WE'RE AL DOOOOOOOOOMED

Cyber-terrorists have already compromised the U.S. military's computers and caused blackouts in Brazil, according to tonight's 60 Minutes. Better stock up on canned goods and flashlight batteries for the next big cyber-attack!

I love the idea that U.S. military personnel would see a random thumb drive sitting around in a public place, and think to themselves, "Huh. I wonder what would happen if I plugged this into my work computer ?" What did they think was on those thumb drives ? Porn ? Warez [copyrighted works distributed without fees or royalties] ? Cheat codes ?


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We all rely too heavily on technology today .... will it be the end of us all ? ........ or .......... is this a scam to allow the US Government and big business to start regulating and controlling the internet ? So how can you tell the difference between a real report about online vulnerabilities and someone who's trying to scare you about the security of the internet because they have an agenda, such as landing lucrative, secret contracts from the government ?

Here's a simple test: Count the number of times they use the adjective "cyber." Nobody uses the word "cyber" anymore, except people trying to scare you and trying to make the internet seem scary or foreign. (Think, for instance, of the term "cyberbullying," which is somehow much more crazy and new and in need of legislation than "online bullying.")

When was the last time you said, " I saw this really cool video in cyberspace " or " My cyber connection is really slow today " ? Of course, no one speaks like that anymore. The internet is no longer distant or foreign (though it thankfully remains beautifully weird). It's familiar and daily. It's the internet. It's so ordinary, Wired.com stopped capitalizing it more than five years ago.

Need an adjective to describe something that is internet-based ? Try "online."

But when it comes to scaring senators, presidents and the nation's citizens into believing the Chinese, the Russians or Al Qaeda are stealing all our secrets or bringing down the power grid, the internet somehow morphs back into "cyberspace."

YOU DECIDE