Usually in this space I like to summarize the contents of the issue and point out anything bearing in particular on our theme, but if you will indulge me, I would like to talk more long term and big picture this month.

I am thinking specifically about security. Not a big surprise for those who know me and, if you were paying attention, you might have noticed that I used to be the security editor before taking over as editor-in-chief. Security is one of those pervasive things like error handling. You don't typically notice it until it fails you when you need it most.

I was talking to the new security editor, Duane Laflotte, about all these new technologies from Vista to WPF and WCF and we both despaired a bit that most likely things in the security arena won't change nearly as drastically for the better as the tools have been changing. For most organizations the tools will mean more functionality and better developer productivity and, in the case of WPF, most likely way cooler interfaces, but it won't mean better passwords or better practices relative to sensitive data. Those kinds of improvements are fairly slow in coming and often take a concerted effort or social change to influence. The good news is that both of these factors seem to be pulling in our favor at the moment.

The state of Massachusetts is proposing a bill that would make companies that have security breaches that expose customer data to bear the costs of the cleanup. This means that if you have to change cards because a vendor lost your personal data, they, the negligent party, would have to pay that cost rather than forcing you or your bank (which means you) to pay for it. I like this idea and think it will add to the pressure for organizations to be more security minded.

The other thing that I think works to our advantage is that CardSpace and the rest of the identity story from Microsoft is moving things forward in a positive direction. For that reason, look for our issues leading into summer to focus on security and especially on authentication systems like CardSpace.