The wonderful national Inter-Web Service!
It is interesting to see how our communications have changed over the years. Up until let’s say the ‘90s the main way of communication was via the telephone. Telephone networks were based on multiplexed trunk circuits that run up and down the country, where lots of simultaneous calls were sent over single circuits of one type or another. These were broken out locally at the telephone exchange and the connection from there to your landline fixed phone via a pair of wires. You could also connect a facsimile machine over these wires to send documents and pictures. Private lines were available which allowed businesses to have fixed links between offices for example. All this worked around a TDM network, time-division-multiplex system. This system was an independent network, fully battery operated with license agreements in place with the government, stating it would be fully supported, even in times of conflict and war.
In the late ‘90s, 2000s, a directive was put in place whereby all telephony would be switched to the Global Internet backbone, I.P technology. Your telephone calls now run across the same platforms as your emails, TV streaming etc. Not a bad thing in some ways, but given the nature of the internet, it leaves us very exposed.
Data on the internet, be it video, email, WhatsApp, voice, is converted into packets of data, allowing it to be sent and delivered via multiple paths, depending on availability, cost and lots of other criteria. That is great, but means that all the data, is available for analysis by parties possessing the technology and desire.
We are being forced to move to a cashless society, where all our banking, medical data and transactions are placed upon the Internet. This data can sit within point-of-sale terminals in shops, hospitals, all connected to the internet via Internet service Providers (ISPs) and routing equipment. The ISPs, if desired can look at your PC and view the websites you are connected to and sell the data on. “So what” you may say, but the government will also be able to view this data, in detail should it wish. Simplistically, you buy via Amazon, 2 boxes of wine a month, beer, whiskey and so on. You go for your medical checkup one day and the doctor says to you, sorry, we will not be covering your complaint as it is caused by too much alcohol. Even your internet connected TV feeds back your viewing habits. Buy a new LG TV? And you need to create a LG account, whereupon you have just fitted a spy in your front room. Other manufacturers doing a similar thing. Why has the cost of a TV dropped over the years? Hidden programs within the TV like Automatic Content Recognition, capture your viewing trends and send the detail off to marketing data centers. Let’s say you are using your TV as a PC monitor. You open your banking app, your password spreadsheet etc. In theory, that screen could be copied. With the closing of terrestrial TV, your viewing will be forced via the internet, so subscription will be an even bigger issue.
The majority of your finances are carried out electronically. Payments, banking, pensions and so on. There will come a time in the near future where your financial wherewithal will be coming under even more severe scrutiny. We already see that you are limited to what you can withdraw in the way of cash and have to go through hoops to get a grand out for your pocket.
Then we come on to the reliability of the internet. This starts from the local providers connecting the router and PC in your house or business to the web. It amazes me that the number of failures is as low as it is, given the haphazard way the local installations have been set up. These all feed into a small number of carriers, run by the big players, normally government owned and managed. From a failure point of view, we saw how the Iberian power outage took away all communication. Luckily this was down to a capacity issue and a “blackstart” of the grid was possible, restoring power within 30 hours to most places. But it took several days for the banking data centers to be back running. How would it feel if you week without services for a week let’s say? No fuel, no food, water pumps stopped, medical services brought to their knees.
Our security runs on data flow. This data goes through equipment, most of which is manufactured in China. It is well documented that “backdoor” access to data and router equipment is written into the software, enabling data to be hived off should it be deemed by hostile parties. We have seen military systems being hacked. Ships, planes, missile systems and the NHS crash a few years ago.
We rely on a network of satellites, orbiting above the Earth and cables running under the sea, linking continents. These are used for communication, TV, internet and other monitoring activities. Cables can be cut by hostile parties or by a trawler fishing boat. It has been proved that Russia has been making attempts to alter the GPS accuracy. Okay, you may end up in next door`s swimming pool, but a bomb delivery system ends up compromised?
I am not being all doom and gloom, but it is interesting to see how we are being “managed”. The more we rely on this fragile communications platforms, Hackers will try and take advantage, one step ahead.
Long live the Ham Radio community. In times of crisis, in the agreement, local radio equipment can be called into use to support the public. This will keep working when the Internet is dead. I keep my equipment in a ready state. I’ll look after you. Arthur C Clarke saw this coming, tens of years ago. Bet that’s cheered you all up!
Seth, Zeta Services.
