[comp.society] Computers and civil disobedience

riddle@woton.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle ) (10/15/87)

[Article from RISKS-FORUM Digest, 13 October 1987, Volume 5, Issue 43]

We've heard much about computer crime for personal gain, about vandalism
committed by crackers out for kicks, and now "software warfare" in which a
superpower might attempt to undermine an opponent's warfighting capability by
sabotaging its software.  But has there been any discussion of real or
hypothetical civil disobedience by computer? 

A loose definition of "civil disobedience" might be nonviolent lawbreaking
by morally motivated individuals, often in what they perceive as obedience
to a "higher law" (e.g. constitutional or international law or a religious
or ethical principle).  A few famous examples of CD in the non-computer
world include Rosa Parks' refusal to move to the back of a bus, occupation
of power plants and weapons facilities by anti-nuclear protesters, and
"Plowshares" actions in which priests and nuns have destroyed components of
nuclear weapons.

It seems to me that as the computerization of society continues, the idea of
engaging in civil disobedience via computer is bound to come up more often. 
Some computer CD might resemble ordinary computer crime and sabotage except
for the motivation of the individuals carrying it out.  I've heard folklore
about politically motivated crackers for years now; do RISKS readers know of
any actual examples?

Other forms of civil disobedience might be engaged in by members of the
general public with no special expertise in computers, especially as
computerized communications systems become more pervasive.  For example,
rather than physically occupy a street or building, protesters might clog up
a computer network by engaging in bogus transactions.  (This has already been
done with telephone systems: reputedly some fundamentalist right
organizations have had to abandon their toll-free numbers after it became a
common pastime in certain gay and countercultural circles to call them up and
waste their money.  This was known as "the Falwell game.")

Like all civil disobedience, computer CD raises many ethical and tactical
questions.  Can anyone out there think of any particularly frightening or
promising scenarios for computer CD looming on the horizon? 

Prentiss Riddle