Galloway

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Contents

[edit] Abstract

Galloway's Protocol looks at how control exists after decentralization, the failures of protocol, and protocol's future. This book illustrates how information is sent and received and protocol's effect on the public sphere. Galloway looks at how management techniques have been implemented in relation to three historical periods and then moves on to demonstrate how this control is the basis for how user interacts with it on the internet. He then moves on to show how protocol ultimately has control over life itself. As he moves onto the failures of protocol, he discusses how bureaucratic organizations and commercial interests are detrimental to protocol and the development of new technologies. Finally, Galloway looks at the future of protocol and argues there are “Resistive strains within computer culture” and that there are definite trust issues and anarchy. As mainstream culture sees the hacker as a terrorist, Galloway sees them as libertarians.

[edit] Chapter 1: Physical Media

[edit] Chapter Summary

The focus of this chapter is on distributed networks in the control society. Galloway takes his theories from Foucault's Sovereign vs. Disciplinary Power and Deleuze's Postscript on the Societies of Control and builds on them. Galloway first explains the concept of centralization and decentralization in sovereign and disciplinary societies respectively. Whereas centralization and decentralization facilitate control through hubs and nodes, each node in the distributed network is an autonomous agent. Galloway explores Internet protocols (TCP, IP, DNS) and demonstrates how they are used to regulate the content and operations of the Internet.

[edit] Historical Periods

[edit] The Sovereign Society
  • From the classical era [the medieval era], The Sovereign Society was where society, “characterized by centralized power and sovereign fiat, control existed as an extension of the word and deed of the master, assisted by violence and other coercive factors.” [1]
  • A sovereign society or sovereign power comes from the medieval time when an individual has the centralized power, has the control over its people. So a king has the power of the people in his reign. What sovereign power is, is “the power exercised by (a) king, ruler, president, based on his/her election or they inherited the power or violently won the power “legitimately”[2]
[edit] The Disciplinary Society
  • A result of the emergence of industrialization and the secular legal system
  • Decentralized method to manage the population growth by "replacing violence with more bureaucratic forms of command and control."[3]
  • Regulated society through disciplinary institutions such as prisons, schools, hospitals, etc.
  • Less individualistic and hierarchal
[edit] The Control Society
  • primarily digital and based on protocols and the transmission of information

[edit] History of the Internet

  • The internet is a protocol. The internet is an intricate system of hierarchal centralized networks.
  • "The Internet is based not on directionality nor on toughness, but on flexibility and adaptability."[4]

[edit] Networks

[edit] Centralized Networks
  • is the simplest network to understand.
  • There is a central, singular point (a hub) that nodes or connections that travel off of to connect to points at the end. Each Node is individual and is connected to the central hub, the area where information starts from and then disperses down. Each node is singular and is only connected to the host. The host is what gives off the rules and ideas to each node. Everything comes back to the central point, which is the central hub. The messages from the hub to the nodes go back and forth. Messages cannot be transferred from node to node. The hub is above the nodes. The hub is the power that gets pushed down to each node. The information that is given is from one source which is then dispersed. A centralized network is more direct root to give a message than any other network. That being said, “communication networks characterized by a high degree of centralization made fewer errors and sent fewer messages.” [5]
  • A hierarchal centralized network starts with an information source, and from there it trickles down to their end games. It starts from the top and goes to the bottom. An example of a hierarchal centralized network is of an electrical grid. Energy starts from the main source (the generating plants), and go directly to where the electricity needs to be. Meaning energy plants, houses, school, hospitals and etc.

