The Power of Nightmares - Part 63

This report, featuring a video produced for the Department of Homeland Security, is not going to sit well with the millions and millions of baby boomers who are, today, just praying that their home will be worth enough money so that they can still borrow against it to make ends meet and grow old with some amount of dignity.

The image of an electrical power generator shaking violently and belching smoke after a few anonymous keystrokes from somewhere far away should serve to reinforce the fear and uncertainty that now seem to be an integral part of the American way of life.

A related story led the ABC Evening News yesterday - in this case it was the threat of Chinese hackers doing dastardly deeds on U.S. government and corporate computer systems, "reaching out through cyberspace" to shut the lights off and stop the trains from running.

Yes, cell phones would probably stop working too.

This is nothing new. Having worked a bit in the internet security area ten years ago, these same warnings have been heard from many parts of the technology industry for many, many years. It is, however, a bogeyman with which the typical American is unfamiliar and, for that reason, you are likely to hear more on this subject.

For more on The Power of Nightmares see Wikipedia and the BBC.