Why is the U.S. government developing computer weapons?
Is the United States creating a more dangerous Web? This is the theory depicted in a recent story by the MIT Technology Review. The story details the story of Stuxnet. You may remember this bit of malware as it made big news in 2010 when it was discovered. These days, the general opinion is that Stuxnet was made by the governments of the United States and Israel to attack the industrial equipment needed to build Iran's budding nuclear program. As the Technology Review story states, Stuxnet might be the first well-known example of a new version of warfare, one in which countries use malware along with other viruses to attack the computer and security systems of other nations. And the United States might be the leader in this form of virtual warfare.
Crafting a more dangerous Web?
Here's the fear, as expressed in the Technology Review story. As governments spend a rising amount of dollars to develop malware weapons, are they also making the Internet a more dangerous place than it already is? Unfortunately, the answer appears to be a definite "yes”. No one knows how many malware weapons governments have implemented since Stuxnet made news. But, as the story says, many have undoubtedly done their job without the public learning about them. That ought to make any Internet users feel nervous.
Watch your smartphone
Don't believe that you can avoid malware weapons by doing most of your computing on tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices. The reality is, governments are particularly interested in targeting these mobile devices. First, a growing number of people are doing the majority of their computing on these mobile devices. Secondly, mobile devices are particularly vulnerable to malware because their operating systems are updated so rarely. The Technology Review story points to Apple, which only updates its iPhone operating system a few times every year. That represents a golden opportunity for governments to infect the smartphones of suspects with spyware.
An age-old threat?
The Technology Review story ends on this chilling thought: Maybe malware weapons are nothing new. After all, countries are always building new and more devastating weapons. It ought to come as little wonder, then, that governments are taking to the online world, too, with regards to creating new weapons. It's unfortunate, though, that this newest round of arms building is making a more dangerous Internet.