WikiChill: Might Ain't Right

I can't decide which set of DDoS attacks are more mis-guided or counter-productive. Whoever is trying to 'take down' WikiLeaks may as well be jousting at clouds; and those attacking the global payments and cloud computing infrastructure may as well be... well, jousting at clouds. In fact, it's just cloud versus cloud, and both are only succeeding in making innocent crowds angry.

Somewhere in the middle of the WikiLeaks phenomenon is a discussion worth having. But that discussion can't occur while spooks and hackers - the masters of mystery and anonymity - remain the key protagonists, and self-important politicians embark on an arms race of overreaction.

Officials: let the leak thing play out. If WikiLeaks didn't exist, you would have invented it. Focus on changing your protocols to avoid what you really can't cope with. Adopt a decent email policy.

Hackers: focus your energies on inventing something distributed yet productive that will advance the cause of humanity. WikiLeaks does not need your help.


Image from PhysicsBuzz/Wired.