Obama's Portrait of Cyberwar Isn't Complete Hyperbole

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Obama's Portrait of Cyberwar Isn't Complete Hyperbole

Posted by Soulskill on Friday July 20, 2012 @05:42AM from the just-mostly dept.

pigrabbitbear writes "It's hard to imagine what cyberwarfare actually looks like. Is it like regular warfare, where two sides armed with arsenals of deadly weapons open fire on each other and hope for total destruction? What do they fire instead of bullets? Packets of information? Do people die? Or is it not violent at all — just a bunch of geeks in uniforms playing tricks on each other with sneaky code? Barack Obama would like to clear up this question, thank you very much. In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal the president voiced his support for the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 now being considered by the Senate with the help of a truly frightening hypothetical: 'Across the country trains had derailed, including one carrying industrial chemicals that exploded into a toxic cloud,' Obama wrote, describing a nightmare scenario of a cyber attack. 'Water treatment plants in several states had shut down, contaminating drinking water and causing Americans to fall ill.' All because of hackers!"

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I have an answer!!!1 by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-20 05:50 · Score: 5, Funny

I have an answer . . . MyCleanPC!!!1! I just installed it on my PC and I'm re++--_#*$NO CARRIER
1. Re:I have an answer!!!1 by game+kid · 2012-07-20 06:07 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Sadly, merely blocking that Voldemortian name from Slashdot won't help anymore--I saw fairly slick commercials for it on the Science Channel.
  The demon breeds!
  
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  You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
Re:Complete, as in 100% Complete? by Moheeheeko · 2012-07-20 05:52 · Score: 1, Funny

I think its more along the lines of he watched the movie Hackers and thought you could actually do ANYTHING they do in that movie.
Re:Bankers are worse than hackers. by oh_my_080980980 · 2012-07-20 05:58 · Score: 1, Funny

Somewhere in there there's a coherent thought...you just need to work on it a little.
Re:Obama does of good job of faciliting thinking.. by sl4shd0rk · 2012-07-20 06:02 · Score: 3, Funny

and I can't say that about his predecessor.
His predecessor invoked much thinking as well however much of it prefixed, or suffixed with, "wtf?", "lol" and "lmao"

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Re:Obama does of good job of faciliting thinking.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-20 06:07 · Score: 1, Funny

You forgot to whine a few words: "Know your lib'rul, socialist audience!"
Re:Who cleans up by pr0t0 · 2012-07-20 06:08 · Score: 5, Funny

That will fall to people like you and me. Do you have what it takes? Remember, service guarantees citizenship.

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I'm sorry, but your opinion seems to be wrong.
Re:Who cleans up by jo42 · 2012-07-20 06:17 · Score: 4, Funny

Send clean up bill to:
Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052-7329 USA
Re:Obama does of good job of faciliting thinking.. by GameboyRMH · 2012-07-20 06:47 · Score: 4, Funny

I should really make a locked-down *nix appliance that secures devices behind a keyfile-secured VPN or SSH tunnel and requires cryptknock before allowing access, and a software suite (like PuTTy and some scripts) to make connecting easy from a Windows computer, and then sell the setup for a ridiculously high price calling them "unbreakable infrastructure security terminals."
If that big dumb idiot who ran HBGary can be a rich executive, why not me?

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"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel