[108048] in Cypherpunks
Re: The Secret Man of Power
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (jeradonah lives)
Tue Feb 2 16:00:26 1999
To: jei@zor.hut.fi
Cc: cypherpunks@toad.com
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 15:31:02 -0500
From: jeradonah lives <jeradonah@juno.com>
Reply-To: jeradonah lives <jeradonah@juno.com>
On Tue, 2 Feb 1999 18:43:07 +0200 (EET) jei@zor.hut.fi writes:
>
>
>The New York Times, February 1, 1999
>The Man Who Protects America From Terrorism
>By TIM WEINER
>
>The mission of protecting Americans from attack, whether by states or
>rogue groups, is "almost the primary responsibility of the
>government," Clarke says. He is trying to raise the fear of terrorism
>in the United States to the right level -- higher, not too high -- as
>he girds the nation against the possibility of an assault from nerve
>gas, bacteria and viruses, and from what he calls "an electronic Pearl
>Harbor."
"an electronic Pearl Harbor?" are you ready for the next mccarthy era?
what is astounding is how little thought is associated with this concept.
but when you think about the 21st century even a little, you begin to
see how divergent the threats of the 21st century are from those of this
past one. the kind of strategic surprise represented by pearl harbor
(moving large military forces "invisible" to one's opponent; striking
deep into the heart of an opponent's native territory -- despite the fact
that hawaii was not a state at the time; disabling large portions of an
opponent's military forces; gaining a psychological advantage over an
opponent; etc) is simply no longer possible on the same scale in a
conventional manner over the united states today. perhaps this is the
reason for the need to create a false comparison with emergent
technologies.
the threats represented to _nation-states_ in the 21st century are not
simply other nation-states. and they are more than just a small number
of cults or "terrorist" groups that wish to replace governments with
their own vision. every single person, every single one, who recognizes
his or her potential in the 21st century and exercises the sovereignty
that is their's represents an emergent threat to the existing (and
archaic) forms of government. hackers are merely at the forefront of
this threat. they are a convenient excuse to usurp the rights and
privileges once believed to be fundamental to every citizen...
>In his office, where a small sign reads "Think Globally/Act Globally,"
>he spoke passionately about the threat of cyberwar, invisible attacks
>on the nation's computers, a terror so insidious, so arcane he has
>trouble convincing corporate chieftains and political commissars it is
>real. But it is out there, somewhere, he says, even if he can't prove
>it.
or identify it. imagine, cyberterrorism! what a wonderful combination
of frightening concepts! seek the definition behind the rhetoric!
>"There is a problem convincing people that there is a threat," he
>said. "There is disbelief and resistance. Most people don't
>understand. CEOs of big corporations don't even know what I'm talking
>about. They think I'm talking about a 14-year-old hacking into their
>Web sites.
but they have no problem convincing the government that one exists.
congress is afraid NOT to fund these kinds of request, even though they
don't understand what the money is being used for. while the church
committee exposed the abuses of black budgets in the 1970s, no one is
voicing concern about these new black budget proposals...
>"I'm talking about people shutting down a city's electricity," he said,
>"shutting down 911 systems, shutting down telephone networks and
>transportation systems. You black out a city, people die. Black out
>lots of cities, lots of people die. It's as bad as being attacked by
>bombs.
this is clearly possible, as L0pht testified, BUT such an occurrence is
far more likely to come from a group of kids then from a serious opponent
to the u.s. government. those who seek to challenge the u.s militarily
are more likely to disable or disorient military computers than power
companies' or local governments' -- but that is not what they are talking
about. disabling an opponent's infrastructure as a military tactic would
be of little consequence since modern warfare has become more compressed.
by the time that public discontent could mobilize, the *war* would be
over...
>"An attack on American cyberspace is an attack on the United States,
>just as much as a landing on New Jersey," he said.
define *cyberspace;* define "american" cyberspace. somehow, these
concepts are not so easily transferable to the emergent realities of the
21st century. perhaps we need to think more about how to adapt the u.s.
military to the needs and threats of the 21st century then how to adapt
the american citizenry to the needs and desires of the american
military...
>"The notion that we could respond with military force against a
>cyber-attack has to be accepted."
is this an attempt to justify the pro-active response to the several
attempts to overwhelm DoD web sites? are we being asked to support the
apparently covert clinadmin decision to "hack the hacker?" may i assume
that posse comitatus no longer applies? with the disappearance of
borders in the digital era, is anyone safe from the application of
american military force? are we safe from our own military?
>Why would anyone want to mount such an attack? "To extort us," he
>said. "To intimidate us. To get us to abandon our foreign policy --
>'Abandon Israel or else!'
*12-year old holds america hostage!* i can see the headlines now! let
me see, hfg hacks for girls; what do you think the next *attacker* will
ask for? (i would bet a later curfew, but...)
>"Imagine a few years from now: A president goes forth and orders
>troops to move. The lights go out, the phones don't ring, the trains
>don't move. That's what we mean by an electronic Pearl Harbor."
what troops? lights are a strategic asset? trains? (who are you
kidding?) someone needs to review the history of the persian gulf war...
let me be the voice in the wilderness: this is blatant bullshit, an
attempt to justify current pentagon thinking -- and enlarged defense
budgets!
ac
"A hacker is a machine for turning caffeine into code - Alfred Renyi"
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the more you drive, the less intelligent you must be!
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