He did add, though, that "Cisco has provided network technology solutions to the 24 production team for the past four years, since its inception. We believe this is an innovative way to generate awareness of our product solutions while enhancing content of the show."
Well, most people don't seem to see it as enhancement of the show, but my annoyance with product placements is not the point. (For instance, a Cisco IP communications placement on "24" didn't bother me hardly at all, nor did the Alienware laptops used by the bad guys.)
Instead, I saw this placement as a reason to start worrying about the real state of homeland computer security, and about the false confidence we have concerning the issue.
Do we really trust our homeland security to Cisco--or to any company for that matter? I mean, while the "Cisco Security Response System" works perfectly on TV, in real life Cisco--like most other companies--has had numerous security lapses. The company recently acknowledged that its routers, switches, and other products are vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks and that its IOS (Internetwork Operating System) may contain vulnerabilities that could permit an unauthorized user to complete authentication and access network resources and have other issues.
Furthermore, Cisco's own source code was stolen last year, and the alleged perps have only recently been arrested.
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