"Rewrite the Laws of Cyberspace"


Scary stuff from the U.S. Air Force
I've only time for one brief article today, I'm running late and there are some things I need to finish before sunset.

This one is scary, no doubt about it.

It's more than a little ironic that the U.S. military, which had so much to do with the creation and early development of internet, finds itself at its mercy. But as the American armed forces become increasingly reliant on its communications networks, even small, obscure holes in the defense grid are seen as having catastrophic potential.

Trouble is that even a founding father can't unilaterally change things that the entirety of the internet ecosystem now depends on. "You can control your own networks, rewrite your own laws," says Rick Wesson, CEO of the network security firm Support Intelligence. "You can't rewrite everybody else's."

But the Air Force Research Laboratory's "Integrated Cyber Defense" program, announced earlier this month, is part of a larger military effort to accomplish just that. "The 'laws' of cyberspace can be rewritten, and therefore the domain can be modified at any level to favor defensive forces," announces the project's request for proposals.

This time it's to prevent attacks on military computers. But given the roles that the Chinese government has taken to censor the internet, I think the potential is there to unravel the whole thing. If the Air Force saves their servers but destroys freedom, where was the victory?

I've called the internet the last and best hope for freedom. I stand by that. As long as no one messes with the underlying rules, it's where Lady Liberty's flame will burn brightest.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Thu - November 6, 2008 at 03:34 PM  Tag


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