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Keren Elazari 60
back then, but to me, that trick, it felt like
Hackers: The Internets this, like I had discovered limitless
potential at my fingertips. This is the rush
Immune System of power that hackers feel. It's geeks just
65 like me discovering they have access to
5 Four years ago, a security researcher, or, superpower, one that requires the skill and
as most people would call it, a tenacity of their intellect, but thankfully no
hacker, found a way to literally make radioactive spiders.
ATMs throw money at him. His name was
Barnaby Jack, and this technique was 70 3:20
10 later called "jackpotting" in his honor.
7:17 10:14
45 105
It is even more true if we go after And if the Internet doesn't like it when you
hackers that are willing to risk their own try to remove things from it, just watch
freedom for ideals like the freedom of the what happens when you try to shut the
web, especially in times like this, like today Internet down. This took place in Egypt in
50 even, as governments and corporates fight 110 January 2011, and as President Hosni
to control the Internet. I find it Mubarak attempted a desperate move to
astounding that someone from the quash the rising revolution on the streets
shadowy corners of cyberspace can of Cairo, he sent his personal troops down
become its voice of opposition, its last line to Egypt's Internet service providers and
55 of defense even, perhaps someone like 115 had them physically kill the switch on the
Anonymous, the leading brand of global country's connection to the world
hacktivism. This universal hacker overnight. For a government to do a thing
movement needs no introduction like that was unprecedented, and for
today, but six years ago they were not hackers, it made it personal. Hackers like
60 much more than an Internet 120 the Telecomix group were already active
on the ground, helping Egyptians bypass setting up all-you-can-eat surveillance
censorship using clever workarounds like programs, a thing they need hackers for,
Morse code and ham radio. It was high by the way. And so the establishment has
season for low tech, which the government long had a love-hate relationship when it
5 couldn't block, but when the Net went 65 comes to hackers, because the same
completely down, Telecomix brought in the people who demonize hacking also utilize
big guns. They found European service it at large.
providers that still had 20-year-old analog
dial-up access infrastructure. They opened 14:06
10 up 300 of those lines for Egyptians to 70
use, serving slow but sweet Internet Two years ago, I saw General Keith
connection for Egyptians. This worked. It Alexander. He's the NSA director and U.S.
worked so well, in fact, one guy even used cyber commander, but instead of his four
it to download an episode of "How I Met star general uniform, he was wearing
15 Your Mother." But while Egypt's future is 75 jeans and a t-shirt. This was at DEF
still uncertain, when the same thing CON, the world's largest hacker
happened in Syria just one year conference. Perhaps like me, General
later, Telecomix were prepared with those Alexander didn't see 12,000 criminals that
Internet lines, and Anonymous, they were day in Vegas. I think he saw untapped
20 perhaps the first international group to 80 potential. In fact, he was there to give a
officially denounce the actions of the hiring pitch. "In this room right here," he
Syrian military by defacing their website. said, "is the talent our nation needs." Well,
hackers in the back row replied, "Then
12:06 stop arresting us." (Applause)
25 85
But with this sort of power, it really 14:52
depends on where you stand, because
one man's hero can be another's Indeed, for years, hackers have been on
villain, and so the Syrian Electronic the wrong side of the fence, but in light of
30 Army is a pro-Assad group of hackers who 90 what we know now, who is more watchful
support his contentious regime. They've of our online world? The rules of the game
taken down multiple high-profile targets in are not that clear anymore, but hackers
the past few years, including the are perhaps the only ones still capable of
Associated Press's Twitter account, in challenging overreaching
35 which they posted a message about an 95 governments and data-hoarding
attack on the White House injuring corporates on their own playing field. To
President Obama. This tweet was fake, of me, that represents hope.
course, but the resulting drop in the Dow
Jones index that day was most certainly 15:22
40 not, and a lot of people lost a lot of money. 100
For the past three decades, hackers have
12:53 done a lot of things, but they have also
impacted civil liberties, innovation and
This sort of thing is happening all over the Internet freedom, so I think it's time we
45 world right now. In conflicts from the 105 take a good look at how we choose to
Crimean Peninsula to Latin America, from portray them, because if we keep
Europe to the United States, hackers are a expecting them to be the bad guys, how
force for social, political and military can they be the heroes too? My years in
influence. As individuals or in the hacker world have made me
50 groups, volunteers or military 110 realize both the problem and the beauty
conflicts, there are hackers everywhere. about hackers: They just can't see
They come from all walks of something broken in the world and leave it
life, ethnicities, ideologies and genders, I be. They are compelled to either exploit it
might add. They are now shaping the or try and change it, and so they find the
55 world's stage. Hackers represent an 115 vulnerable aspects in our rapidly changing
exceptional force for change in the 21st world. They make us, they force us to fix
century. This is because access to things or demand something better, and I
information is a critical currency of think we need them to do just that,
power, one which governments would like because after all, it is not information that
60 to control, a thing they attempt to do by 120 wants to be free, it's us.