Week 2 - History and ideology of Early digital Media

Is the internet a weapon?

Since the increase in importance of the internet there has also been an increase in hacking, viruses and infections. These problems can be seen as an attack on a persons computer with many different intentions behind the attacks. US intelligence worry that the next terrorist attack may also be combined with an attack on computers that will make it harder for law enforcements and emergency teams to respond. To me this clearly makes the internet a weapon because it can be used to the advantage of terrorists to cause havoc upon societies.

In recent years the biggest threat faced by computers is crimeware. Crimeware is a software used by criminals to steal confidential information such as passwords and pins, the criminal is then able to steal your money. So the internet can be used to gain personal information or cause system shut downs that could cause huge problems and inconvenience.

The internet is expanding more than ever before which radical groups take advantage of. In southeast Asia. The internet and social networking sites are also used to recruit people for violence. Al-Qaeda is a classic example of extreme radicalism that is promoted through internet. The most frightening thing I think is the fact at how easy it for someone to trick another person about their age especially paedophiles. There are no limits as to what can be done through the internet which for me definitely makes it a weapon.