There was report today on the radio about a warning given to British soldiers serving in Iraq: do not phone home on your cellphone!
The Iraqi insurgents are tapping into cellphone calls made by soldiers back to their families. Its not the content of these calls that is the problem (soldiers are well trained these days about what can and can’t be said), but rather the fact that the insurgents get the numbers of both the solider and their family, and then send threatening text messages, and make threatening phone calls. Basically, they’re transporting the terror from the battlefield to the homes of the soldiers. Imagine the terror this can create, and the difficult position it puts soldiers in, knowing they might be opening their families to the conflict in this terror-full way.
In this Connection Economy, “the war” is no longer “over there” (as one hit TV show calls it). Today, terrorists strike from anywhere to anywhere. But governments still try and fight them using traditional force. As with all things, the Connection Economy brings potential for great good, and great evil, too.