Elite DARPA cyber heroes will protect interwebs ... DARPA is
upping its cyber game in order to protect the internet it came up with,
increasing its research budget from $120m (£74.6m) to $188m (£117m) for
the fiscal year 2012. "DARPA's role in the creation of the internet
means we were party to the intense opportunities it created and share
in the intense responsibility of protecting it. Our responsibility is
to acknowledge and prepare to protect the Nation in this new
environment," Regina E Dugan, DARPA director, said in a canned
statement. "We need more and better options. We will not prevail by
throwing bodies or buildings at the challenges of cyberspace. Our
assessment argues that we are capability limited, both offensively and
defensively. We need to fix that." – The Register
Dominant Social Theme: DARPA to the rescue of the Internet. Government on the march ... and aren't we grateful!
Free-Market Analysis: We can see from the above excerpted article that the Darth Vader of US Intel/technology agencies is on the march again. DARPA – Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency. Collectively, it will now shove its
big, black helmet in the path of Internet "hackers" and make the 'Net
once again safe for the "American Way."
This means expanded budgets if they have their "druthers!" Very
important. It also means, no doubt, an overhaul of the Internet – what
DARPA controls of it – and far more intrusive government surveillance
(e.g., the Nano Hummingbird to "provide reconnaissance and surveillance
capabilities in urban environments," left). All to fight the relatively
non-existent threat to "Internet security."
According to government types, the Internet now is only frequented by
a few miserable people on a regular basis. There are "pedophiles" on
the troll for little girls and boys. There are Jihadists with big beards
and exceptional technological skills. There are Julian Assange-type
hackers who are young and redeemable. Finally, there are the ChiComs,
busily plotting the unraveling of Western technology.
That's generally it! The rest of the denizens of the 'Net are neither
important nor numerous. The threats abound, though! DARPA has decided
to confront them. One positive side effect, from the point of view of
DARPA-types: They get to perpetuate the meme that DARPA "invented" the Internet.
