The Hindu Business Line : Thus have we swept suspicion from our seat and made our footstool of security

After passing through multiple walls of security check, you may yet feel insecure, especially if a stray `what if... ' were to pop up in the mind. Relax, just a normal sign of living on the edge. Fears are so solidly real, be they about liquids or whatever, that they throw security into a fluid state once again and trigger stricter measures of screening and newer initiatives.

Such as, the Interior Ministers from the EU (European Union) putting their heads together to tighten up airport security; and the EU justice commissioner pledging {euro}350,000 `for research into liquid explosives,' as http://news.moneycentral.msn.com reports. `Security unchanged at smaller airports', says a headline in The Powell River Peak, Canada; and it can either mean welcome relief or fresh concern. More a norm, though, are `troubled skies,' as rues a headline on www.guardian.co.uk, in a story on `positive profiling' and strip-searching in response to `the heightened state of nerves'.

When fears mount, security measures breach their earlier confines and expand limitlessly. There can be `too much security,' as Scroop says in King Henry V, but all that may be justified vociferously. For instance, `Troops push security door to door in Iraq,' Los Angeles Times reports.

Security is present also in arenas far removed from blood and bombs, as for example in the IT (information technology) space. For example, `Microsoft quietly announces two security patches for Windows Vista,' http://arstechnica.com informs; and `Yahoo plugs security hole in web mail service,' as in a PC World report. We can't delay coming to terms with security, can we?

Security means `the state of being or feeling secure,' defines Concise Oxford English Dictionary. "Warm at home, secure and safe," as in The Taming of the Shrew. The word also means `the safety of a state or organisation against criminal activity such as terrorism'. Freedom from danger, fear or anxiety is security, says Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. `Freedom from the prospect of being laid off' is job security. More important, currently, is the connotation of security that refers to `measures taken to guard against espionage or sabotage, crime, attack, or escape'.

In Julius Caesar, Artemidorus reads off a paper. "Caesar, beware of Brutus," it begins, and goes on to caution, "Look about you: Security gives way to conspiracy." Far more dangerous than security being beaten by conspiracy is security conniving or colluding with conspiracy. A rationale, that is, for layers of security, so that one watches the other, adding to cost, yes, and also to an increased sense of security.

Else, you "give up yourself merely to chance and hazard, from firm security," as Domitius Enobarbus alerts Mark Antony, who adamantly wants to `fight at sea', in Antony and Cleopatra. "Bolingbroke, through our security, grows strong and great in substance and in power," frets Duke of Aumerle in King Richard II. Wish terrorism did not grow strong even as we tighten security. For, "You all know, security is mortals' chiefest enemy," as Hecate says, when meeting the three Witches in Macbeth.

Origin of the word

On the origins of the word, Online Etymology Dictionary says: "Secure, 1533, `without care,' from Latin securus `without care, safe.'" The word is broken as follows: "Se `free from' (see secret) + cura `care' (see cure)." Security is attested from 1432, from Latin securitas, from securus, explains www.etymonline.com. The word `secret' is from Latin secretus, meaning `set apart, withdrawn, hidden'.

Crisis is a related word, "From Greek krisis `turning point in a disease' (used as such by Hippocrates and Galen), literally `judgment,' from krinein `to separate, decide, judge.'" The other word, `cure' is older, dating back to 1300, and is from Latin cura `care, concern, trouble.'

As a finance term, security, a.k.a. collateral, means `an asset or assets to which a lender can have recourse if the borrower defaults on the loan repayments,' as Oxford Dictionary of Business defines.

"Security, I'll pawn my victories, all my honours to you," offers Alcibiades in Timon of Athens. And a valuable insight, the Bard offers, in that play, through Lucullus reads thus: "This is no time to lend money, especially upon bare friendship, without security."

Security as a financial asset

A broader meaning of security is as a financial asset, such as `an instrument representing ownership (stocks), a debt agreement (bonds), or the rights to ownership (derivatives),' the way www.investopedia.com defines. "A security is essentially a contract that can be assigned a value and traded." Security can be dated, bearer, fixed-interest, gilt-edged, mortgage-able, listed or unlisted. The S in SEBI, the market regulator, stands for `Securities', as much as in the SEC.

`Security blanket around atomic power complex,' reads a recent headline. The phrase `security blanket' refers to "any familiar object whose presence provides comfort or security to its owner, such as the literal blankets often favoured by small children," explains Wikipedia. "It is a comfort object." Credit for the phrase goes to Charles M. Schulz, who in the Peanuts comic strip gave such a blanket to his character Linus van Pelt, as http://en.wikipedia.org traces.

To many, it may not be too comforting to know that security is ultimately `a piece of paper' proving `ownership of stocks, bonds, and other investments,' as Bloomberg defines. Know also from www.bloomberg.com the meaning of: Security characteristic line, security deposit, security interest, security market line, security ratings, and security selection.

Security in IT

In IT, security means "ensuring that private information remains private in an atmosphere where all other information is free," as Computer, Telephony and Electronics Glossary and Dictionary explains. "Security also means that viruses are prevented from infecting people's systems."

Steps taken to help protect a computer system and its data from harm or loss are security, according to http://support.microsoft.com. "A major focus of computer security, especially on systems that are accessed by many people or through communications lines, is the prevention of system access by unauthorized individuals." Security log is "a log, generated by a firewall or other security device, that lists events that could affect security, such as access attempts or commands, and the names of the users involved."

"There is scarce truth enough alive to make societies secure; but security enough to make fellowships accurst," philosophises Duke Vincentio in Measure For Measure. "Much upon this riddle runs the wisdom of the world. This news is old enough, yet it is every day's news." How eerily true!

"Thus have we swept suspicion from our seat and made our footstool of security," declares King Edward IV in Shakespeare's King Henry VI. Alas, it is highly doubtful if we will ever be able to make a similar statement.

ComingToTerms@TheHindu.co.in

D. Murali

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