W.A.R., the commonly used acronym for ‘We Are Right’ looks
on the cards again. In this case Donald Trump is right and Kim Jong-un is
right, China’s kinda right and Japan doesn’t want to be wrong. Possibly, after
the fabulous documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pWTBJ9r3ns
on Stuxnet’s success in unaccountably blowing up Iranian centrifuges, Donald
has the power to make Jong-un’s missiles go off like prematurely released
balloons, provided someone’s taken the trouble to tell him. It’s impossible to
overstate the game changing consequences of Stuxnet, malware so sophisticated
it can find its target software, manipulate it make a desired malfunction
whilst making everything appear normal and, before the Israelis let the cat out
of the bag, be completely un-attributable. That error converted Stuxnet from US
covert brilliance into a worldwide case study in how to weaponise software. We
might still think we’re right but now we’ll never know what pressing the button
might do. And as everything other than the Donald is now under computer control
it’s possible to weaponise anything against its user. That’s sixty years from
an enthusiast’s box they couldn’t find a use for to a ubiquitous weapon. You’ve
got to hand it to us: we’re pretty smart. But flawed.
