“Shut Down the Internet” –
How Do I Know – Just a Suggestion
Very good article follows by Bree
Fowler, AP Technology Writer (The Associated
Press) (little changes in format to fit the blog – otherwise fully intact).
INTRODUCTION NEW YORK (AP) -- Donald Trump constantly has called for the U.S.
and allies to cut off Internet access to the ISIS and other extremist
organizations. Problem is, there isn't a way to do it. Trump first made the
demand during a debate back in December, saying in part that the government
should work with “brilliant people in Silicon Valley to keep violent extremists
offline, even if that means shutting down parts of the Internet.”
But
that's not possible from a technical standpoint. The U.S. can't turn off the
Internet in other parts of the world. And even if could, such a move would
likely hurt more than potential attackers, and it would hinder the government's
ability to keep tabs on them.
Here's a look at Trump's idea and why it
won't work.
More recently, in
another speech Trump blamed Hillary Clinton and President Obama for the rise of
ISIS and the instability in the Middle East, he pledged to pursue military
operations to “crush and destroy ISIS,” adding that Internet attacks and
financial warfare will be essential in dismantling Islamic terrorism and
concluding: “We cannot allow the Internet to be used as a recruiting tool, and
for other purposes, by our enemy. We must shut down their access to this form
of communication, and we must do so immediately.” His proposed actions wouldn't
be limited to ISIS as he singled out al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah as
necessary targets.
THE FIRST OBSTACLE IS THE INTERNET ITSELF: The U.S. doesn't control the Internet – no one does because
the Internet is a global web of networks that are all owned by different
governments, companies or individuals, no single entity has the ability to turn
it off in parts of the world that it doesn't control.
The only recourse is
to destroy the electric grid and other infrastructure in that region — but
that's extreme, and it still might not work with the availability of power
generators and such. Even within the U.S., ferreting out extremist groups and
kicking them off the Internet isn't realistic, given how rapidly the Internet
grows and changes. And people have a long history of finding their way around
Internet restrictions, whether it's democracy activists in China or Iran, or
tweens looking to circumvent their school's firewall.
THE SECOND OBSTACLE IS THE SOCIAL MEDIA: Groups such as the Islamic State have mastered social
media for recruiting and spreading their message. Both Twitter and Facebook say
they don't tolerate posts that promote violence and will remove such posts when
reported by users. Accounts linked to such activity are shut down. Twitter said
Thursday that it's suspended 235,000 accounts for the promotion of terrorism
over the past six months. But there's nothing stopping banned users from
opening new accounts under different names, turning such efforts into the
equivalent of “Whack-a-Mole.” So far, Internet companies have resisted
preemptively blocking posts, partly because that would require judgment calls
about what constitutes terrorism — a definition that differs around the world.
THIRD OBSTACLE (the main one
that Trump apparently does not like one bit) IS THAT PESKY FIRST AMENDMENT: Civil libertarians say any attempt to filter out the
online activities of extremist groups would inevitably infringe on the
free-speech rights of Americans, because it's impossible to block out that
speech without blocking legitimate speech, too. While First Amendment
protections don't extend to people in other countries, the law enforcement and
intelligence communities have mixed feelings about shutting down terrorist
chatter online. They say such chatter can help them monitor terrorist
activities and prevent a future attack.
THE FOURTH OBSTACLE IS WHAT DO ABOUT CYBER WARFARE: Trump says cyber warfare is one of his key strategies
for destroying extremists, but it's not an entirely novel concept.
In
theory, hackers for the U.S. or its allies could mount an Internet attack to
shut down a terrorist group's recruiting or communications operations, or they
could just hack in to surveil the group. While they may not admit it, most
countries that have spies now have state-sponsored hackers, too. Many of them
see cyber warfare as a cheaper and safer alternative to traditional military
action, sanctioned or otherwise. China is widely thought to be behind last
year's hack of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. And some experts
believe Russia is behind the recent breach targeting the DNC and other DEM Party
entities.
Many
experts say the U.S. and Israel fired the first shot of the cyber warfare age
and were both behind Stuxnet (explained here and also seen in this 10-minute video). Stuxnet was (and still is) a computer virus that disrupted an Iranian
uranium-enrichment facility beginning in 2010 and set back Iran's nuclear
ambitions. Neither the U.S. nor Israel has acknowledged any involvement.
My
summary: Thinking and proposing things the way Trump does is one thing and
encouraged by anyone running for the office, but folks, what he proposes flies
in the face of logic, common sense, and any semblance of rational or proven
facts about most of anything. The man is shallow when it comes to politics and government
and running the country let alone our national defense. He may be good in business
and even that is suspect in some circles and logically he should be nowhere
near the Oval Office except maybe on a guided tour, even if that is possible,
either.
Donald
J. Trump is potentially a very serious menace to our entire system
and processes of government, cherished freedoms, liberty, and even our basic
and overall security (this from the Washington Post).
That is not a narrow view from any rabid partisan standpoint, either. It is my
honest assessment of Mr. Trump, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same view of
millions of others. But, will find out for sure in November won’t we? Hang on
tight ~ ~ ~
Thanks
for stopping by.
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