The data from a recent Cutter Consortium study reveals that 55% of companies have modified their security processes since September 11.

Figure 1 -- Has your organization deployed an enterprise-wide security administration application since September 11?

Every so often, I'm reminded that I started writing about computing in the early 1980s and wrote primarily about artificial intelligence through most of that decade. Usually I think of it because I read of some new achievement by an AI system. In this case, I noticed that the current world champion chess master, Vladimir Kramnik, just achieved a draw with Deep Fritz, the current reigning chess program.

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, everyone has become more conscious of security issues. At the same time, everyone has become more fearful. The US government, for example, is issuing regular announcements of terrorist threats. And, among the many threats that have been described in detail, in the press and government briefings, are the threats of attacks on computing systems.

Recent revelations of abuse by supposedly world-class practitioners on Wall Street and at companies like Enron underscore the importance of a realistic approach to risk management.

Whenever practitioners misuse and abuse the risk management discipline, they contribute to what risk management expert and Cutter Consortium Fellow Robert N. Charette calls the "risk management misery scenario" -- a future in which managing risk is perpetually under fire and discounted as an effective management tool.

I live and work in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, USA. On 24 October, authorities arrested two suspects in the case of the DC sniper. These suspects alledgedly shot 13 people (10 fatally).

At the end of October, Borland Software announced that it had agreed to buy TogetherSoft Corp. for $82.5 million in cash and a little over nine million shares of Borland common stock. The entire transaction is valued at $185 million, based on Borland's closing price per share of $11.34 on 29 October.

The art of imagination is clearly out of vogue in today's business environment. Though there may be a few examples of isolated pockets of individuals dancing out of the box, a majority of the business community is operating within the constraints of four bleak walls and is restricted by an ever-tightening budgetary straightjacket.