Superstruct Superthreat: Outlaw Planet

Welcome to the Global Extinction Awareness System. You are watching Superthreat Number 04: Outlaw Planet. In 2019 the mobile internet and sensor networks we rely on to hold our societies together are being hacked, griefed, and gamed. Hardest hit: The democratic process, social networks, every institution connected to the Internet. GEAS volunteers report from the frontlines of the Outlaw Planet Superthreat. GEAS volunteer somethinglawful839 reports from Kuala Lumpur, where the Republican Bank of Malaysia was hit this morning by the third major online banking attack this week. Financial leaders believe the attacks are related to last month's breach of the Korea International Bank by hard-core players of the World of Starcraft game. Both hacked banks are major players in the virtual currency market. somethinglawful writes: "Internet security specialists are downplaying the attacks. But we know that these are just another example of the ongoing virtual assaults on the planet's basic operating infrastructure." How can we come together to secure our assets, both real and virtual? GEAS volunteer dailyjolt is live blogging from Washington, D.C., where representatives from the Electronic Frontier Foundation are about to testify in the ongoing hearings on last November's midterm elections. The group's testimony is expected to call for a do-over election after hacking of voting systems left a third of the Senate and most House seats in question. dailyjolt reports: "It's hard to believe that almost a year later, the courts are still battling over who will be seated. No wonder legal historians are calling the situation the biggest Constitutional crisis in U.S. history." How can we uphold civic rights in network-enabled democracies? GEAS volunteer OKmanny reports from a hotel in Mendocino, California that media drones have successfully penetrated the secret conclave of state and federal officials who have been negotiating the terms of secession by four Western States, including California. This is the first known use of drones for political coverage. Previously, they were limited to documenting celebrity life in our age of robotic paparazzi. The governor's office was swift to respond to this most recent intrusion, demanding that drone attacks be treated as felony crimes. But OKmanny says: "This is fantastic! Forget celebrity gossip! We can finally know what our governments are really up to. More drones please!" Who gets to set the rules for transparency in our society? GEAS volunteer javed_puri tells us that Sensornet warnings from the Indian Ocean have sent thousands of South Asians rushing from the coastal areas into the hills. But the warnings are most likely spoofs of the tsunami warning system by pirates seeking cover for yet another heist of offshore oil. Javed reports: "We are getting closer and closer to a Boy Who Cried Wolf scenario. It will be disaster when a true tsunami hits and we ignore it as just more sensor spam." How can we prevent spam from crippling our most important sensory networks? Together we can survive the Outlaw Planet Superthreat. GEAS volunteers are organizing now at: SUPERSTRUCTGAME.ORG Join us to invent the future of SECURITY.