Cyber Attacks and National Security

Last week a cyber attack was reported on a nuclear-power plant in Iran. The cyber attack on Bushehr is dangerous because the worm is capable of reprogramming the systems controlling the power plant. Cyber attacks among states have been increasing in the last years.  It seems as if these cyber attacks have become the new form of permanent low-level warfare. One thing to worry about, that is different than other kind of attacks, is that these attacks can do a lot of damage and are very difficult to reverse, or sometimes to even detect. It is not enough to merely block Internet traffic, many systems are thought to be so important that they are never turned off to even install security patches. Most people are unaware of such security treats in the cyber world, when in reality, they are as dangerous as any other threat. It was good to see that the news of the power plant in Iran made it into the headlines of some of the major national newspapers. It will help people become more aware of the technological challenges the government faces and it will help government stay up to the task to defend the country.

Apple's ever changing policies

When Apple’s AppStore was created there were a lot of people that were disappointed because of the idea of not being able to write and install applications independently from Apple.  Some people created sites and repositories that worked with Cydia and other applications letting the users with jailbroken phones install whatever they wanted, even cracked applications.  Of course this was a double-sided weapon for developers.  In one side, they could develop and distribute applications without Apple’s approval.  This was more attractive after jailbreaking your iPhone became legal. On the other side, people could crack any application and distribute it for free (piracy!). Some people created these sites and applications with the idea of letting users try out the application before buying it, but of course many people just kept using the apps without ever paying for it.

 Just this week Apple relaxed the restrictions on the development tools used to create apps, reverting some of their restrictions set at the beginning of the year.  Now many developers that were distributing applications on Cydia and other repositories are going to submit their apps to Apple again and many will be approved.  While this might be a good thing, I believe that Apple should let us add other repositories on the AppStore and let us, the end-users, use our phones as we will.  Apple will not lose anything: a lot of people will stop jailbreaking their phones and developers will keep submitting their apps to Apple as they will want their apps in the main repository (the AppStore). Piracy might not end there, but it might decrease if Apple were to allow trials on their store.

The Digital Age

The first computer I had was so old that it had a monochromatic monitor.  It was running MS-DOS 2.x on 3.5" floppy disks.  Since then, we have come a long way.  Now, I have a "smart-phone" that lets me have access to all the information I want whenever I want it.  I don't even have to fetch it manually, it is sent directly to my device.  With all this technology and information available comes a high responsibility.  The advantages of all this technology don’t come without the disadvantages and accountability is something that gets often forgotten in the way.  As Postman suggests, this technology has made our world a whole different world, but we need to be well focused to avoid what is harmful as Elder Oaks suggests.  Don't just look at what is obviously harmful (pornography, piracy, etc.), but to what is harmful through the side effects.  The advantage of having a cellphone with me all the time might diminish the importance I give to the people around me.  For some, what might seem to be a necessity might be in reality a luxury.  Sometimes, the less technology is around us, the more we can interact with the people we love. But does this mean that we should get rid of all these gadgets that make us life easier? I say we just need to find the balance being careful in falling in the bad side of technology.

- XJ9PA9XPD2A6