May 2013, Year V, n. 5
Raoul Chiesa
The threat of the future? Invisible, but already present.
Telos: Until recently, when we talked about a threat to national security we referred to kamikaze terrorists who used fanaticism as a substitute for their lack of means or crude solutions. It’s devastating to learn that the biggest, current threat to critical military and civil infrastructures is a violation of computer and information security systems. What role will computer espionage play in international relations? Will it be a new, atypical cold war weapon between the West and emerging powers?
Raoul Chiesa: That’s a very good question. Whether we like it or not we live in a world which depends, almost entirely, on Information Technology or sometimes called a Digital Society. Without computer systems and communication networks we couldn’t do even the simplest of things, like booking a plane ticket or a hotel, getting money from a cash machine, having a scan, travelling on a motorway or in a train... more
Editorial
Scenario number one: Beijing, Autumn 2011. The Third Department of the People’s Liberation Army, responsible for cyber surveillance, attacks the Italian information network. Unit 61046 (Europe and the Middle East) violates the Italian university and research network connecting 400 sites including universities, research labs, libraries and specialised clinics. The booty: hundreds of passwords, emails, medical records, scientific studies and teacher’s profiles... more
SocialTelos