Google Hack

In post number two, I mentioned the events that have been going on between Google Inc. and the nation of China. Seeing as we've been covering technology's impact on society this week, I thought it would be a great chance to talk about some of these international events. Earlier this month, Google announced in an online blog that it had been the victim of several electronic attacks around the week of New Years. These attacks comprised the security of 34 related technological firms linked with Google and originated in China.

The details of these attacks have not been divulged to the public however we do know a few things. First, Google has said that the attacks were mainly aimed at stealing corporate source codes from these companies. Using these source codes, hackers could essentially write their own version of programs already used by these firms and sell them for huge profits. Along with the economic advantage, stolen source code could give hackers valuable insight as to the weaknesses of said programs. For these companies, most of which are in Silicon Valley and are highly electronically oriented, this is a huge problem. After these attacks, Adobe reported that it had been the victim of a security breach itself. It is not known if these events are related however the circumstances are eerily similar. Someone was able to identify a flaw in the programming of Adobe's software and attempted to infiltrate it with a virus that would deposit on someones computer every time they opened a PDF file. Luckily a catastrophe was averted and Adobe sniffed out the attacker and managed to fix the flaw.

The last attack I would like to mention was also aimed at Google. Details of the attack have been kept quiet however we do know that they are separate from the first attacks and that gmail accounts of several Chinese human rights activists have been comprised. We also know that these attacks stemmed from China itself. Every single program, file, webpage, and online interaction has whats known as a digital fingerprint, composed of a string of binary digits. Every fingerprint is completely unique. If two files have 10,000 binary digits exactly the same but one that differs, they have different fingerprints. Using this premise, investigators have been able to trace the security breach back to its own source. This source was a Chinese server and the virus was built using a unique algorithm published only in Chinese.

Anyway, this post is getting kind of long so I will post again before the weekend with updates as well as to discuss some societal connections of these events.

Skype

I recently became familiar with www.skype.com through my friend, former State Represenative Judie Scranton. While serving in Lansing, Judie met a couple of legislative assistants named Pan and Sue. They worked many years together on different issues, and became lifelong friends.

A few years ago, Pan and Sue left their jobs in Lansing and joined the Peace Corps. Pan is serving in Romania, and Sue is serving in Moldova. Judie uses Skype to communicate with Pan and Sue, because of the no-cost communication benefit that it provides. When I say no-cost, it is for the use of Skype only. They still have to have a computer and an internet service. Also, they need a microphone. A camera is an optional device that allows them to see each other, while they talk.

Judie is able to talk to and see Pan because Romania has high-speed internet service. However, because of Sue being in a much poorer country, she is only able to talk to Sue because of the dial-up service available.

In my father's lifetime, he is 85 years old, he has seen communication go from a crank phone on the wall, to being able to talk and see the person at the same time. My dad says, "I still remember that crank phone on the wall."