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Mainstream media struggles to understand the Digital Underground
by Kismo Wednesday, Jun 22 2011, 11:05pm
international / mass media / commentary

Today mainstream media from the Wall Street Journal to leading national newspapers is overflowing with ‘news’ of hacking exploits -- most of it distorted and/or inaccurate – and the existence of a curious underground ‘political animal’ known as the “hacktivist.” A shadowy predator that is able to instill fear into the hearts of Corporate Systems Administrators and IT ‘Security’ Companies.

The arrogant, boastful and inferred prestige/strength of powerful mainstream companies and organisations has been shown to be without foundation by groups of angry, politically aware, teenagers and youths! It’s enough to turn the grey hair of ruling elites, white!

Banking and Trading/Corporate elites are reeling from the 'shock of the new’ (to them) challenges to their power, which they have taken for granted for centuries.

Today, those highly, but still largely unfocused, challenges to Corporatist and Banking power have sent the known white collar criminal establishment scurrying for remedies, defences and solutions. After desperate efforts were made to defend against these attacks, the REALITY has hit home; NO ONE is able to give ASSURANCES that IT systems are secure – that applies to military satellites, radar, surveillance, storage and other computerised systems and digital controls!

The hacker community has evolved from the early thrill-seeking days of mischievous pranks and thrill-seeking interventions into a more focused, co-ordinated approach with specific political overtones.

The result is criminal ruling elites are running in fear, as their power has not been so EFFECTIVELY challenged for centuries – at least not since the invention of the printing press.

The cyber world of ‘hacking’ – not a derogatory term in the early days -- has been frenetically active since the first Unix OS was developed; however, the development and release of the open source Linux project, decades past, resulted in an explosion of system compromises, particularly Bill Gates’ very badly coded Windows, which virtually invited compromise or intervention. It could be said that widespread hacking came into its own with Linux and the open source community that supported it.

Linux automated some unnecessarily excruciating configuration issues while maintaining the POWER of the Unix based platform. It’s huge support base, guaranteed unlimited tools and other niceties that allowed mischievous hacking to become a favourite pastime of computer ‘kiddies’ -- some of whom, I should mention, later developed into expert coders and ‘Uber’ (master/invisible) elite hackers.

Elite hackers are a breed, with their own unwritten codes and ethics; it is probably accurate to describe them politically as anarchic, clearly against corrupt, fascistic or totalitarian governments and the scurrilous, criminal Banking and Corporate elites that control them. In that sense hackers support real DEMOCRACY and the liberties and freedoms promised under that political system, which unfortunately no longer exists due to America’s push for global domination.

The hacker community has recently targeted Banking and Corporatist institutions and promises to release data it appropriates that proves beyond any doubt that these organisations are inherently CRIMINAL.

Indeed, a new highly effective social phenomenon has come of age; and as occurred with the printing revolution and social reformations of the past, things will never be the same again.

A final message to the digitally handicapped, ruling criminal elites of today, your demise is guaranteed. There will be dancing and ‘swinging’ in the streets!