QT and the Perimeter

Kim Cameron has another interesting entry on Deperimeterization here. All of this got me to thinking about another aspect of perimeter security, and that is network location. People tend to think of computers as being logically located inside or outside of the security perimeter. Or more specifically people without laptops tend to think that. If you have a laptop, you quickly realize that you flip-flop between the state of being in and out of the perimeter on a daily basis, or more frequently is you use VPN.

I like like the analogy of Quantum Tunneling (QT). One moment your laptop is outside the perimeter, the next it’s magically in. Then out again. QT in, QT out. Of course any malware your laptop picks up outside the perimeter will be carried in on the next trip in. This should really be the nail in the coffin of perimeter security thinking, but unfortunately it isn’t.

The QT analogy came to me because I have been reading Ilium by Dan Simmons (author of the Hyperion series). This SF novel combines The Illiad, QT, Greek Gods, a mostly depopulated Earth, a terraformed Mars, Little Green Men, and Jovian Cyborg buddies (one who likes Shakespeare and one who like Proust). I’m not done yet, so it will be interesting to see if Simmons can pull it all together at the end.

Here is the identity tie in. In Simmon’s future Earth, the few remaining inhabitants can teleport from place to place. It turns out that peoples bodies aren’t actually teleported. The body and brain waves are scanned at origin and that information is stored in a central computer. The body, thoughts, and clothing are reconstituted at the destination based on that information.

Teleportation of identity! Fascinating.