This week's voluntary reading 'A free irresponsible press: Wikileaks and the battle over the soul of the networked fourth estate', by Yochai Benkler - really got me thinking about the freedom of the internet and information. The Internet is essentially intended for networked individuals and associations to communicate and share information. But as well as this, users have began using our global communication networks as a window of opportunity to hack the network systems of private users, mainly for political causes. This fusion of hacking and activism is widely known as Hacktivism.
There have been various sources (like this one here) reporting that the rebellious website Wikileaks, has been in some distress over the past months, with a hacktivism cyber attack allegedly revealing the names of some top secret sources. According to the WikiLeaks Twitter feed, it lasted for several hours, and during that time, WikiLeaks apparently encouraged supporters to make donations to the whistle-blowing organization. This is an example of hacktivism at its best, where the hackers have forced entry, hugely disrupted the WikiLeaks online presence and provided their own benefit in terms of donations (also to make the non-for-profit organisation reel with fury i'm sure). It really makes you wonder, if hacktivists can easily gain entry to the back end of an top-secret organisation like Wikileaks, how susceptible are everyday users like you and me to cyber attacks? There are only so many preventions that can be undertaken by common computer users themselves, by making sure they have highly secure passwords on email accounts, never give out their banking details and not sharing passwords with anyone. But is this really enough?
According to the Herald Sun, cyber co-operation was added to Australia-US defence treaty last month, in order to increase military cooperation. They noted that the "US and Australian officials have decided to include cooperation on cybersecurity as part of their defence treaty, marking the first time the Obama administration has formally carved out that kind of partnership with a country outside NATO". This is clearly a bold move, with an increase in cyber threats from the Pacific region. But the article goes on to outline that "Cybersecurity experts have argued that the internet cannot become a safer place until nations implement international agreements that better define and regulate cybercrime, and set out new standards and rules for industry as it increasingly moves its business into the largely ungoverned online world."
So until these worldwide 'utopian' changes are made, the internet is still a possibly dangerous place, but is it destined to be a battlefield? Will future wars be fought in cyberspace? Leave your thoughts with me.
Great post. I've never really thought about wars being fought in cyberspace but I guess its a possibility. I dont think however that it was designed to be used the way in which we use it today.. and lets face it we all take technology and the internet for granted!
ReplyDeleteIts really scary to know how susceptible everyday users are to hacking not only on the internet but as we have seen in the lecture through telephone communications etc.
Maybe one day there will be international agreements that will regulate cyber crime but I guess until then we are all living with this dangerous thing we all know as the internet.
Nice post Olivia - I like it that you mention Benkler's reading. Judging by stuxnet, and now the Predator drone virus, cyberwarfare is already a reality.
ReplyDeleteHow susceptible we as individuals are to being hacked is based more on what we have to offer, rather than how secure we are. If someone hacks me, the reward would be no where near worth the penalty.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to wars online, I think it's a very interesting topic. Kind of like a digital cold war. Issuing international regulations though, in regard to Internet usage, would be an epic task. The UN have enough trouble trying to to that in the real world, let alone the virtual.
Wow, this is a really interesting post Olivia! I have never thought about this, but I guess with the speed of technological development- anything is possible!
ReplyDeleteComing from a micro perspective, users are increasingly using the internet for most aspects of their lives. My house had a blackout last week and I did not know what to do! It was raining so outdoor activities were out, and then I realised that nearly every one of my indoor activities, from my entertainment to my homework, were based online. If cyber warfare did occur and the internet became dangerous, or even non-existent, our generation would have to re-train ourselves to complete nearly every task in our lives.
Cyber warfare is a scary thought, but I feel it is definitely a possibility.