by Ulandi Exner
Spring has sprung! Can you believe it is already that time of the year? However, just when we thought we could pack away our winter woollies, the cold front smacks us in the face. But alas, it won’t be long before we get to enjoy our wonderful South African braais and beach holidays. I live in Johannesburg and we have the most awesome summers. The mornings are very warm which is normally followed by a quick and refreshing afternoon thundershower.
But enough about the weather, let’s look at some of the IT news which made the headlines most recently.
Ashley Madison Breach
According to Wikipedia “Ashley Madison is a Canada based online dating and social networking service marketed to people who are married or in a committed relationship. Its slogan is “Life is short. Have an affair. The website was launched in 2001”.
Hackers known as “The Impact Team” managed to steal all of Ashley Madison’s customer data and on 15th of July threatened to release all the personal information if the site was not shut down. Although Ashley Madison tried to take some preventative measures such as securing the website, closing unauthorised access points and working with law enforcement agencies, these efforts were in vain. On 22nd of July the first names of customers were released and again on the 18th and 20th of August.
As I watched this story unfold, I had a good chuckle. If you want to have extra marital affairs then you should be prepared to face the consequences if you are caught out. However, as we take great joy in seeing Karma at work, let’s consider for a second what other impact this has had on society:
Some people had pranks played on them and their friends created accounts for them on the website whereas some accounts were created on behalf of others as a means of revenge. It’s not so funny if you live in a country where adultery is punishable by fine, jail time or even death. How do you prove that it in fact, it was not you but someone else that created the account on your behalf? I am sure that there were more legitimate accounts than fake ones but even so one has to be mindful of the impact this “hack” and data leakage has had on spouses and children. On 24 August there were two unconfirmed suicides that were linked to the data breach as well as reports of hate crime.
Who gives us the right to publically shame people? Were the hackers just in their cause to stop adultery? The hackers claim the moral high ground, but is it not the pot calling the kettle black? Is it moral to steal (stealing is stealing, even if its data), is it moral to commit extortion? What are your thoughts?
Cybercrime Bill
The Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity draft Bill was recently released for public comment. The deadline for comment is 30 November. IITPSA will schedule a workshop so that interested parties can contribute towards the discussion paper. For more information regarding the bill, please refer to the website: http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/invitations/invites.htm
IT Personality and Visionary CIO
The search for the 2015 IT Personality and Visionary CIO has reached the second round. Top 10 shortlists for both categories have been selected from a great number of nominations received. See the separate article below and remember to cast your votes.
And finally I leave you with this quote:
The best way to predict your future is to create it – Abraham Lincoln
Ciao
