Underlying all these breaches is a single systemic security flaw, exactly 3.375 inches long. Credit card magstripes are a technological anachronism, a throwback to the age of the eight-track tape, and today the United States is virtually alone in nurturing this security hole.

You type in some basic information - your name, your Social Security number and also the amount of refund expected - and it'll tell you how long it's going to be before you get your refund.

And all 50 states, through our Homeland Security Information Network, are connected to it. This is a goal we've reached five months ahead of schedule.

The survey validates the need for comprehensive information security solutions that both integrate coverage against a wide range of complex security threats and make it easier to audit compliance to FISMA controls. Internet Protocol communications are transforming the way government works. Cisco sees providing security for the information infrastructure as both a business opportunity and a responsibility.

I not going to sign off on something that does not increase security for this state IT information,

Traditional information security has been very good at protecting structured data.