Update 2: October 24, 2019
YOU'LL BE WANTING THE GOOD NEWS FIRST
Hello Superstructers! We'd like to start with some congratulations - you see, in the space of a little over two weeks, the actions of our volunteers (that's you!) bought us six years on top of the initial GEAS survival horizon. :)
Unfortunately, the celebrations here at Superstruct HQ have been somewhat muted, following a raid on our offices by the US Department of Justice. The majority of the GEAS executive board were released shortly after questioning, but Audrey Chen remains in custody. In these dangerous times, it's important that you - our volunteers - remember to look out for yourselves.
And we're thinking of you, Audrey. Wherever you are.
SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
So, in the last update, we asked you whether noble ends could ever justify morally questionable ways of getting there. 20 days in, and we're starting to settle on an answer. While we might not like what the outlaws mean for our day-to-day existence, that isn't something that's stopping us from using their methods in the name of a greater good. Looking at superstructuress, The Society for the Creative Breaking of Shit ('strategic griefing of the unacceptable') has been at the head of this shift, while - on a more personal level - some SEHIs have been re-evaluating their choice of hat.
Running on parallel tracks to the "desperate ends, desperate measures" discussion, there's been a lot of talk about whether hacking is a predominantly social/psychological issue, or simply a by-product of weak technology. But with news that even the humble stylus is now vulnerable to the outlaws' dark surveillance comes the realisation that this superthreat is not going be "fixed" with the introduction of a simple new technology or particularly nifty system of safeguards.
Our hand has been forced, and perhaps we - like PlatonicJenson - should be focusing our efforts on understanding the motivations of the people behind the threat. Whether or not griefing turns out to be "an indirect result of a centralized societies inability to handle ... people who want to participate", if we're going to beat this, we need a better grasp on why people choose to act the outlaw.
TRUST NETWORKS STEPPING UP
As knowledge of the WorldRun prediction spreads, we're seeing "trust networks" starting to become both more self-confident and self-aware. These networks, which usually allow members to identify themselves with some kind of encrypted tokens (some have gone as far as to propose new "unfakable" biometrics and provide central verification), increasingly recognise themselves as at the forefront of the fight against the griefers.
Matt Van Natta points out that his company's FirmHandshake, which provides a general trust service to be used in many transactions, has become not only a global business but has also demonstrated its value in disaster resilience.
Coming in from a different angle, LexLothar points out that online malware can be combated by mobile agents similarly backed-up by central trust-serving certification authorities. But while the "official" certification authorities are verifying each other, the outlaws are setting up their own rival services.
Ultimately, we can only hope that the number of good and trustworthy people in the world (and agents on the net) outweighs the bad, and if we can only connect them so that they verify each other, the web of trust initiated by the good guys is likely to be more durable than the cobweb of lies spun by the bad.
GIVING UP ON CONNECTIVITY
But what if that last statement isn't true? What if there's no hope that we can connect with more good people than bad. As it's the many surveillance systems and their connectivity that leaves us open to hacking, wouldn't it just be better to turn whole thing off? Nick Resonance asks the crucial question. If you think that's the correct (and feasible) response to Outlaw Planet, go give him some love.
But if we can't do without a network, perhaps we can build our own infrastructure, untouched by either the blackhats or government snoopers?
If neither disconnection nor an entirely independent internet is an option, we are back trying to make connectivity to the existing network more secure. LexLothar's LaoKoon swarm has another message for us. The agents spread themselves rather like viruses or other malware. Something else we can borrow from the blackhats? a lot we can learn from the blackhat techniques.
THE BIG AND THE WEIRD
If surveillance literally means "to watch from above", then the subject of this footage - posted earlier in the week by Superstruct volunteer csven - represents a literal manifestation of the concept. If the video isn't a hoax (and, considering the context, it's hard to see why it would be), we're faced with the rather sinister question of who's watching. And while the transparency/privacy debate is far from over, this development hasn't gone down well with the blogosphere, with several high-profile (and surprisingly fierce) bloggers being all-too-happy to point the finger of blame.
The second item picks up our coverage of Wikileaks' legal predicament from the last update, with fresh developments throwing an entirely new light on the site's troubles. While they may have been forced to hand over the offending documents, nobody expected the contents of the same documents to be revealed - a matter of days later - as the contents of a video in the possession of a well-known art collective. So, what's been going on? If you want to get any kind of grip on the situation, you'll need to follow the money.
We'd like to finish by noting that XTV ('By any platform necessary') has been alerted to the existence of both of the above stories, so continue to watch this space ... the media shitstorm should be along any day now. ;-)
~ jfpickard (London, UK) & phil jones (Bolivia), October 25, 2019
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