Re: Terrorism Hysteria on the Net

[vin@shore.net (Vin McLellan)]

        Ex-Special-Agent Settle deserves all the derision he has gotten
(probably not in the right places) for his LSD-in-the-water-supply threat:

>> >> "You bring me a select group of hackers and within 90 days I'll bring
>> >> this country to its knees, " says Jim Settle, retired director of the
>> >> FeeBee's computer crime squad.

        snow's jibe about doing the same with a handful of spooky special
forces guys (less than 15, if he used snipers) was appropriate.

        I think, however, Dale Drew went too far when he denied that the
demension of the Net added nothing new to the range of social or economic
threat.  Don't we, as a technical culture, have to acknowledge the
burgening nihilism that is exemplified in both the subculture of virus (and
other randomly distructive pieces of attack code,) and the larger culture
that so often lauds their "creativity" and "ingenuity."  Not even
lumpen-Libertarianism allows the author of such pain and distruction to
escape moral responsibility -- yet the popular tech culture (and the pop
culture) does just that!

        The culture can deal with purposeful terrorism, even purposeful Net
terrorism,  but a whole subculture of sociopaths who -- like arsonists on a
binge, or (to exaggerate slightly) the nerve gas cult in Japan -- toss out
distructive code bombs to see who or what gets blown away, is indeed
something new.

        How many wild viruses are now loose?  What new corners of the
networked infrastructure will be the next forum for these arsonists?  Java
applets?  NT?  The nodes of the Net itself?

        Is this too to be left to police suppression?  Are Net Cops
inevitable?  Are there other forces that could be brought to bear?  (Forces
that could perhaps be influenced by the tone or substance of comments that
originate here or in similar forums?)  And isn't this threat unique to a
culture which has become so dependant on the structured flow of information
products and tools?

        The sky isn't falling; there are no bodies in the street -- so we
have time... but the sense of threat could become so serious that the
public would seek shelter, solice, stability. The spooks' wet-dream, the
wiretapped Garrison Nation (two-way TV always on; no one allowed to whisper
away from a microphone)  is one answer.  Of a sort.

        Suerte,

                        _Vin

         Vin McLellan +The Privacy Guild+ <vin@shore.net>
      53 Nichols St., Chelsea, Ma. 02150 USA Tel: (617) 884-5548
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