Big Music's big misstep

Unintended Consequences Department: The music industry's relentless legal offensive against individual file traders is spurring users to adopt new technology that could hasten its demise, BusinessWeek Online reports:

One has to admit: The RIAA sure is tenacious in pursuing its strategy. What it doesn't seem to realize, though, is that it has already lost the war. ... The recording industry's hardball tactics have fueled a technological shift that'll make it nearly impossible to pursue file swappers in the future.

How so? The culture of fear and loathing that the RIAA has created is starting to put encryption on the must-have list of every Joe and Jane Internet user. The results will be wide-ranging and will pose a threat to the movie industry, the software industry, and just about any other industry involved with the creation and sale of intellectual property.