The Wall Street Journal has brought to light the fact that the US law enforcement community, led by the FBI, thinks it is losing some sort of "war" with hackers. Who declared this war and why did they declare it? It seems like yet another phony use of the term "war" in hopes of getting attention. We have the war on drugs, for example, and the war on terrorism. Who surrenders in these sorts of wars? Who signs the papers? And now, we're waging a vague war on hackers.

Of course, there is no war. and they will . Someone will always try to stop them. Let me assure you burglaries are more frequent and generally more damaging to the man on the street yet nobody has declared a war on burglary.

Hackers are essentially burglars. They get into a system like burglars would break into a house. Then, they rummage around to see what they can find. If burglars modeled themselves after hackers, instead of the other way around, they would plant bugs and cameras in the house. But they don't. At least, I do not think they do.

So, what do you do to keep burglars out and how does that apply to computer security? Well, you put better locks on the doors and perhaps an alarm system. Maybe a dog would do the trick. The most effective means is to make sure you are home. Securing a computer is similaralthough I am not sure what the dog equivalent is.

When the hackers last year, it was because Sony has shown little inclination to take security seriously. It was as if Sony owned a huge mansion and never locked the doors. Then, after having been robbed, it .

The was similar to a crime in which someone in the house works with the burglar. There is very little you can do about an inside job like this, although you can keep your eye on someone who is suspicious.

The analogies are endless and, of course, no one is winning the war because it is not winnable in any way. Law enforcement has been fighting against burglaries since the first person put a hatch door on a mud-hut. They were robbed.

I don't see stories about how we are losing the war against burglars or car thieves or bank robbers, so why should this be any different? The government says this is a national security issue in some instances, but that is part of a bigger stupidity, if true. It needs to take security more seriously.

I mean, you could put a chain link fence with barbed wire around your home. You could unleash your dogs all over the yard and position guards around the perimeter. With that sort of defense, I can assure you that your house would not be broken in to, but this is overkill for a private home. Even museums housing multi-million dollar paintings do not get that carried awayalthough they could!

This is not a war to win, but it is a battle that can be fought well. It will not be fought well, though, unless everyone is mindful of security, keeps up with trends, and looks out for oddities. None of what is happening is anything new. There have always been espionage and theft, only now it's all remote. It is not a war by any means. It's just a common struggle.