US is bogged down in a rediculously self-created quagmire for control of Iraq, China is extending its reach and relations around the world:

China, with nearly $1 trillion in reserves and a voracious appetite for natural resources, has decided to spend some of its billions of dollars in savings to secure access to the oil, gas, copper, coal and other mineral riches that lie beneath the soil of many African countries.

On the anniversary of the 1956 Suez Crisis the leaders of the US would be wise to think long and hard about the mistakes made by the US, Britain and France as they worked against each other while trying to impose their will abroad.