Pilots Say Flight Cancellations Are Bogus; Nuclear Plans Found in Iran; Microsoft Code Leaked On Internet; CAPPS 2 Fails To Protect Privacy

Pilots Say Flight Cancellations Are BogusThe Guardian reports that pilots and airline executives have hit out at intelligence officials for “letting their imaginations run riot” following the cancellation of more British Airways flights on security grounds. According to the report, the cancellations are believed to be based on fragments of intelligence gathered by US agencies, some of which refer to flight numbers and others to threats on certain dates, without necessarily any connection between them. Nuclear Plans Found in IranThe Boston Globe reports that international inspectors have learned that Iran hid blueprints for a powerful device to enrich uranium, in an apparent breach of Tehran’s promise last year to disclose all its nuclear activities. According to the story, the concealed blueprints for a state-of-the art centrifuge, which can be used to enrich uranium for civilian reactors or nuclear bombs, raised questions about whether Tehran also has bought designs for a nuclear weapon from black market sources.Microsoft Code Leaked On InternetThe New York Times reports that Microsoft says incomplete portions of the source code for some versions of its Windows computer operating system were leaked over the Internet. According to the story, access to the source code could allow hackers to exploit the operating system and attack machines running some versions of Windows. CAPPS 2 Fails To Protect PrivacyThe Washington Post reports that the Transportation Security Administration’s plan for a vast computer system to screen airline passengers contains inadequate measures to guard against identity theft and protect consumer privacy, according to a report issued yesterday by government investigators. According to the Post, the General Accounting Office report found that the government’s much-delayed program known as CAPPS 2 faces major hurdles, such as getting international cooperation to use passenger data from foreign carriers and establishing ways to address claims by passengers who might be falsely identified as suspected terrorists.