Are You Being Watched? (part 1)

The recent video game release, Watch Dogs, addresses a disturbing trend in our society—government surveillance. Despite Edward Snowden's traitorous acts, we have learned from his NSA security breach that our own government is watching us very closely, stockpiling data on our internet habits as well as our cell phone calls and texts. George Orwell's “1984” no longer seems like science-fiction, now that we see the very beginnings of a “Big Brother” in our own backyard. In Watch Dogs, you play as a hacker who uses his smartphone to tap into Chicago's ctOS security system, hacking into video cameras, unlocking secure locations, and even manipulating traffic lights, road barriers, and bridges. Of course, it seems ridiculous that all this would be tied into a single network, but consider what groups of hackers might be able to achieve? A well-coordinated hack might potentially be able to bring a city to its knees. This week, we'll discuss the implications of this threat in both our society and the fictional futuristic society in Solar Echoes.