Posts Tagged ‘hacking’

American Drones Comprimised

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Hackers have successfully infiltrated the American government’s favorite tool for discretely murdering people from a distance: unmanned aircraft.  A computer virus infected the computers controlling America’s Predator and Reaper drones, exposing a major security flaw with these remotely flown weapons.

The malicious software seems to resist detection and removal, and could very well be a highly advanced attack orchestrated by foreign agencies, not unlike the Stuxnet virus which successfully delayed Iran’s nuclear efforts.

These drones in the sky, controlled remotely by computers and radio waves, are like sitting flying ducks, ready to be taken over and used for nefarious purposes. (Although what’s more sinister than American’s being slaughtered by their own government?)

Governments are investing billions upon billions into these state-of-the-art weapons, but what’s the point if control can so easily be stripped. All you’re doing is giving more advanced arms to whoever controls the digital space.

So, rather than spend more on war, why not channel these funds into humanitarian causes. For the cost of one of these pilot-less killing machines, you could dig wells for hundreds of thousands of people without access to clean water. Think about it for a second… which route would ultimately bring a more secure world?

News Corp Scandal – Why We Need Transparency

Sunday, July 17th, 2011


(Rupert haz a sad.)

The captivating News of the World hacking scandal – the one that is causing more heads to roll by the hour – shows us exactly why we need transparency throughout the system. Inherent corruption can only survive when shrouded in secrecy and silence, and when you expose it to the world, the injustice ends.

The entire global system could use an infusion of transparency, not just for governments, but for all giant, powerful institutions: multinational corporations, religious institutions, and major industries (especially the Military Industrial Complex).

If all of these organizations had their darkest secrets revealed to the world, there would be an uproar, and heads would literally roll. Fortunately for our world’s tyrants and oligarchs, the transition to a transparent system will likely stay as it has been – a gradual process.

But with the wheels already in motion, and groups like Wikileaks and Lulzsec leading the way, we’re heading towards a future where the whole world has been opened up.

This will likely mean a more just civilization for all humans to enjoy. Hooray!

Dropping Bombs No Longer Deemed Hostile Act

Sunday, June 19th, 2011

By law, the United States President needs congressional approval to go to war. Yet no such approval was sought prior to bombing Libya. Now, should the bombing campaign continue, the Commander in Chief might find himself to be breaking the law.

To get around the tiresome trivialities of constitutional law, the Obama administration has drummed up in-house lawyers willing to argue that a bomb dropped from a drone is not ‘hostile’.

Talk about Orwellian doublespeak. Don’t they know that bombs explode the same regardless of whether the pilot is in the cockpit or perched in front of a computer screen?

In a semi-ironic twist, the Pentagon recently announced that computer hacking can be considered an act of war.

This means it is no longer a hostile act to slaughter Libyan families from across the ocean via computer, but if someone hacks into that computer to prevent further atrocities, that would be the act of aggression.

Absolutely absurd! It just goes to show how ridiculous the arguments surrounding institutionalized war can be.

It’s almost as silly as a Nobel Peace Laureate having to use lawyer-speak to weasel his way into perpetuating another armed conflict. But it’s not quite as inane as the utter lack of dissent coming from the left – dissent that would be coming in droves were Obama a republican.

Hey Government… Hands Off Our Internet!

Sunday, June 12th, 2011

Infamous hacking group Lulzsec has just compromised over 50 adult-orientated web pages. This follows the black-hat group’s other high-profile breaches of Sony, Fox and PBS.

Meanwhile, cyber-activist group Anonymous has continued their online protests, disabling government web pages, like those of Spain and Turkey, whose authoritative actions warranted scorn from the loosely connected freedom alliance.

All these cyber-demonstrations highlight the force of an unfettered internet. The balance of power is shifting away from institutions and governments, and into the hands of the masses.

And this is precisely what the oligarchs and dictators fear the most. Feeling their tenuous grip over the population slipping away, they’ll do anything to prevent the new cyber-democracy from developing.

They’ll tell us that we need to crack down on hackers and cyber-activists to protect us. They’ll try to pass broad regulatory bills that give certain government bodies sweeping control over the Internet.

Once they discover that there is no effective way to stop the free flow of information, they might even try to kill the Internet completely.

But we cannot let them succeed. We won’t let them. The Internet is too vital a tool for the creation of a more just civilization. Social media and instant interconnection are giving humankind the power to reclaim control of the planet.

Pretty soon, thanks to the advent of anonymous browsing, decentralized currency, and decentralized networking, the Internet will function beyond the fearful reach of authorities and governments.

Until then, it is up to us to tell our politicians and lawmakers to keep their grubby paws off our beautiful Internet.