We’re in the middle of a war, a global conflict. Not the type of war that we are perhaps used to seeing, with tanks and soldiers shooting at each other or drones trying to take out the enemy with surgical precision. No, this is a different war, fought through networks of fibre and computers, that chips away at the world we live in and undermines the very fabric of society.
It is a cyber-war. But don’t worry. It is extremely unlikely that this war will escalate into a physical conflict but rather increased retaliatory cyber attacks or economic sanctions. It is a game that nearly all nation states are playing, the good guys and the bad, though it is difficult to know which is which at times.
Apparently each country is trying to get one over on their neighbours or those on the opposite side of their ideological divide, working hard to pin each other down while trying to protect their own competitive edge.
It’s got me wondering why we have secrets and why countries want to be better than others but that’s just the bleeding heart liberal in me. Perhaps the world would be a better place if we no longer bought into the myth that the only way forward is a dog eat dog existence. Why can’t humanity move forward in unison, sharing good ideas for the benefit of all? After all, inequality is the engine that drives human conflict and nation state secrecy amplifies and legitimises such inequalities.
Perhaps cyber could be a force for good. It could help level the global playing field, making it harder to keep the existing unfair world order in place and usher in a new era for human cooperation.
Who knows? Out in cyberspace there may be some have a go hero, who trawls the Internet to right wrongs and restore the balance.
A Robin Hoodie – he hacks the rich and gives to the poor.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 