Xenophobia strikes a chord

Submitted by Mike Rothman on Tue, 2006-04-11 13:34.
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I do have to say that the reach of the tech media is amazing. My recent NetworkWorld column on xenophobia has definitely struck a chord. I'm hearing from lots of folks. Some folks enjoyed the perspectives and others... not so much. I've heard from many folks that are "military-like" showing great support for the government's policies. Some thought my piece was a veiled way to slam the government. Folks want our technology roots to stay in the US. One other guy took me to task because evidently McCarthy was right (most of the time).

I find all of this feedback entertaining. The wonderful thing about the first amendment is that I am entitled to my own opinion and I share it. I can definitely see the points of some of these folks, but I still disagree with the policy. If that means I'm slamming the government, then I'm OK with that. Ultimately I am a fervent capitalist and I don't like to see government interference in anything where a market can decide the victor.

It seems these folks forget that we live in a global economy. This is not World War II (as one reader pointed out), we are not at risk that we'll go to war with a country that has an exclusive major supplier of anything. The global economy doesn't work that way.

Security is no different. If the best security stuff in the world is developed outside of the US, then so be it. I just don't see how restricting a free market makes anything safer. The US Government employs lots of people that are supposed to make sure there aren't back doors and that products in use are not going to endanger anything. I'm sure vendors don't have an issue showing source code (where appropriate) to allay governmental fears. Or they just walk away from the business. It's that simple.

I also would like to see some consistency. A common refrain from folks that took the time to send me a note was that it's possible for a Chinese company to put a back door into code and sneak something into the country. Why isn't it possible for a US-based company to do the same thing? If that is a legitimate concern, then every company that sells to the US Government needs to undergo the same level of scrutiny. It's not like there haven't been bad apples in US companies before.

Finally, one reader chastised me for having a political opinion and trying to use my column inches to influence stuff. I would be very presumptuous to think that anyone would be listening to me for political opinion. My intent was to weave together a few observations and play out the scenario to one possible conclusion. That's what I do. I'm not saying I'm right or wrong, but my objective is to get people to think.

So I guess I remain unswayed by everyone's comments thus far. I do thank everyone that's sent me a note for taking the time to share your views. But ultimately I still think xenophobia is bad for security business. That hasn't changed.

UPDATE: Saw a couple of interesting posts I thought I'd reference on the topic.