Friday 23rd October
It’s all very convenient for the
producers of the new Bond film Spectre.
Having crafted a film where the
threat is in information and computers and basically casts the digital age as
the ultimate battleground of non-state terror, they really needed a news story
which could chime with the themes of the movie.
Enter TalkTalk, which has been
assaulted by hackers who have taken vast swathes of data, including personal
and financial details of customers. There has now been a ransom demand,
blackmailing the company. As criminality goes, it is the equivalent of the
Great Train Robbery, the Hatton Garden Jewellery theft, and the plot of Ocean’s Eleven all rolled into one and
then multiplied several times over.
Customers are naturally worried
and upset, but many have turned their fire on the company. One woman on the
news said she was seeking another provider (fair enough) – one that wouldn’t “leak
data by accident”.
“Leak data”? You mean like how
the Millennium Dome leaked those diamonds when some crooks drove a JCB into it?
It’s a sign of the terrifying world we live in where there is such vulnerability, but also such a lack of understanding. Naively, we don’t
seem to worry too much about giving our personal details to our banks, utility
suppliers and so on, but do worry about governments having access to our
Facebook. Concerning in principle, but if someone at GCHQ wants to trawl
through all of the invites I get to start-up business, fringe theatres or, dare
I say it, satirical Facebook Pages, best of luck to them. Perhaps they can let
me know which ones are actually worth attending.
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