A few years ago Scott Backula of Quantum Leap fame starred in a movie called NetForce (1999). The movie was aweful by my standards but I thought since it was based off of a Tom Clancy novel that it couldn't be that bad. Boy was I wrong!
The storyline essentially had a Bill Gates type character that was hell bent on controlling the Internet. As the plot developed the last line of defense was a special code that once released would shut down the Internet permanently. Even then I thought: "wow, what a load of BS!" The idea that anyone could "shut down" the Internet seemed insane. I truly thought to myself there was no way anyone could take out the Internet in one fell swoop.
That was then and this is now. I found an article on the popular science website that detailed how not only is there an Internet kill switch but there are also "keys to the Internet" to be used in the event of a massive cyber attack.
Needless to say after absorbing this information I feel a bit ashamed of all the NetForce bashing I did near the turn of the century. Who would have thought that cheesy made for TV movies could be so prophetic?
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