Rockefeller: Internet is “Number One National Hazard”

Teki187 · 23 Mar 2009 at 19:54

According to the great-grandson John D. Rockefeller, nephew of banker David Rockefeller, and former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller the internet represents a serious threat to national security. Rockefeller is not alone in this assessment. His belief that the internet is the “number one national hazard” to national security is shared by the former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and Obama’s current director Admiral Dennis C. Blair.

“It really almost makes you ask the question would it have been better if we had never invented the internet,” Rockefeller mused during the confirmation hearing of Gary Locke (see video), Obama’s choice for Commerce Secretary. He then cites a dubious figure of three million cyber “attacks” launched against the Department of Defense every day. “Everybody is attacked, anybody can do it. People say, well it’s China and Russia, but there could be some kid in Latvia doing the same thing.”

So Sen. Rockefeller claims the internet is very dangerous. I guess its time we turn it off, obviously this has nothing to do with the fact that there is freedom of speech on the internet.

I'm guessing this thread will be locked along with my other about this. I guess breaking the rules has nothing to do with the rules stated in the FAQ.

Greenlizard0 · 23 Mar 2009 at 19:59

Your last thread was basically a link to a Youtube vid, this is a bit better..

dangerstat · 23 Mar 2009 at 19:59

OMFG ibtl

Teki187 · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:00

Greenlizard0 said:
Your last thread was basically a link to a Youtube vid, this is a bit better..

Well that being true, would you have preferred if it typed out everything in the video and then quoted the video?

iamdjdz · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:02

Teki187 said:
Well that being true, would you have preferred if it typed out everything in the video and then quoted the video?

Youtube thread has its uses.

Also Cat face was ****.

And if the US government was that worried, they should disconnect their network from the rest of the world, and have one with only internal networking.

Ben M · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:04

there could be some kid in Latvia doing the same thing.

I know! Just the other day I had to re-install OcUK because a Taiwanese kid was trying to hack me.

Greenlizard0 · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:07

Teki187 said:
Well that being true, would you have preferred if it typed out everything in the video and then quoted the video?

No, but the more you give, the more people will respond. Perhaps elaborate on your own opinion, maybe more sources that agree with the video? I shouldn't really have to tell you how to write your original post.

semi-pro waster · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:08

Teki187 said:
Well that being true, would you have preferred if it typed out everything in the video and then quoted the video?

I didn't see the previous thread so you may already have done this but if not it is generally better to offer some sort of context and opening for the discussion as many people won't bother/don't have time to just watch random videos and hope they are interesting.

Do you have a link to the source please? Also I'm failing to see why a kid in Latvia launching a cyber attack would be any more of an issue that China or Russia doing the same - I'm presuming of course that Russia and China would generally be better organised.

Teki187 · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:09

Greenlizard0 said:
No, but the more you give, the more people will respond. Perhaps elaborate on your own opinion, maybe more sources that agree with the video? I shouldn't really have to tell you how to write your original post.

I'm scared to link a youtube video from the actual C-Span video in case it gets closed for it being classed as a "youtube thread"

willhub · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:10

But the Internets is not a hazard at all, it just connects things :confused:

, it's the servers with the content on that are the hazard :confused:

mattyfez · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:10

iamdjdz said:
they should disconnect their network from the rest of the world, and have one with only internal networking.

Yeh, they should do this. It would stop a lot of spam.
They would probably see riots of the like never seen before, but it's thier counry, No Swearing! em.

dangerstat · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:13

Jeez
[1] The internet *IS* dangerous - we all know that right?
[2] For people with a brain it is not dangerous
[3] Americans are stupid

I think this sums up the thread.

Teki187 · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:14

semi-pro waster said:
I didn't see the previous thread so you may already have done this but if not it is generally better to offer some sort of context and opening for the discussion as many people won't bother/don't have time to just watch random videos and hope they are interesting.

Do you have a link to the source please? Also I'm failing to see why a kid in Latvia launching a cyber attack would be any more of an issue that China or Russia doing the same - I'm presuming of course that Russia and China would generally be better organised.

Updated the main post for you with the C-Span interview.

int · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:15

Seems to be a very general statement. It should be more along the lines of "people on the internet can be a problem". Keeping your very secret government files on the internet or accessible from the internet isn't exactly the wisest move.

*Moangroan* · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:15

If goverments didn't keep so many secrets the internets would be no threat at all.

CliffyBiro · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:15

If it had brains, it would be dangerous.

Same goes for everything in life.

mattyfez · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:42

It's quite funny, are they not currently attempting to expedide a british "hacker" who just walked into a "high security" US government system, purely because he could?

If they are incapable of protecting information, then they should not be putting it online. the poor git is looking at life in jail just for browsing thier systems.....surely they should make safe in the first place, one cannot put thier info out on the net and then get all bent out of shape when someone has the audacity to look at it!!!!

lol

mattyfez · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:47

It screams of our own government getting all flustered for leaving unencrypted laptops and flash drives on trains.....its a joke, especially when you can use freeware encryption.

semi-pro waster · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:53

Teki187 said:
Updated the main post for you with the C-Span interview.

Thank you. I did listen to it, it does at least have the benefit of being relatively short. I very much doubt if anything significant will come from that, there appears to be a fairly fundamental misconception in his view as to what can and cannot be done via the internet - cyber terrorism is a problem of course but critical systems should not be directly connected to the internet at all in the first place.

mattyfez said:
It screams of our own government getting all flustered for leaving unencrypted laptops and flash drives on trains.....its a joke, especially when you can use freeware encryption.

Some might say a better solution would be not leaving them on the train at all... However when you've still got a human element to the chain you have to accept mistakes will occur so some form of encryption would make sense, even then it won't be infallible.

starfighter · 23 Mar 2009 at 21:02

Yay ban stuff for our protection. How can this not be the best way.

who swallows this rubbish?