by Vikram south Mehta
Former the States President Bill Clinton has co-authored a political thriller, The President Is Missing. The plot is thin, the linguistic communication somewhat strained in addition to the read a disappointment. But the volume volition produce well. People volition purchase it out of curiosity in addition to maybe inwards the expectation that, whilst billed every bit fiction, the storey draw of piece of job volition live on revealing of the inner in addition to personalised dynamics of the White House. I read the root one-half of the volume inwards earnest in addition to skimmed through the 2nd one-half looking for these revelatory nuggets. I institute none but I did accept away 2 messages. One, the to a greater extent than networked a society, the greater is its vulnerability to roguish genius. And two, to a greater extent than than maybe always before, the basis needs inspired, courageous in addition to selfless leadership. The new is centered around the subject of cyber terrorism. H5N1 “wiper virus” has been uploaded onto the internet. If activated, it has the potential to erase all software, wipe out all files including backup files in addition to accept downwardly the entire operational organisation of the US. The hacker has a modify of pump in addition to informs the the States President of what he has done.
He tells him the virus volition detonate automatically at the death of a programmed fourth dimension period. When that happens, “the figurer would live on aught but a keyboard in addition to a blank concealment … electricity would live on compromised … online wellness records would non live on accessible … banking concern records would live on erased … the stream of currency would live on reduced to manus to manus transactions … the economic scheme would screech to a stop … in that location would live on volume panic in addition to riots … in addition to America would boot the bucket the 3rd largest third-world reason inwards the world”. The problem, he adds, is that spell he was responsible for infiltrating the virus, he does non remove maintain the password to “exfiltrate” it . This, he says, is straightaway the challenge facing the the States President who has but 2 weeks to avert the “Dark Ages”. The storey ends well. The password is identified in addition to the virus deactivated. But this happens non earlier the the States President sheds his safety detail, risks life in addition to limb in addition to goes “missing”.
It is because of the private essay of the President in addition to his intuitive interpretation of the facts in addition to advice provided past times an assemblage of the world’s most talented cyber experts that the mission is successful. The message is clear. The basis needs non only technical talent but courageous, resilient in addition to selfless leadership inwards the human face upwardly of impending crisis.
I picked upwardly this volume whilst on go in addition to betwixt conferences to hash out the “state of the world”. The novel’s 2 messages resonated because in that location was an underlying thread that ran across all the speeches made at these conferences. The basis is a risky house in addition to it is getting riskier. The foundations of the post Cold War, post Berlin Wall global organisation remove maintain weakened, the basis is non a village, geography is non history, leaders are non doing plenty to arrest the dangers of global warming in addition to the “global commons” remains unmanaged. In this latter context, cyber terrorism was expressed every bit a major concern. One gear upwardly of statistics brought into abrupt relief the nature in addition to extent of our exposure to this threat .
The basis has a population of 7.6 billion people. Of them, 5.1 billion remove maintain subscriptions to mobile phones, iv billion remove maintain access to internet, in addition to 3.1 billion are active users of the social media. In only i meshing minute, 4,50,000 tweets are sent, 9,00,000 people log onto Facebook, 1.8 meg snaps are created, 3.5 meg searches hitting Google, 4.1 meg YouTube videos are seen in addition to over 156 meg emails are sent. The point: The basis must non ignore the consequences of existence in addition to thus tightly networked.
The historian Niall Ferguson has placed the consequences inwards historical context inwards his latest book, The Square And The Tower: Network, Hierarchies And The Struggle For Global Power . He avers that the 1,000-year erstwhile Roman Empire collapsed because of the viral spread of the “network borne threats” of religion (Christianity), affliction (bubonic plague) in addition to migration (the Germanic tribes). These threats spread because of physical in addition to spiritual connectivity. They permeated every strata of the Empire’s governance in addition to social hierarchy. The leadership did non anticipate or remove maintain the capability to comprise the spread. The resultant was the erosion of the foundations of the Empire in addition to its eventual demise.
The challenge of managing in addition to mitigating “network borne” threats (cyber, pandemics, global warming) is on most authorities in addition to corporate agendas. H5N1 tour d’horizon of the global landscape suggests, however, that instead of converging towards a mutual role for managing these threats, the basis leaders are adopting divergent, populist in addition to localised approaches.
Thus, the States President Trump has gear upwardly the truthful cat with the globalist pigeons with his disruptive cook of economical nationalism, merchandise protectionism in addition to twittered derision of multilateralism. The European Union is riven past times leaders similar the PMs/Chancellors of Poland, Italy, Republic of Hungary in addition to Republic of Austria who desire to cook a fortress against migrants in addition to those similar Chancellor Angela Merkel of Federal Republic of Federal Republic of Germany in addition to President Emmanuel Macron of French Republic who grip steadfast to the benefits of a passport gratis “Shengen” Europe.
The Great Britain has a default PM inwards share because the Conservative political party is irreconcilably divided over Brexit in addition to the members cannot concord on a to a greater extent than palatable alternative. President Vladimir Putin of Russian Federation appears unconcerned well-nigh the implications of his activity on global stability in addition to the Middle East is a sectarian cauldron on the boil with the 2 regional hegemons, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in addition to Iran, inwards implacable opposition to each other. Latin America in addition to Africa are, for the present, off the radar.
The entirely 2 countries that stand upwardly out inwards this landscape every bit islands of relative stability in addition to strong leadership are Republic of Republic of India in addition to China. Cathay has recognised that this fragmented basis offers an opportunity. It has projected itself, ironically every bit the custodian of the multilateral rules based organisation in addition to it is using its fiscal leverage to broaden strategic relations. Its One Belt One Road is a manifestation of this intent. Republic of Republic of India has an chance too to accept on a global mantle. It should produce so.
Buat lebih berguna, kongsi:
