By Private: Janice Sinclaire, July 27, 2016
As more evidence comes to light that the hacking of the Democratic National Committee may be linked to Russian intelligence, Vice Media's Motherboard channel has posted a helpful reference on cyber vocabulary and slang. Is a “botnet” living inside your computer? Do you know the difference between a “hacker” and a “cracker?” Were you aware that Tor, which was developed by the United States Naval Laboratory, is short for The Onion Router, and that the Tor network is “a collection of volunteer-run computers” used by criminals and good guys alike who want to remain anonymous online?
After brushing up on cyber lingo, you might then also read Andrew Futter’s recent piece in the Bulletin about the outdated technology used in the US nuclear weapons command and control system. The floppy disks and IBM Series/1 computer that parts of the apparatus rely on are more than 50 years old, but you may end up agreeing with Futter that the planned digital upgrade is a double-edged sword that could lead to a very modern problem: hacking and cyber-sabotage.
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