And now?

The world is in a security and privacy renaissance; ethical questions related to government and employer surveillance are being raised and re-raised. Security and privacy advocates exist on both sides of the debate -- such is our post-September 11 society. My prediction is that the Wal-Mart eavesdropping story will be in 2007 what the HP 'pretexting' story was in 2006. The ensuing investigation will likely play out on a grand stage involving governmental agencies, privacy rights advocates, and legislative action.

Perry Carpenter, a Computerworld.com blogger, is an information security and privacy manager with a background in application development, identity management, marketing analytics, and data privacy.