[KYHAM] Paranoia, 101 and informaion transmission

[Pete & Kim]

I have to agree with both Ron *and* Chuck. It is important not to be so
paranoid that we shut down ourselves and our society, and let the
terrorists win. Yet, we have to keep in mind that the 9/11 terrorists
used our openness, freedom, and the fact that we take certain things for
granted, to hurt us. 
 
When I started my latest career in an allied health field, day one in
the hospital we were told:
 
1)       Be aware of who is in your vicinity; if they can't produce
appropriate ID or have no plausible reason for being there, call
security;
2)       Never discuss a patient if anyone not directly involved in the
patient's care is present;
3)       Always log out of a terminal when you leave it, even if you
will be back in a minute;
4)       Never leave printed sensitive (i.e. patient) information
visible, even if you are about to do something with it;
5)       Do not give out information without and ID, and do not fax to
an unknown or unsecured fax machine.
 
As hams, we chuckled at the naivete of cell phone users who were
shocked, SHOCKED!! that their private conversations were being broadcast
to the world, and anyone with a scanner that could reach into the 800
MHz range could hear them. They assumed that their transmissions were
private and going to be received only by the person they wanted to talk
to. As hams, we understand radio and how to send and receive information
by electromagnetic radiation. We understand better than most people that
radio is an open, free medium, and as Ron said, we need to be aware of
what we broadcast, how we broadcast it and when so that it can't be used
to hurt anyone. Hams and non-hams alike have taken our openness for
granted, and we all need to become more aware of what we say and who
receives it. Paranoia means the terrorists won; awareness, vigilance and
forethought means they won't win.
 
Pete Womack, MT(ASCP)
KF4VCC


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