Anecdotes & Evidence

I don’t have much to say other than I thought this was a funny picture to match with this headline. I’m glad they found the little girl, but it looks like the last few days have been hard on her.

My bachelor’s degree is in journalism, but I’ve been wondering if that would be enough for me to find and point out incomplete or sensationalistic reporting. I shouldn’t have worried.

Mouse click could plunge city into darkness, experts say

Before going on to the story, what does that headline say to you? Doesn’t this look like there’s a big online button that says Don’t Click Here, and CNN has just blown the cover? See for yourself.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/27/power.at.risk/index.html

Turns out some researchers successfully used a computer to make a generator blow itself up. They must have loaded MS PowerPoint on it.

So “experts” are concerned that the same type of online attack can be used against large generators in power stations. Some terrorists blow up the generators remotely, power goes off during CSI: Walla Walla, and Western civilization is destroyed by looting.

But what we don’t see in this story is a point’n'click Java applet that will turn the TVA into a series of Dunkin Donuts. Perhaps a headline like this might have worked:

Electrical plants possibly vulnerable to cyber-attack

A few other things not mentioned in the article:

• Have they tested this attack against whatever computer security exists in our power plants?
• How up-to-date is that computer security? Would the most current block this sort of attack?
• Do we know it really works against the large generators in power stations?
• What will it take to prevent this? Will installing McAfee do the trick?

Shame. It could have been informative. But at least we got a misleading headline and a lot of poorly attributed vague warnings.

Blogging this stuff might be easier than I thought.

Hi all. This is my new blog. If you’re looking for the old one, it’s here.

Enjoy!