December
24, 2006: The NMCI (Navy Marine Corps Intranet) project, a $9 billion effort to
improve security and networking, has encountered a lot of unexpected, and often
very annoying, problems. For example, since NMCI's got all sorts of serious
security and safety programs built in, it's often not very helpful for people
who have assignments that may require them to reach out into the greater
infosphere. This includes information officers, intel types, personnel teaching
at or attending service schools, people working in Navy/Marine Corps labs, and
so forth. As it is, Navy Department filters are often too effective.
The
degree of security is sort of like that schools put on to prevent kids from
finding porn, which also block information about breast cancer, because
"breast" is a naughty word. That sort of thing actually doesn't stop determined
adolescents with raging hormones, but scientists, intel officers, and students
at Navy/Marine Corps schools may not have the time or the energy to developing
work-arounds.
Consider
the experience of a staff researcher up at the Navy War College, who was doing
some research on the Naval Militia. The NMCI filter kept blocking "Naval
Militia" sites, probably because someone had decided "militia" was a naughty
word.
The
cure is, indeed, sometimes worse than the disease.
