Everybody knows hackers are the biggest threat to computer networks, except that it ain’t necessarily so.
Yes, hackers are still out there, and not just teenagers: malicious insiders, political activists, mobsters and even government agents all routinely test public and private computer networks and occasionally disrupt services. But experts say that some of the most serious, even potentially devastating, problems with networks arise from sources with no malevolent component.
Whether it’s the Los Angeles customs fiasco or the unpredictable network cascade that brought the global Skype telephone service down for two days in August, problems arising from flawed systems, increasingly complex networks and even technology headaches from corporate mergers can make computer systems less reliable. Meanwhile, society as a whole is growing ever more dependent on computers and computer networks, as automated controls become the norm for air traffic, pipelines, dams, the electrical grid and more. ^
Our computer systems mirror our minds in that they have a lot of power, but are disorganized and undisciplined, and as a result they fail frequently at the worst times. It’s easy to rant against Microsoft and assume Linux is better, or claim that you prefer Apple hardware to HP, but these are really degrees of the same great fat incompetent. There are a few people out there who will do things correctly, but they are rarely recognized because few people recognize how dysfunctional our technology is until it blows up and strands people for 17 hours in an airport.