I think it’s safe to say, we all hold false hope when it comes to being online in this day and age. Our parents constantly fear for us being online as frequently as we are, but it is as if we have been whitewashed into believing that the Internet is somewhat of a safe place where we can place all our details and our darkest secrets in a weird hope that no one will ever think to hack and take the information to use against us. Believing there is no dark side to the Internet.
But that’s were we are wrong, this weeks topic showcases the other side of the Internet, dark fibre referred to as the unused or ‘dark’ network infrastructure. The ‘dark fibre’ movement looks at the worst of the Internet, a movement involving hackers, botnets and cyberwar.
This does sound like it couldn’t be real, but the reality of it is, as the world has changed and the digital world has grown we’ve witnessed the rise in hacktivism take over. We’ve seen Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and the group Anonymous take over as they do their bit to help protect the public by releasing classified documents.
However, it is not just people who are linked closely to the government who can take this power into their own. People using botnets and other tools for hacking, which can be purchased are able to use it on everyday people, gaining personal information and using it against them without permission. Buying these products are not expensive at all and can be obtained with ease.
Much like anything else, the Internet is a scary place and must be used with caution. So the next time you place your personal details on the net, think twice about whether it is really necessary.
NoWayImHuman 