Re: [GZG] [HIST] Military Hackers

> If you know what you're doing, though, you can make a killing if you
have
> inside knowledge as to what is going to happen.
> 
> >Trying
> >to take a limited poke at the other guy's economy would be REALLY
difficult
> >- at least to control exactly.
> 
> Depends on HOW limited. In the wake of the Oklahoma bombing, the US
dollar
> dipped. Investors like nice, stable countries. Usually they see the US
as
> that, but if they think the US was about to plunge into a race war, or
a war
> against anti-government militias, the US dollar would suffer.
> 
> So, what if you sell US dollar futures (I'm not sure you CAN do this,
I don't
> know THAT much about the stock and money markets), hoping to buy them
at a
> later date. Then, you detonate a bomb some place nice and nasty. Oh,
and make
> the bomb a low-yield nuke. The US dollar collapses, you buy dollars to
make up
> for those you sold on spec, and you make a killing. By the way, you're
a
> terrorist organization. You've just hurt the US economy and made a
good chunk
> of change yourself.
> 
> Info war isn't going to be large scale. It's going to be micro scale.
It will
> be plausibly deniable info warriors taking out a corporation in order
for a
> domestic rival to take advantage. It could be VERY easy to do. Shell
petroleum
> is, I believe, a Dutch company. What happens if Exxon has another
major spill
> on its hands (this time, due to an implanted computer glitch fouling
up the
> tanker's radar). Suddenly the Dutch Shell corporation gets benefits
from
> Exxon's damage (of course, this kind of thing could affect the entire
> petroleum sector, so you'd have to tread lightly). That's just a gross
> example. I think info war will be FAR more pervasive than conventional
war,
> and far less damaging or noticable. It could even go on between
companies
> owned by allies without a negative effect being seen at the political
level.
> 

This reminds me of the ending of one of my favorite books,
hardwired by Walter john 
Williams.  Its a cyberpunk novel and the climax involves a
couple of criminal gangs 
and corporate allies waging info-war/regular war against
each other.  

if this is your cup of tea, pick it up, its a great book

later
christopher pratt
valen@gatecom.com