Example of Centralized Networks

  • Panopticon: Jeremy Bentham in 1787 designed the Panopticon. He created a differently designed prison that had never been seen before this time. A panopticon means “all-seeing place that functioned as a round-the-clock surveillance machine. The design ensured that no prisoner could ever see the 'inspector' who conducted surveillance from the privileged location of a tower in the centre of the circular prison. The prisoner could never know when he was under surveillance and therefore creating the illusion of constant surveillance” [6] Where the guard stands is the hub of the information, and the nodes are the prisoners.
  • Foucault theorized Bentham's idea of the Panopticon. Foucault talked about how, “a guard is situated at the center of many radial cells. Each cell contains a prisoner. This special relationship between guard and prisoner “links the centre and periphery. Power is exercised without division, according to a continuous hierarchical figure occupying the central hub.” [7] The prison guard is in the middle (the central hub) of the room which surrounds where the prisoners are incarcerated. Which acts as the hierarchal point that looks down on the nodes in the placement. The system runs from top to bottom network, as the top are the prison guards looking down at the bottom which are the prisoners. Each prison cell is not connected, they run directly from the tower to each incarcerated inmate.
  • Cloud Computing is, “a technology that uses the internet and central remote servers to maintain data and applications. Cloud computing allows consumers and businesses to use applications without installation and access their personal files at any computer with internet access. This technology allows for much more inefficient computing by centralizing storage, memory, processing and bandwidth.”[8]
[edit] Decentralized Networks
  • Like a multiplication of the centralized network
  • There are many hubs; each with its own dependent nodes (branches)
  • "Communication generally travels unidirectionally...from the central trunks to the radial leaves."[9]
  • Most popular network of the modern era
[edit] Distributed Networks
  • Have no central hubs and radical nodes, but at the same time each entity has an autonomous agent ( operating on behalf of the owner but without anything interfering of the ownership entity).
  • Simpler and more efficient form of networking[10]
  • Example would be a highway seeing that there are different forms of roads and combinations to get to one's final location
  • Gateways
    • A series of interconnected networks that are connected via numerous interfacing computers
    • The reason for they is because they do not use the same form of communication protocol, data-formatting structures, language, and/or architecture. [11]
    • This helps so that the message from one network is the same going to the final network even though they are using different networks.
    • Also gateways is used as a security or protection for one's network.
    • Different layers of gateways
      • An example would be a router
      • Provides links between computers
      • Can have multiple routers that lead to other networks
      • People can select a "default gateway" this means that this would be one's primary use [12]
      • Examples of gateways are:
        • IBM Host Gateway: allows workstations attached to LANs to connect with IBM mainframe. systems[13]
        • LAN Gateways: joining networks that use different protocols. [14]
        • Electronic Mail Gateway: translate messages over e-mail from two different networks.
        • Firewall Proxy Service: is a device that is on an internal network for the using that is accessing the Internet but it blocks other Internet users from accessing the Internal framework.
        • NAT (Network Address Translation):an internal network that may not allow an IP address because it does not comply with the Internet address or is hidden for security reason.
        • Caching Services: same as a firewall server. This catches information that the user has obtained from the Internet or external networks and keeps it available for other users.
        • Voice/Media Gateways: carries both voice and data information on one network.
        • NAS (Network Access Servers): gateway into a larger network for dial-in users. This is also known as RAS (remote access server). [15]

[edit] Protocol Layers

1. Application Layer

  • Responsible for the content in the transaction
  • Ex. HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol)

2. Transport Layer

  • Responsible for making sure that information is received correctly
  • Uses TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) to encapsulate the data blocks from the application layer to be sent

3. Internet Layer

  • Responsible for the actual movement of data
  • Uses IP (Internet Protocol) to move the packets of data from the transport layer to the destination

4. Link Layer

  • Technology-specific protocol that must enclose any data transfer
  • Finally, the packets of data are delivered through the link layer (via Ethernet cable) to a physical layer which is the basic hardware of the computer
[edit] Transmission Control Protocol
  • In the transport layer, there is a protocol called the transmission control protocol that creates a virtual circuit between the sender and receiver to regulate the flow of information. The sender sends a message called a "SYN" and when the receiver gets it they send the receiver an "ACK" acknowledging that they have received the message. Then the receiver sends their own "SYN" request and the original sender receives it and sends their own "ACK" back to the receiver.
  • This 3-Step Circuit is like the Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication (commonly referred to as the sender/receiver model) whereby a sender sends a message, the recipient receives it and sends a message back to the sender who subsequently receives the new message[16]

