I reckon the author has gained inspiration by using my "The fifth battle domain - cyberspace" News Weekly Cover Story of July 21, 2007 at http://www.newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=2999

In July 2007 I said: "Wars have long been fought on land and sea. In the last 100 years most countries have also fought in the air, and some (such as the US, Russia and, more recently, China) are able to fight in space. A fifth warfare domain is gradually being defined - cyberspace." http://www.newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=2999

In May 2017 Suter said: "...cyber-warfare is now the fifth dimension of warfare (after land, sea, air, and space). Cyber-warfare is inevitable because too much of humankind's affairs are being linked via information technology. Critical infrastructure is vulnerable to attack."

Also in July 2007, using overt sources from the Internet, I pre-empted Edward Snowdens disclosures by 6 years:

• The Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division, which works collaboratively with public, private and international entities to secure cyberspace and America's cyber assets;

• The CIA's Information Operations Center Analysis Group, which evaluates foreign threats to US computer systems, particularly those that support critical infrastructures;

• The FBI National Security Branch, which, among other activities, can install bugs or wiretaps against suspected foreign terrorists; and

• The US National Security Agency (NSA), which secretly collects and analyses foreign and (controversially) domestic communications, and protects US Government communications. US Air Force Intelligence and other US military intelligence arms closely work with the NSA and support it with manpower for interception and language translation tasks.

Again see http://www.newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=2999

Pete

Philip S, I have a second computer on my desk that has dual boot
Win 7 and Ubuntu. The only reason I have it is my wife's Fit Bits
logging program only has a windows version.
I am just too lazy to write a program or use the spreadsheet.
I should have a look to see if there is an equivalent on source forge
or somewhere else.
I think the permissions together with needing root access and the
passwords needed and read, write and/or execute permissions that makes
it a much more difficult exercise for malware writers.

I recently got myself an Eftpos card, & destroyed my old debit card. It can only be used at terminals, & requires a pin to be entered.

After cutting up my old debit card, I feel a little safer.

I have never had a credit card. Am I kidding my self?

Interesting article about 11YO kid hacking into room full of security experts devices.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/hacking/sinister-implication-of-electronic-toys/news-story/8c35459db5354b3584b1c5fbae3d72d0

A YOUNG boy has shocked an audience of security experts by casually hacking into their Bluetooth devices to control his electronic toy.

REUBEN Paul may be only 11 years old, but his technological prowess has wowed industry experts at a technology conference in the Netherlands.

The grade six student shocked an audience of security experts when he casually hacked into their Bluetooth devices to “weaponise” his robotic teddy bear.

His electronic bear, named Bob, is connected to the cloud via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and can send and receive messages.

The youngster used a small credit card-sized computer known as a “Raspberry Pi” to scan the hall for Bluetooth devices and download dozens of phone numbers.

Then, using one of the numbers, he hacked into his bear using the Python coding language and turned on Bob’s lights and recorded audio from the crowd.

“IOT (Internet of Things) home appliances, things that can be used in our everyday lives, our cars, lights refrigerators, everything like this that is connected can be used and weaponised to spy on us or harm us,” he later explained to AFP.

His father, Mano Paul, told the agency he has always been surprised by his son’s ability, and said he became concerned when Reuben easily hacked a toy car.

“It means that my kids are playing with timebombs, that over time somebody who is bad or malicious can exploit.”

Electronic toys can be used to steal private information such as passwords, use GPS to pinpoint a person’s location, or spy on children by recording audio and video.

Reuben later tweeted: “It was fun but I hope people did not miss the message — secure IoT before the Internet of Toys becomes and Internet of Threats”.

If the experts in the room are anything go by, he’s got a bright future ahead.

Suter is no original.

As early as 2006 (7 years before Snowden, 11 years before Suter) I wrote in my article article on OLO [1]:

"Doubtless some Australians making phone calls, sending emails or blogging on the Internet may come under the scrutiny of Dr Kass and Cyber Command.

...The zealous statements of Dr Kass are clearly meant for US military consumption, but the tone should be of concern to Australians. The NSA, which is the chief monitor of cyberspace, has been traditionally seen as a conservative, perhaps moderate, intelligence organisation.

If an aggressive Cyber Command (as described by Dr Kass) is to be closely integrated with the NSA, the NSA may drift in the same aggressive political direction."

See "Cyber Command may soon watch over us" 2006 http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5053&page=0

Pete

Dear Bazz,

«Yuyutsu said; Untrained people cannot use Linux.
I disagree, it has all the facilities that Windows has, Firefox for
browsing and a selection of other browsers, two or three emailers
presentation, spreadsheets etc etc etc and thousands of other programs
all for free.»

Those who use the above features are not in fact using Linux - they actually use a "desktop" layer that is built on top of Linux and treat their system as if it was a Windows box. For them, Linux is a black box and if they don't know how to access it directly, then they also wouldn't know how to protect themselves from the vulnerabilities of the Desktop layer.