Jack Oughton – 05.04.11 – Cyberwar Short Cut The cyberwar is heating up. The world is starting to read like a William Gibson novel. Notorious internet collective Anonymous has shown that 'electronic civil disobedience' can cause real political change. The Stuxnet worm (described as the ‘cyber weapon prototype’) has targeted Iran, hindering its nuclear program. Who's behind it all? Hard to say. Broadly speaking, people with advanced computer skills. But being a tech wiz doesn't guarantee power. Legit career prospects? PC repair guy, web design or being a network technician. Hardly glamorous and probably not challenging if you can hold a conversation in MySQL and are more interested in 256bit encryption than customer service. The hacker stereotype is ubiquitous, the idea of the 'wired' computer kid, typing unbelievably quickly, his pimpled, ghostly face illuminated by multiple computer monitors. And these hackers have a lot of power today, since we're all doing our banking online, being addicted to Facebook and working remotely. It’s dangerous for the electronic layman out there. Hell, I'm even being told to get antivirus software for my Mac now. Bill Gates is retired but the nerds are still powerful indeed. So, instead of sabotage, what can all these bored computer geniuses do? Think of that untapped, frustrated talent just waiting for a productive outlet… Maybe a government department that hacks IPhones and forces children to pay attention in class? Or we could have them writing useful software alternatives to buggy office software. Imagine a day at work with no technical hitches? Wonderful. Either way we’ve got to do something before a nonchalant I.T tech hacks your Facebook.
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