[edit] Internet Protocol
  • IP works in conjunction with TCP and transfers small packets of data (called "datagrams") from the sender to the receiver. However, it does not wait to make sure the receiver gets the message or that the message goes through properly. IP simply just shoots datagrams to rely information to a receiver.
  • IP is responsible for:

1. Routing

  • Choosing paths so it can move data across a network and passing datagrams from computer to computer (“hopping”) to get to the receiver

2. Fragmentation

  • Fragmenting the datagram into smaller pieces to send to the receiver to be re-assembled (different networks in different countries have size limits as to how large datagrams can be)
  • A header is attached to each packet of information that includes information on where the information came from and who it is supposed to go to
[edit] Domain Name System
  • First universal addressing system which translates Internet addresses from names to numbers (called “resolutions”). It is like an index where anything must register and be somewhere in the system in order for it to exist.
  • In order to find out the resolution for a domain name address, one must start with the root server which can break it down another name server which breaks it down to another name server and so on and so forth until the response is a numerical address for the domain name. This is a decentralized, hierarchal system where each name server can only provide information about the level below it.


  • Protocol needs both TCP/IP and DNS to function although they are complete binary opposites. TCP/IP is more of a distributed network whereby it distributes control into autonomous agents, whereas DNS is more hierarchal and decentralized.

[edit] Discussion Questions

1. Could the example of Cloud Computing be an example of a centralized network? 2. In what ways can you see centralized, decentralized and distributed networks in our society?

3. Should the government regulate what information is transferred across networks?

4. If they do regulate it, would it be a violation of freedom of expression/free speech?

5. Can you think of other forms of distributive networks apart from the highway and roots?

6. With the three different forms of networking (centralized,decentralized and distributive), in your opinion which one would be the best form of networking to use? And why?

Image: barannets.gif

[edit] Further Readings

[edit] Chapter 2: Form

[edit] Chapter Summary

  • Galloway moves from the technical ideologies of protocol in Chapter 1, to focus more on the social implications of the form of the internet. He goes on to analyze protocol as an entire formal apparatus, and not simply “rules governing the exchange or transmission of data electronically between devices” [17], in other words, evaluating the internet as more than just its technical make-up, and rather as an interactive apparatus of communication.
  • Galloway first compares the idealized emancipatory characteristics of modern media to the repressive nature of traditional media through a Marxist perspective. Galloway discusses the importance of web continuity, which creates a sense of fluidity to the users online experience, which correlates to Donna Haraway’s theory of the “cyborg”. The chapter concludes with an overview of the immaterial components that are essential to the protocol's formal relations.

