As our freshman class of 2015 coughs and hacks into week four of Stanford, a news headline caught my eye that reminded me how closely a computer virus parallels the common cold. The prevalence of organisms (namely human beings) on planet Earth ensures that there have, and always will be, vectors available for viruses to infect. Likewise, the increasing prevalence of computers in the modern world ensures that there will always be a new medium for computer viruses, whether they are used as targeted weapons or not.
As you can read here, the Air Force recently experienced a loss of control at one of their operating bases that flies UAV 'drones'. The interesting angle in this case is that the virus that infected the system was not a directed attack, but a simple passkey logger; originally intended to steal passwords from computer users playing online games.
Does this say something about the prevalence of computers in our society? Does the fact that we are 'wired' at all times make us vulnerable to a new phenomenon or perennial contamination? Also, in our rush to digitize everything, have we forgotten that a computer is a computer is a computer? Food for thought.
I believe that this question is one that has scared people all the way back to the y2k pandemonium. Our society is incredibly centered on technology, which has greatly improved our standard of life, but is also terrifying when you consider our technological dependance. If servers around the world were to crash, what would we do? I know this is something most dismiss as the plot of an apocalyptic horror movie, but it really is a scary notion and I think this story is really just more evidence that terrible things can happen when everything is centered around something that at times we cannot fully control.
ReplyDeleteI think that the pervasiveness of computers in society does bring up a lot of questions. It's interesting to think about this specific occurrence with the air force since it seems a little embarrassing that the virus could make the air force lose control. With the prevalence of computers perhaps countries will use more cyber warfare and possibly emps in the future.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting story, I would have to say I agree. Like most technology, protection lags far behind the tools that need it. I feel that internet and computer awareness should be something taught to people as far too many computer users are also computer illiterate. I learned how to clean up my computer through many experiences, a byproduct of gaming, but I still could have benefited by learning now to download toolbars, and what a phishing scam is. Many of the common viruses are very preventable just by being a smart internet surfer.
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