Abstract

The work presented in this late-breaking was inspired by two utterances at XML Europe (2002): “It is the responsibility of any topic-map-aware node to be careful what it merges”; and “This kind of information organization data needs the highest level of protection”. The prevalent rhetoric surrounding topic maps stresses wide availability and networking of information. A malicious spirit could wreak havoc within this vision – so an open-minded topic map processor needs to be really careful. This presentation outlines some ways in which a topic map application is vulnerable, and some ways in which it can be careful.