By Tim Baldwin
The totalitarian government of North Korea claimed the United States government was behind a movie (“The Interview”), a production of Sony, to which North Korea took serious offense. Coincidentally, someone hacked into Sony’s computer systems, which led to the cancellation of the film’s release. United States officials state they can prove North Korea did the hacking. North Korea denies this, yet North Korea is threatening the United States, claiming its actions will “be boldly taken against the [U.S.]” for this film.
Sony seems to have stepped away from releasing the movie. Their reasons may be understandable, but I agree with President Barack Obama’s response. He said, “We cannot have a society in which some dictators someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States…” Indeed, for as John Stuart Mill wrote, without a free flow of information among the public, liberty cannot exist.
Naturally, stupid ideas will die and good ideas will thrive, right? As thinking people, we should not take personal offense when someone disagrees with us. We should challenge ourselves to understand the world in which we live better so we can improve our existence here. We should never accept suppression of speech and ideas as a method of governance or making us feel better about ourselves.
By Joe Carbonari
The hacking attack on Sony Pictures better be a wakeup call. We are cyber-vulnerable to an unacceptable degree. Our economy is vulnerable; the world’s economy is vulnerable. What to do?
Take cyber security seriously. It is going to cost us some big money. Our private sector will have to upgrade and tighten, continually. That will mean a degree of technological cooperation and sharing that does not currently exist.
The North Korean cyber-attack, done directly or by proxy, requires a strong, direct, response. It is a form of international blackmail and extortion. Cyber-violence, by way of illegally accessed, released, and destroyed files, has been combined with the threat of violence at theaters premiering the Sony-made film, “The Interview.”
The film itself is a spoof involving a plot to assassinate King Jong Un, North Korea’s current dictator. Tasteless, perhaps, but not deserving of the cyber-attack and subsequent threats. We can’t leave ourselves so vulnerable to this sort of aberrant behavior. There is too much irrationality and instability in the world.
Call it terrorism or cyber-vandalism, but call it to a stop. The U.N. Security Council is now also considering North Korea’s overall record with regard to human rights. Approbation with heavy sanctions would seem appropriate.
In the meantime, we need to tighten our security now. This is not cyber war, but it could be. We need to protect ourselves. We are not ready.