HOMELAND INSECURITY - Charles C. Mann

Sept-Insecurity.pages 6/28/02 10:37 AM Page 16
The command post was nondescript even by the bland architectural standards
of exurban office complexes. Gaining access was like taking a pop quiz in
security: How would the operations center recognize and admit its boss, who
was there only once or twice a year? In this country requests for identification
are commonly answered with a driver’s license. A few years ago
Schneier devoted considerable effort to persuading the State of Illi-
FOR FU RTHER R EADING
nois to issue him a driver’s license that showed no picture, signature,
or Social Security number. But Schneier’s license serves as
The consensus classic in the field
of cryptology remains The Code-
identification just as well as a license showing a picture and a sigbreakers:
The Story of Secret
nature—which is to say, not all that well. With or without a picture,
Writing (1967), by David Kahn. In with or without a biometric chip, licenses cannot be more than
the early 1960s, Kahn spent six state-issued cards with people’s names on them: good enough for
years working on a book that
social purposes, but never enough to assure identification when it is
sought, in his own words, “to cover important. Authentication, Schneier says, involves something a per-
the entire history of cryptology.” son knows (a password or a PIN, say), has (a physical token, such as
(That is in fact a modest description of a 1200- a driver’s license or an ID bracelet), or is (biometric data). Security
page book that begins with a chapter called “The systems should use at least two of these; the Counterpane center
First 3,000 Years” and closes, twenty-six chap- employs all three. At the front door Schneier typed in a PIN and
ters later, with “Messages From Outer Space.”) waved an iButton on his key chain at a sensor (iButtons, made by
All subsequent chroniclers of cryptography un- Dallas Semiconductor, are programmable chips embedded in stainlessavoidably
stand on Kahn’s shoulders. But Codesteel
discs about the size and shape of a camera battery). We enbreakers
nearly died aborning: reportedly, the
tered a waiting room where Schneier completed the identification
Pentagon tried to suppress its publication by,
trinity by placing his palm on a hand-geometry reader.
among other tactics, ordering a break-in at
Beyond the waiting room, after a purposely long corridor stud-
Kahn’s home to steal the manuscript. Only after
ded with cameras, was a conference room with many electrical out-
Kahn agreed to let Pentagon officers vet a draft
lets, some of which Schneier commandeered for his cell phone, lap-
was the book finally published. Kahn issued a
new edition of the book in 1996, bringing his histop, Blackberry, and battery packs. One side of the room was a dark
tory nearly up to the century’s end. Two books glass wall. Schneier flicked a switch, shifting the light and theatrical-
that are better on recent history ly revealing the scene behind the glass. It was a Luddite nightmare:
are Crypto: How the Code Rebels an auditorium-like space full of desks, each with two computer mon-
Beat the Government—Saving Priitors; all the desks faced a wall of high-resolution screens. One disvacy
in the Digital Age (19TK), by played streams of data from the “sentry” machines that Counterpane
Steven Levy, and The Codebook: installs in its clients’ networks. Another displayed images from the
The Science of Secrecy From An- video cameras scattered around both this command post and the
cient Egypt to Quantum Cryptog- one in Silicon Valley.
raphy (19TK), by Simon Singh.
On a visual level the gadgetry overwhelmed the people sitting at
American concerns about “homeland de-
the desks and watching over the data. Nonetheless, the people were
fense” are not new. (We too easily forget that
the most important part of the operation. Networks record so much
Washington, D.C., was sacked and burned by an
data about their usage that overwhelmed managers frequently turn
invading British army in 1814.) In America Invul-
off most of the logging programs and ignore the others. Among
nerable: The Quest for Absolute Security From
Counterpane’s primary functions is to help companies make sense
1812 to Star Wars (1988), Caleb Carr and
of the data they already have. “We turn the logs back on and moni-
James Chace provide a brisk survey of U.S.
tor them,” Schneier says. Counterpane researchers developed soft-
homeland defense schemes through history.
Alas, the two most relevant books on the
ware to measure activity on client networks, but no software by itself
can determine whether an unusual signal is a meaningless blip
or an indication of trouble. That was the job of the people at the
desks. Highly trained and well paid, they brought to the task a quality not yet
found in any technology: judgment.
Human judgment is at the heart of most good security. El Al Airlines has a
reputation for excellent security; not one of its planes has been taken over by
hijackers since 1968. The airline uses advanced technology to examine baggage,
but its major security tool is the human brain. About half the people working in
Israeli airports have a role in security. Because most of the guards are in plain
clothes, they are not apparent. They screen passengers mainly by talking to
16 THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY SEPTEMBER 2002