Greetings!
I am writing my first ever BLOG. Having read a number of blogs, I am of the opinion that the best blogs are those that have a point. I like reading blogs that tell me something useful, or something that I think about hours later…
This first blog is directed toward the issue of Cyber Security. In my mind, this is a security issue that is being ignored much like the weather issues were ignored by the crew of the HMS Titanic over 100 years ago.
We are all vulnerable to disruption and possibly damage caused by attacks through the internet. These attacks range from the common e-mail viruses to Trojan horses that can destroy hard drives, to even larger attacks on complete internet systems. The damages these attacks cause range from delay and destruction of internet service, to replacement of entire computer systems, to (potentially) the complete disruption of all the systems we now rely on for our everyday life: power and utility systems, communications, transportation, and financial transaction systems. The U.S. Government has recognized this vulnerability, and in response, the Government has set up USCYBERCOM, headed by a U.S. Army General. This command’s purpose is to defend our nation against cyber attack (and no doubt, to be prepared to wage offensive cyber warfare).
There is very little “law” on the internet. In fact, the internet is the “Wild, Wild, West” of the law right now, a huge, unregulated behemoth that has infiltrated all of our lives. It will take many years for all of us to get comfortable with the vulnerability of cyberspace. I would advocate for much more regulation of the internet, even if it means internet transactions and communications are subject to fees and taxes, just like non-internet commerce and communications.
My grandfather was born in 1909. His entire elementary school was sent outside the first time an airplane flew over his central Idaho farm country home. He lived to see the Moon landings in 1969 and through the 70’s, he lived through two World Wars and the Cold War, and the incredible advances in communications, technology, and the improvements we have made to our quality of life. He told me once, shortly before he died, that progress did not necessarily mean growth. He said this in the context of our discussion about how far the U.S. had come with its use of satellites for both commercial and military purposes. He never owned a cell phone or a computer. I wonder if his world was safer than mine?
Is anyone out there that has any suggestions about how to make the internet safer?
Bruce