Ah, the much talked about kill switch, that many thought to be only theoretical or fantastical, has shown its ugly literal head.
Last Friday, it was reported that a kill switch had been employed throughout Egypt ahead of large planned protests: Egyptians brace for Friday's protests as internet, messaging disrupted
Servers were checked and were down, even Facebook and Twitter reported service disruption and lower traffic out of Egypt.
Those in power naively thought if they could quiet voices via the Internet, they could quell mounting anger, yet it served to fuel the fire. Is it any surprise to those of us here, those of us who have thought of the day that Barry might engage his very own kill switch, that people don't need no stinkin' Internet to revolt?
For those of you rolling your eyes at the very thought of our government engaging in this behavior, at the thought of this happening in the land of the free and the home of the brave, I suggest you start paying attention. Big Government has done its homework, once again, with this story:
Internet Kill Switch-Never Let a Crisis Go To Waste: Egypt Today, USA Tomorrow
Read it and understand we aren't so far from that moment ourselves.
The last paragraph of this article gives you a proactive voice:
"The Internet has revolutionized freedom and democracy. Tell our Senators they must not tamper with the free flow of information on the Internet, no matter the circumstances. You can reach them – all 100 of them — directly via their personal email box through GradeGov.com."
The happy spot in the Egypt Internet shut-down? This story reported by the Mail Online (bravo, mail online!): How the Internet Refused To Abandon Egypt: Authorities take entire country offline...but hackers rally to get the message out
Moral of the story: When Barry's finger gets twitchy (and you can count on it happening if he retains power), hackers will save our ass.
Life is twisty, ain't it.
EDIT - Headline this morning: As Egypt Goes Offline, US Gets Internet "Kill Switch" Bill Ready
Man, I gotta find me a heart-of-gold hacker, and soon!
EDIT II: Andrew, over at Commentarama, has written a primer on Egypt today. Fascinating read, and as usual, I learned something. Go HERE.
DO IT!
EDIT III: How did I forget this story?! It's a how-to-kill-the-Internet primer.
(hat tip: lt. dan)
How Egypt did (and your government could) shut down the Internet
And there you have it.
Monday, January 31, 2011
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6 comments:
Patti, The only time I can see a kill switch making sense is if the country is under some sort of cyber attack -- like the Chinese decide to start attacking US computers everywhere.
BUT... BUT... that's not a good answer. So much runs on the internet now that we need to put up protections to stop the cyber attacks, not shut down the internet and hope that stops the attack. So I'm not even sure a kill switch makes sense at that point.
Thus, the only benefit I can see in a kill switch, is exactly what we saw in Egypt -- to protect an oppressive government from it's people.
Good read!
(Thanks for the link!)
andrew: i get that we need a safeguard for the internet, but to allow a kill switch is not the answer (as you pointed out).
and it cracks me up that hackers, who are typically on the fringes of society, may become golden children.
thanks, bud.
Patti: I neglected to tell Andrew that I've already applied for a waiver for Commentarama from an Obama internet shutdown. We only have to "donate" $1,000,000 to the Community Organizers of America--Chicago Chapter. I assured them that Andrew would pay promptly.
law: thank goodness i wasn't drinking anything (coffee or ze alkeehols) when i read your comment. best lol of the day! whew. good one! (wait, can i piggyback on your waiver?! andrew's good for it, right?)
Patti: Sure. Andrew is a very generous guy. Just don't say anything until the check clears.
Patti,
I said it before, people need to become friends with a hacker.
I know one guy in Sacramento. Now he isn't a hacker, but he knows some moves and he does know someone who knows hackers.
For this little piece of knowledge, it'll cost ya! ;-)
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