-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.soci.niu.edu/~crypt/other/clinto.htm <A HREF="http://www.soci.niu.edu/~crypt/other/clinto.htm">All questions answered! The President warns of </A> ----- Embedded links at site. Om K ----- There may be risk from cyberterror. But are officials this clueless qualified to judge? January 22, 1999 -- This piece is for those of you looking to read some comment about the President's recent speech on cyberterror before the National Academy of Science. President Clinton spoke about the threat of biological and chemical weapons but, specifically, Crypt News is only going to deal with the cyberspace part of it. Since the President did not really say anything new on the subject, Crypt News is going to take you on a walkthru of various articles published in the last few years which are relevant to his speech but which have not been widely reported in the mainstream media. First, let's look at some government-associated institutions and their contributions to risk assessment on the nature of threats to the national infrastructure. The President says he is persuaded by reports supplied by them. In 1996 two professors, writing for the FBI's Law Enforcement Bulletin, did an extensive report on "computer crime." They were so full of it, they squeaked. They believed an entire raft of April Fool's jokes! Read this detailed dissection of their research. In 1997, a Presidential Commission on Secrecy wrote about computer security. All the members were deluded by a common virus hoax. The membership included two heads of intelligence agencies and John Podesta, one of President Clinton's closest advisors. Read the embarrassing truth. In 1997, the Hudson Institute, a think tank funded in part by money from the Department of Defense, released this report on information warfare. It was hooked on another virus hoax and additional fantastic rubbish about the paranormal. It's so scary, Crypt News can't look -- but you still can. And just last month, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, another big think tank, released a report about cyberterror! It was written by an old head of the Central Intelligence Agency. Guess what? He was tricked by a common April Fool's joke pertaining to computer terror, too. However, the CIA man -- William Webster -- wasn't the only one deluded. He had company. Like the man who wrote a widely publicized book called "The Next World War," about information warfare and computer mayhem. This reporter was even the chief of United Press International! Read the long version or the short version which appeared in The Wall Street Journal. But wait. Read about the Lt. Colonel in the United States Army who believed in a computer virus that could cause heart arrhythmia through mental telepathy! Are you beginning to see a trend here? But why is all this important? Well, these are the people and institutions who, in aggregate, are supplying the analyses that led President Clinton to believe America is vulnerable to cyberterrorists. There may be a threat. But would you believe the word of analysts like this? Let's phrase it another way. What if the President came on television and said he had learned from his national security advisors that Martians were preparing to attack the United States and he was authorizing the spending of $2.6 billion dollars to defend America against them. You would think he was a little too trusting of his men and that some of them were clearly nuts! You might be inclined to think a very close look at the subject was warranted. You would want to see the raw information, unvarnished, upon which such a claim was based. Well, to those of us who do know something about "cyberterror" and computer crime, April Fool's jokes, hoaxes and silly stories about such creatures as telepathic computer viruses are regarded the same way you would view talk of invading Martians. "I have tried as hard as I can to create the right frame of mind in America for dealing with this," said the President before the National Academy of Science. "For too long the problem has been that not enough has been done to recognize the threat and deal with it. And we in government, frankly, weren't as well-organized as we should have been for too long. "I do not want the pendulum to swing the other way now, and for people to believe that every incident they read about in a novel or every incident they see in a thrilling movie is about to happen to them within the next 24 hours." Physician, heal your own troops. Then call the next morning. Other relevant links: •About the Crypt Newsletter. •Back to Crypt Newsletter Send a comment: George Smith, Editor copyright 1999 Crypt Newsletter. All rights reserved. ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