[edit] Social Implications of the Internet

  • Chapter two moves away from the technical aspects of the Internet and protocol, and focuses more on how the Internet affects society. Form is the term that Galloway uses to describe how the internet works not on a technical level, but as an abstract ideal that real things participate in, it is the essential nature of a thing. Put simply, how the Internet functions as a medium.
  • Previous communication mediums, such as the radio, were decidedly one way devices. Communication theorist, Bertolt Brecht, was critical of the radio for failing to form a true communication network. In his critique of the radio, he writes "The radio is one sided when it should be two, it is purely an apparatus for distribution… Change it from distribution to communication, and the radio would be the finest possible communication apparatus in public life, a vast network of pipes… to receive as well as transmit"[18] In pointing out the flaws of the radio, Brecht has unknowingly described the basic form of the Internet, as a vast network capable of receiving and transmitting information. This debate between one-way and two-way communication devices leads to what Galloway calls "a Marxist theory of media based on form" [19]
[edit] Social Implications: a Marxist Perspective
  • A Marxist theory on media applies to the radio because the ruling class ideas are transmitted through radio waves to the labour class, also known as the proletariat. The labour class lacks the ability to produce, and therefore can only consume what the ruling class provides for them. In terms of media, specifically the radio, the ruling class ideologies become accepted by the labour class, forming hegemony. This conforms with Marx’s idea of a superstructure and base [1], which describes the division of labour in a society, with the base as the working class, and the superstructure as the ruling class.
  • A Marxist theory on the Internet must be looked at differently because it is a two-way communication medium, and is suggested in Marx’s theory of mediation[2]. Mediation “refers to the reconciliation of two opposing forces within a society, by a mediating object… Within media studies, the central mediating factor of a given culture is the medium of communication itself”[20] Ex. The Internet. So, from a Marxist perspective, the Internet can be seen as a mediating factor, because it allows the ruling class and the labour class to receive and transmit information to one another, where before only the ruling class had the ability to transmit.
[edit] Social Implications: The Internet as Emancipatory Media
  • Emancipation, or the act of being freed, is limited to the medium of internet because its form allows for everyone to participate in the production of media, as long as they have access. Older communication mediums, such as, television, radio and film, can be seen as repressive media because they are limited to one-way communication. Influenced by Brecht’s desire for a two-way radio, theorist Hans Magnus Enzensberger, describes how radio can be seen as “political prohibition”[21]. The radio is a repressive media, and thus prohibits any political interaction, because it can only be used to receive information, not transmit. The Internet can be viewed as emancipatory media because it grants the user the ability to receive and transmit, allowing for the opinions of the previously repressed to be voiced in a public forum, also known as a public sphere. No longer is media production in the hands of main stream media, because the Internet allows every user to become a producer/consumer, also known as a "prosumer".
  • Enzensberger shows how emancipatory media, an idealized form of the internet, is different from the oppressive media using this chart:
[edit] Enzensberger's chart
Repressive use of media Emancipatory use of media
- Centrally controlled program - Decentralized program
- One transmitter, many receivers - Each receiver a potential transmitter
- Immobilization of isolated individuals - Mobilization of the masses
- Passive consumer behavior - Interaction of those involved, feedback
- Depoliticization - A political learning process
- Production by specialists - Collective production
- Control by property owners or bureaucracy - Social control by self-organization

[edit] Cybernetics and Associative Indexing

  • Galloway makes the point of paying respect to who he calls two of the most important thinkers in the history of computers and electronic media; Norbert Wiener and Vannevar Bush. Wiener is responsible for the theory of dynamic systems (cybernetics) and Bush advocated the transparency of technology and the idea of associative indexing.
  • Cybernetics is defined as “the study of information processing, feedback, and control in communication systems” [22]. The theory began with the simple idea of feedback. Feedback exists when a process has both a beginning and ending point wherein the system can receive new input with the potential to impact the outcome of the process. Cybernetics can be used in any system for quality assurance and is used in communication “as the link connecting the separate parts of any system”[23]. It virtues “balance, self-regulation, circularity, and control”[24] and therefore is an important component regarding the emancipatory use of media. (see Enzensberger's comparison chart)
  • Galloway relates cybernetics to Donna Haraway's idea of the "cyborg". Haraway defines a cyborg as "a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction". [25] Essentially, Haraway's essay is advocating for the loss of binary oppositions and the incorporation of the idea of the cyborg in order to reduce social inequalities. A link to her essay, "A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the 1980s" can be found here.
  • Bush's 1945 essay "As We May Think" analyzes the flaws of traditional indexing methods. He notes that when data is placed in storage it is filed alphabetically, numerically or traced down from subclass to subclass. He argues that the human mind does not operate in this manner, instead "it operates by association. With one item in its grasp, it snaps instantly to the next that is suggested by the association of thoughts, in accordance with some intricate web of trails carried by the cells of the brain".[26] Bush is responsible for the idea of "Memex", a proposed desk-like-device with the capability of storing all of one's books, records and communications with the ability to quickly access anything stored with ease. He explains that the device would use a keyboard and a set of buttons and levers to access the data that would be imprinted on microfilm and stored in the memex. The memex "is an enlarged intimate supplement"[27] to a human's memory and works as "a relational database of records operating on the principle of associative, rather than hierarchical indexing" [28]. Again, Haraway's idea of the cyborg can be applied.

