The Chinese Armada

I love going to IKEA not only for the furniture and knick knacks but also for the weird names that the store gives to its merchandise. I think my favorite name/product combination is the "Bastis" line at IKEA for pets. My mom came back this evening with two items that were interesting an "Armada," a china or porcelain serving dish set and a "Fangst" a blue cylindrical hanging basket. Some items are fixtures however with other merchandise sometimes its a wonder if the names are more than coincidence. It's astonishing how things can be produced, named, and then consumed on such a large scale. This not only goes for furniture or household items but also for the internet. This week's BusinessWeek article "E-Spionage the New Threat" reports on the growing amount of cyber attacks on corporations including military contractors over the past two years. The authors identify the source as the People's Republic of China. Companies such as 3322.org allow individuals in the PRC create websites harboring malicious "phishing" codes to attack sites here in the United States. The attacks are repeated barrages that corrupt the site even after the codes are deleted.