Via Dale Churchward, standing in for Harry Pierson, comes word that Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill to punish retailers for personal data leaks. Dale speculates "there may be some good jobs in retail IT data security."

I think so. Of course, you should figure out what you love to do and figure out a way to get paid for doing it, but a good hobby for any self-employed person is trying to figure out non-glamorous retail industries that will have guaranteed growth. For instance, I live in a place that attracts retirees, little infrastructure, and has very high shipping costs -- I know that a retail medical supply company that delivered would have ample business.

Similarly, the rise of IT data security as a business cost is a fait accompli. I have a friend who does security audits for a major consulting firm and he's living large. Starting a business to do it on a smaller scale makes a lot of sense. I would imagine that it's a significant amount of upfront work and then you get a long-term maintenance contract, which is nice for a business, since I would think there's a significant amount of lock-in associated with that initial audit.