Graham Titterington, principal analyst at Ovum, said: "We'll have to wait and see what happens to get a proof the new caring CA. We need proof this is not just hype. I think it's a post-Enron reaction, but I know we have nothing to worry about.
Post information on the web that says that Princess Di simply died due to bad driving and a bunch of idiotic paparazzi, and you'll get hit with gigabytes of so-called 'proof' that it's all down to Prince Philip, MI5 and a laser gun.
But there is a world of difference between issuing an alert about a threat and happening to mention any proof of concept or fairly benign variant which is spotted. The warnings appeared to stem from an alert by F-Secure but on closer inspection...
But for as long as they are accepted as proof of identity, these sorts of documents will remain a weak link in the fight against identity fraud. They are required for some passport applications and a number of other government services as proof of ID.
But the proof will be in getting the ball rolling in a big way. Take this post for IAH, Houston International Airport. Make me happy - visit www.atlarge.com, post an airport rating or two and tell people you know about it.
Schneier wrote in a blog post that the security company he founded, Counterpane, has seen proof of attack capability followed by extortion demands - but said the attacks he had seen had not been against power companies.