Here is one interpretation of Bush's Memex idea:

  • Galloway's reference to Wiener and Bush is an attempt to illustrate their contribution to the tradition of Marxist media theory introduced by Brecht. Bush's idea of meshworks offers a "profound alternative to the centralized, hierarchical power in place under capital relations"[29] and Wiener's cybernetics proves to be more than relevant regarding the potential emancipatory use of the media.

[edit] Form and Continuity

  • Galloway contrasts the ideas of the Web as a free, structureless network and as a rhizomatic system. He shows the contradicting nature of both statements yet the validity of them as well. He writes: "The project of this book is to show that protocol is in fact both poles of this machinic movement, territorializing structure and anarchical distribution"[30]. Therefore, one cannot simply view the Internet as structureless because it possesses key characteristics of the rhizome: "the ability of any node to be connected to any other node, the rule of multiplicity, the ability to splinter off or graft on at any point"[31] and so forth.
  • The Internet is not narrative-based or time-based yet it "enthralls users, dragging them in, as television and cinema did before it"[32]. Here, Galloway takes the idea of continuity from film theory and applies it to the Internet. Continuity is employed to ensure a seemingly natural flow on the Internet. It is a means by which webmasters create a fluid and pleasurable experience for users in a hidden fashion. "The goal of continuity is to make the Internet as intuitive as possible"[33] and as Berners-Lee writes, "the job of computers and networks is to get out of the way, to not be seen....The technology should be transparent, so we interact with it intuitively"[34]. The following is a list of some techniques of continuity outlined in this chapter:
    • Conceal the source: "Protocol is simply a wrapper. It must conceal its own innards"[35]. Webmasters use programming languages that follow the rules of continuity that are made invisible at the moment the code is compiled. Much like Marx's idea of commodity fetishism, where "beliefs about the material products of labour - things - are a substitute for an understanding of the (unequal and alienating) social relations which made their production possible"[36], the concept of concealing the source is simply hiding the effort put in place to create the product. The two examples used by Galloway to conceal the source are HTML (see below) and IP addresses. IP addresses are simply numerical addresses given for each location on the Internet.
    • Eliminate dead links: Any dead link (or "404 error") should be avoided and eliminated at all costs. If something is pointed to, it should exist to ensure the continuous and smooth flow of the Internet. Otherwise, users are often faced with this sort or error message.
    • Eliminate no links: "There can be no dead ends on the Internet"[37]. Each page must go somewhere else and continue the notion of infinite movement, even if it simply means the incorporation of a "Back" button.
    • Green means go: "When creating links on a Web page, representation should convey meaning"[38]. In other words, the language used should not reinforce to the user that they are browsing the Internet. Instead, the simple representation of something should in itself encourage the user to interact with it if need be. "One must never use the phrase "click here to visit..." Instead, for optimal continuity, one should inject the meaning of the link directly into its form".[39]
    • True identity: "A link's name and its address must correspond"[40]. Much like a link must point to somewhere, the description of said link must correspond with its target.
    • Remove barriers: Reduce the number of "clicks" a user must make to get to their destination. More time spent on distractions (splash pages, tables of contents, introductory pages) prevents the fluidity of the user experience.
    • Continuity between media types: All differentiation between different types of media must be eliminated. The page must seem like a complete package; "the user must not be able to tell where one image begins and another ends, or where text ends and an image begins"[41].
    • Prohibition against low resolution: All graphics should be at the highest resolution possible because using low resolution images reveals the "code" of the image (in this sense, the pixels of an image can be seen as the code).
    • Highest speed possible: "Speed means continuity...it helps perpetuate the illusion that personal movement on the Net is unmediated, that the computer is a natural extension of the user's own body"[42]. Speed, therefore, is essential in creating the cyborg-like relationship between an Internet user and the hardware involved.
    • Prohibition on crashes: "Computers must never crash...during a crash, the computer changes from being passive to being active"[43].
    • Prohibition on dead media: All media that is no longer relevant has no place on the Internet. Outdated technology, whether it be hardware, a form of computer language or a media format, means discontinuity.
    • Eliminate mediation: The role of continuity is to ensure the most natural cyborg experience possible. In this sense, "all traces of the medium should be hidden"[44]. New technologies focused on voice recognition and touch screen interfaces are becoming more and more popular.
    • Feedback loops: The Internet is a network that enables many-to-many communication which should be promoted. Web pages should offer a feedback system, whether it be through input forums, chat rooms or email responses to ensure effective continuity.
    • Anonymous but descriptive: Foucault's idea of "biopower" is employed to interpret material objects as information. Each movement on the Internet is recorded yet the information gathered is demographic information rather than names and identities. "On the Internet there is no reason to know the name of a particular user...the clustering of descriptive information around a specific user becomes sufficient to explain the identity of that user".[45]

