Toward a Pragmatic Business-Driven Discipline

This issue of IEEE Internet Computing launches a new security “track” in the magazine. By means of this track, readers can look forward to at least one article on security in each issue. As one of the old-timers in the security business, this is an exciting development for me, as well as for the magazine and the security community at large. It is one of many signs that security is finally coming of age. When I started in the profession with a fresh PhD in 1983, security was at best a peripheral niche concern. Today, it is a major concern at the top corporate, government, and academic levels, and security problems in cyberspace are unlikely to disappear or be solved any time soon. Indeed, new problems and requirements are likely to emerge, and we can anticipate continued interest in the field. I hope this track will contribute to that growth.