December 4, 2004

Dismantle The Internet for National Security Reasons

Rob Rosenberger first uttered these words in a vmyths column back in August of 2000¹. He said so while describing the overblown guesstimates of monetary damages caused by the Pokemon Pikachu worm.

In August of 2000. Four and a half years ago.

Four and one half years later, former CIA director George J. Tenet says: "The Internet represents a potential Achilles' Heel for our financial stability and physical security of the networks we are creating are not protected." ... "Intelligence services, military organizations and non-state actors (are researching information attacks against the United States.)²" In other words, a former CIA director admits The Internet is a threat to American national security.

Did it take influential members of America's security community four and one half years to realize this?

Actually, some knew it as early as November 2001, like the quotable Richard Clarke, former Presidential security advisorcyberspace advisor: (Cyberattacks on the nation's critical IT infrastructure could potentially cause) "catastrophic damage to the economy," (akin to the) "functional equivalent of 767s crashing into buildings."³

SarcasticallySeriously, we should dismantle the Internet for national security reasons!

1. http://www.vmyths.com/rant.cfm?id=155&page=4
2. http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20041201-114750-6381r The bracketed words belong to Shaun Watermann of United Press International, not George Tenet.
3. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/11/09/infrastructure.protection.idg/index.html Again, the bracketed words belong to Maryfran Johnson and Deborah Radcliff, not Richard Clarke.

There are these times when I'm not ass-deep in terminals, grepping cgi-bins only to have the operations time out... when I'm not frantically assembling pizzas that barely resemble real pies for a corporation that undermines you by proxy, donating millions to a politick that loves to find your every flaw (like the morons who order deepfried death disks ten at a time), the tickets piling up and the ovens completely full, sweating and aching...

and that's when I can't deal with this... this separation. I need the distraction of working myself harder and harder until the abused veins and sinews push through my skin, or I'll be stuck... sad and tired, close to extinguished and far from home. I have my reasons for being here, and these we both know. It's not just him, it's not just the work, it's not just the prospect of a passable education... for all practicality's sake, I should be fucking ecstatic and dancing.

but I've never been much of a practical person.

...

Read JohnnyGoodyear's Land of the free (some assembly required), a paeon to all that is crass in America.

I had a similar experience flying back from Dallas yesterday. Some dickhead behind me was describing his company's complete product line to the woman sitting next to him. 80% market share in the U.S., baby, and now they're trying to go to Europe. His man in Spain said... blah blah. I don't spend enough time with the kids. The French make good products, they're kicking our asses...

But she was just as bad: she thought of herself as the modern day woman's version of Anthony Robbins. If YOU SEE yourself making your SALES GOALS (pause), then you've ALREADY DONE IT! The rest (pause) is just execution. You set the goals. Let your people worry about the rest...

I could not play the headphones loud enough.