Foiling the Hackers--and Who Anticipated Them

It's not clear what all the fuss is about (''Cyber Crime,'' Cover Story, Feb. 21). The solution for the large ''denial of service'' hits to Yahoo!, eBay, and E*Trade is so obvious: legal responsibility.

All owners of Net-connected computers where the hackers were able to plant their ''traffic generators'' are guilty of generating the traffic that blocked the target sites. Just because others planted the generators should not absolve them of blame and liability for damages. The hackers were able to use those machines only because the machines had inadequate security.

You would be surprised how quickly those ''innocent'' partners of the hackers would clean up their acts after a few healthy damage awards against them.

Eric Bierman
Ottawa, Canada


Your editorial (''E-Barbarians at the gate,'' Editorials, Feb. 21) described the hacker attacks on Web sites as ''right out of Philip K. Dick's science-fiction classic Blade Runner.''

So far, so wrong. Dick's novel initially had the thought-provoking title Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In truth, it had no content similar to the latest attacks. Maybe you were thinking of (Canadian) William Gibson's Neuromancer--though the whole episode is much more similar to The Shockwave Rider, a novel by the late British science-fiction writer John Brunner. That story includes a distributed ''attack'' on a global network, organized by one person (though his intention is to make all information available, including secrets corporations and governments want to keep secret).

Brunner had never heard of the Internet when he wrote the book. Perhaps that's not surprising, since he wrote it in 1975.

Charles Arthur
London

Don't Paint All Consultants with the Same Brush

John A. Byrne's review of Consulting Demons sidesteps the responsibilities of book reviewing and exposes his own personal contempt for the consulting profession. Byrne, like Lewis Pinault, attempts to characterize a whole profession as a bunch of snake-oil salesmen. The title, ''First, let's kill all the consultants'' (Books, Feb 21), is irresponsible and unfair to all of your readers.

The majority of consulting professionals do not work for the big brand- name firms, and Pinault's experiences have more to do with his personal guilt and the practices of many of the ''elite'' firms' selected individuals than with the profession as a whole. Many of us who have spent a number of years in the field have come to realize that the practices of many of the prominent players--be they bait-and-switch or hired gun--exhibit a complete disregard for client assets and human capital.

Unlike the big firms, a small consulting practice would not survive if it tried to pull off some of the stunts referred to by Pinault and Byrne. The attributes of small firms often offer relief from such tactics because in a small firm, practitioners quickly realize that consulting is a labor-intensive profession focused on meeting client needs, not simply pumping up billing.

J. Kevin Fisher
President
Dartmouth Research & Consulting
Boston


The highlighted phrase ''lying, cheating, and stealing are standard practice in the consulting business'' is factually wrong and offensive to thousands of ethical consultants. The Code of Ethics for the Institute of Management Consultants states: ''We will serve our clients with integrity, competence, and objectivity,'' and, later, ''We will accept only engagements for which we are qualified by our experience and competence.'' Similar codes are used by other consulting organizations. The book's author is not representative of the management-consulting profession, and your reviewer has done our profession a disservice by failing to sufficiently emphasize that point.

Milton D. Rosenau Jr., CMC, FIMC
Rosenau Consulting Co.
Bellaire, Tex.

Coronary Imaging Hasn't Skipped a Beat

The medical community certainly shares the enthusiasm for advanced noninvasive imaging, as highlighted in ''Live and in 3-D, your body at work'' (BusinessWeek Lifestyle, Feb. 21). But there have been tremendous advances in coronary imaging in the past 20 years. The catheters are one-third smaller, thus minimizing discomfort, and most diagnostic procedures are completed in approximately 20 minutes--not the three hours reported in your article. Finally, the femoral-artery entry site in the groin is now sealed with a closure device or plug, thus allowing the patient to be discharged and sent home one hour after completion of the procedure.

Coronary arteriography and interventions (angioplasty) play a vital role in the management of patients with heart disease. Providing the correct details of these procedures will allow patients to make appropriate informed decisions.

Antonio R. Parente, M.D.
Arlington, Va.

The High Price of Crude Could Bring On a Bust

Your article about ''The Boom'' (Cover Story, Feb. 14) was very interesting. What was more interesting is that the article pointed out how the boom could become a bust due to high consumer debt and stockmarket investors taking on more margin debt.

However, there is one thing the article did not mention as a possible cause of a bust: high oil prices. As a resident of the Northeast, I have been hit hard by high heating-oil prices. There are reports of shortages of heating oil here; heating oil is already at $2 a gallon and threatens to go up even more.

With OPEC seeming to want to keep a lid on production past the Mar. 31 expiration, it looks as though oil prices will climb to $30 a barrel and probably more. Also, as oil supplies continue to decline, we could see the return to gas lines reminiscent of the 1970s as well as having to possibly pay $2 or more per gallon to fill up. BUSINESS WEEK and others have ignored the potentially crippling effects that such an oil shortage can have on our economy and on others around the world.

