Perils in cyberspace

CYBERPHOBIA
Edward Lucas
Bloomsbury
306 pages; Rs 499

This book shows how our increasing dependence on the internet has made us vulnerable to hacking. Edward Lucas's book can be easily digested by anyone - no technical language has been used. The narrative has an easy flow. The experiences of a fictional couple called Chip and Pin Hakhett are used to illustrate everyday cyber threats that haunt them.

Security was not a concern in the early days of the internet. Today, more and more people are online and that space is becoming less and less safe. The book says hacking will become more common, especially because of the Internet of Things. The latter is the internet in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data. Fridges and televisions are already sending spam.

The book puts the current crisis down to the failures of those who designed the internet. They never saw the internet's mega-expansion coming, and they neglected security. Mr Lucas highlights an interesting point: one estimate says criminals eat up to 20 per cent of the $3-trillion annual online economy. A scandal would erupt if a physical sector were looted like this.

Some of the author's views may seem controversial. He says, "In all other walks of life we trade off freedom, security and convenience. Our dealings with computers and networks should be no different." But those who support an open internet, like I do, will not relish this. He says we have to get real about the internet and hug the rigour of models like aviation to have a freedom worth having.

He is a critic of Edward Snowden, a former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, who revealed extensive internet and phone surveillance by US intelligence. He says the revelations strengthen the authoritarian regimes' case that the West's talk of legality and rules is nonsense.

Let me be clear: Without Mr Snowden, we wouldn't have a clue about NSA spying. I am sure we can work towards adapting to new threats while safeguarding the freedom of human beings.

Also, this book talks of no new idea or trend. Digital breaches becoming more frequent and more sophisticated are not new. But, the problem is so big and so complex, says the author, that even the best experts can't figure them out. This, too, is well-known.

The book is helpful for non-technical readers trying to understand this relatively new world. The author speaks of the threats we face - and what can and cannot be done.

He explains much of this through the lives of the Hakhetts. The couple invests most of its anxiety in the real world than in cyber space, even though the latter could be more devastating.

The couple feels that road transport is risky. But the book shows how a computer can be far more damaging than that. A driver may kill dozens. But, a misused computer can endanger the lives of so many, by emptying their bank accounts, or stealing their personal data. The author emphasises that even though computers are more dangerous, people have not learned to handle them as they handle cars.

For example, Chip declines to update the software. Many of us do that. "Sometimes his elderly computer cannot install them, and sits there frozen, with a message telling him to wait," writes Mr Lucas. "So he ignores them all: he has a business to run... Yet unpatched (out-of-date) software is a gift for attackers."

The author also notes that in dealing with software manufacturers' mistakes, the burden is on consumers. But, this is not how manufacturers in other sectors work. If a manufacturing flaw is found in a toy, processed food, a household appliance, or a car, the manufacturers take action themselves. In September 2014, General Motors announced a recall of 220,000 cars to correct a brake defect that could have caused the vehicles to catch fire. The share price plunged and executives resigned. When a battery on the new Boeing Dreamliner caught fire in January 2013, authorities ordered all 50 aircraft to be grounded until the fault was remedied. A plane might face the strictest rules because it is designed primarily for safety and reliability. But the computers we depend on are not. They are made as cheaply, as quickly, and as profitably as possible. The author describes a mess of improvisation and recycling inside the machines.

And, in my experience, if these machines fail, a refund is what you get at the most - no compensation for your virtual life lost due to a faulty hard disk.