] Politics is dirty business, and rarely so much as in the ] area of patronage: appointments to sought-after federal ] jobs in general, and to the federal bench in particular. ] So it should be little surprise that, with so much at ] stake, one political party would want to use the ] insecurity inherent in computerized databases to its ] political advantage. ] ] ] What is surprising, however, is that, caught with their ] hand in the cookie jar, Senate Republicans employed the ] tactic of blaming the victim: they said, in essence, It's ] your fault that we got and used your information. If ] successful, this tactic does not bode well for the ] government's ability to prosecute computer crimes, and to ] protect critical infrastructures. SecurityFocus HOME Columnists: The first fallout from Cybergate |