Yes, we are more efficient than we were in the 1970s. But the fact remains that we are still dangerously dependent on OPEC for our oil supplies. It is time to stop ignoring OPEC and the damage it is capable of causing and for this country to start once again pushing conservation and use of alternative supplies of energy, such as natural gas and coal, both of which are in abundant supply domestically. South Africa, for instance, makes gasoline from coal. Why can't the U.S.?

As long as we continue to depend on OPEC for our energy supplies, high gasoline and heating-oil prices, shortages, and the economic chaos they cause, could unfortunately become a way of life.

Paul B. McGraw
Rockville Centre, N.Y.

A Whoop and a Cheer for the Swoosh

Louise Lee's article about Nike Inc., ''Can Nike still do it?'' (The Corporation, Feb. 21), caught my attention in the first paragraph. Opening an article about Nike's move from adolescence into adulthood by talking about the company's social responsibility seemed appropriate. Since 1993, when I made my first visit to a Nike contract factory, I have visited more than 25 factories making Nike and other products throughout developing countries in Asia. I, too, have witnessed Nike's evolving maturity, particularly in the area of manufacturing practices.

Don't get me wrong. The factories were not terrible in 1993, especially compared with some other factories I had seen. But in the past two years, when I visited two Nike contract factories, the improvements I noticed were dramatic--not only in the factories but also in the communities where they are located. It seems that as it grew up in the 1990s, Nike's sense of community grew up as well, to include the places where its products are made. Let's hope they keep it up, and that other companies that are going through growing pains follow their example.

Kristie Seawright
Professor of Operations
Management
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah

Why Not Make Utility Poles out of Tires, Too?

Thank you for your article ''Yesterday's tires, today's railroad ties'' (Developments to Watch, Feb. 14), pointing out the economic and environmental advantages of replacing chemically treated railroad ties with those made of recycled material. You have identified a solution to a problem that deserves greater public, industry, and government attention in other sectors, such as the utility industry, which collectively manages more than 130 million utility poles. The vast majority of utility poles, like railroad ties, are chemically treated and retreated with the same hazardous wood preservatives that fill our nation's toxic-waste Superfund sites. Wood preservatives are some of the most toxic chemicals known to humankind.

Jay Feldman
Beyond Pesticides
National Coalition Against
the Misuse of Pesticides
Washington

The Sopranos? Mob Reality Is Far, Far Baser

As Gary Weiss's commentary (''Sorry, The Sopranos is off-key,'' Finance, Feb. 7), points out, The Sopranos, while entertaining, is far from reality. The real mob stands for greed, violence, and self-preservation.

As an FBI agent in Chicago, I once saw a mob boss put out a ''contract''on his wife when he learned she was to testify against him in a murder case. When told that his 12-year-old son might be with her, his reply was: ''Do what you gotta do.'' Fortunately, the testimony took place, and he remains in jail. That is the reality of the mob.

Kevin R. Illia
Reno, Nev.

''Call him the Streetfighter.com'' (Up Front, Mar. 6, 2000)

''Call him the Streetfighter.com,'' (Up Front, Mar. 6) says James Cramer ''was accused of bashing a stock he had shorted'' in 1998. It should have said Cramer was accused of shorting a stock he had bashed. The accusation turned out to be false.

''Will the Blair Witch sequel be an IPO?'' (Entertainment, Feb. 21, 2000)

''Will the Blair Witch sequel be an IPO?'' (Entertainment, Feb. 21) incorrectly said that Artisan Entertainment's rights to the Republic Pictures' film library expire in 2003. The rights expire in 2005, and Artisan has the opportunity to renegotiate an extension to mid-2006.

''Web to go--sort of'' (BusinessWeek Lifestyle, Feb. 14, 2000)

In ''Web to go--sort of'' (BusinessWeek Lifestyle, Feb. 14), the NeoPoint 1000 mobile phone was incorrectly identified as a product of Qualcomm Inc. While the phone uses Qualcomm technology, it is made by NeoPoint Inc. The story also should have said the NeoPoint 1000 includes text-recognition software for entering messages, though the feature was not well documented. In addition, the story misidentified Richard Siber as a telecom analyst with Arthur Andersen & Co. He is with Andersen Consulting.

''Teaching girls the ways of money'' (BusinessWeek Investor, Feb. 14, 2000)

''Teaching girls the ways of money'' (BusinessWeek Investor, Feb. 14) mentioned a Girls Inc. economic-literacy program for girls. The program is in the planning stages. It will be running at test sites in 10 locations this fall and at all sites by the fall of 2001.

''Inside Wall Street'' (Feb. 21, 2000)

An item on Southdown in ''Inside Wall Street'' (Feb. 21) used an incorrect chart in the print version of the magazine. The numbers in the text were correct.