As you see from the news bit attached, I wonder if we'll need to worry about 'disk escrow,' or perhaps a requirement that disks be of an unusually large size (thus making them easier to detect), or a requirement for diskless machines... MW http://www.7pillars.com/ ________________________________________________________________________ Iraq reportedly hiding arms data on U.S.-made computers ____________________________________________________________________________ Copyright ) 1997 Nando.net Copyright ) 1997 Reuters WASHINGTON (November 23, 1997 02:35 a.m. EST http://www.nando.net) - To conceal its deadliest arms from U.N. weapons inspectors, Iraq has increasingly turned to U.S.-made computers sold in Baghdad since the end of the 1991 Gulf War in violation of international sanctions, the Los Angeles Times reported in its Sunday editions. Quoting U.S. officials and U.N. diplomats, the newspaper said that Iraqi scientists and defense officials are using Western-made computers to transfer data from bulky papers to small disks that can be easily dispersed, making the information difficult for inspectors to track. In addition, they are using computers for research and development in the four categories specifically forbidden under the U.N. resolution ending the war -- nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and long-range missiles. U.N. sources did not disclose the brands or quantity of U.S.-made computers, except to say they make up a significant percentage of what was in use in Iraq, the paper said. "There are not garden-variety computers that you can go down to Radio Shack and buy," the paper said, quoting a former U.S. diplomat. "This requires specialized equipment and programs only available in certain places. Most of the U.S. equipment was probably purchased through third parties to circumvent U.S. companies' more rigorous monitoring of such illegal sales, U.N. and U.S. sources said, according to the newspaper. The use of high-tech equipment underscored how Baghdad continued to keep data beyond the reach of the United Nations, the paper said, adding that President Saddam Hussein's regime was widely suspected of using the three-week gap while U.N. inspectors were out of the country to further disperse data on disks. The use of computers also reflected the way Iraq used its limited sources to modernize its military capability rather than address humanitarian issues, U.S. and U.N. officials said, according to the report.