After skimming another task force report (Harvard Law school) on cybersafety - I’m reminded how fresh and insightful Tom Woods comments are on the issue. Tom caused a stir two years ago when he was all of 16, and ‘hacked’ into the Fed Govs porn filters. His Blog represents one of the best threads on cybersafety- take these gems:
“I’ve just realized way too much of cyber-safety’s attention has been on minimizing negativity – whilst not enough has been given to harnessing positivity”. AND ”Think of putting a 5 year old in charge of the economy of this country – they would have no idea – as it is a world that they have no idea about. This is just like keeping safe with technology. Adults really do not have a clue about this place – what kids are really doingin it, the real dangers, and what really needs to be done.So this brings me to my fundamental point – unless you extensivelycollaborate with all parties involved, namely kids, you will never get anywhere with any relevance or effectiveness”. Tom’s Guide.
His Cybersafe Day letter shows Tom’s not just a hacker but a guy on a mission.- to reform government and education policy in this area. Thankfully Conroy seems to be listening and other government agences revising their stategies over the past 10 months (especially revising their NetAlert stategy). But most education Depts around the world still have a way to go- as I witnessed at this years CyberSafety week (last week remember?)- how many schools were participating?