[edit] Immaterial Software

  • The protocol and form of the internet are made possible because of the physical part of computers and internet networks that make up its hardware. Hardware, such as keyboards, monitors, mice, modems and so on, are important pieces of hardware that allow the internet a space to function, but are less important to the make-up of the internet and computer that we cannot see, known as immaterial software. According to Galloway, immaterial software consists of Record, Objects, Protocol, Browser, HTML, and Fonts.

1.Record:

  • The record has its roots in the ability of physical objects to store information, which, in the case of hardware would be the hard drive. However, a record is not concerned with the device that stores it, but rather the information that makes up the record. A record is concerned with the symbolic, for instance, the alphabet and language have meaning, and when written, it is a record of that meaning [46].

2.Object:

  • A record is one form of an object, which can be a digital picture, digital film, computer games, and web sites. Objects are loaded using record devices, such as a hard drive or thumb drive, and are displayed on virtuation devices, such as monitors and displays. Objects help make information readable to net users.

3.Protocol:

  • "Protocol is the reason that Internet works and performs work, which can be defined as a set of instructions for the compilation and interaction of objects" [47]. Objects require protocol to govern their assemblage, and protocol is a description language for objects. Protocol is essential to internet form because they govern the objects that make reading information possible through stored object records. Protocol explained:

4.Browser:

  • Internet browsers are “windows style” programs, such as Internet explorer and Safari, that take protocol, objects, and records, and make them visual and understandable to the user. It is, as Galloway says, an “apparatus to hide an apparatus”[48]. Just as Hollywood uses continuity editing to create a concealed, fluid flow of visuals, browsers hide protocols, objects and records to make the internet experience one of fluidity and coherence for the user.

5. HTML:

  • HTML stands for “Hypertext Markup Language”[49] and is the language that the computer understands, and then visualizes it in a way that the operator can understand. HTML is text only, yet when visualized it can create different fonts, tables, paragraphs, headings, and so on. . HTML is essential for internet form for two reasons, 1, plain text is the quickest type of data to be downloaded, and 2, a standard computer language is essential for data interchange between computers [50]

6.Fonts:

  • Just like HTML, different fonts we perceive as a user are not how they would appear to the computer. They are merely a set of instructions that the computer understands and then visualizes on screen to be what the user understands as a variation in print type.

[edit] Suggested Further Readings

  1. Bertolt Brecht, "The Radio as an Apparatus of Communication," inVideo Culture, ed. John Hanhardt (Layton, UT: Peregrine Smith Books, 1986), p.53.
  2. Hans Magnus Enzensberger, "Constituents of a Theory of the Media," in Video Culture, ed.John Hanhardt (Layton, UT: Peregrine Smith Books, 1986), p.98.
  3. Vannevar Bush, "As We May Think", in "Reading Digital Culture", ed. David Trend (USA: Blackwell, 2001), p.9.
  4. Donna Haraway, "A Manifesto for Cyborgs", in "Reading Digital Culture", ed. David Trend (USA: Blackwell, 2001), p.28.

[edit] Chapter 3: Power

[edit] Summary

The following chapter Galloway uses Deluze's concept of control and Foucault's concept of Biopolitics to help argue that protocol has control over life itself. This relates to the idea that politics are present in all forms of society and the way people live their everyday lives.

[edit] Key terms

Biopolitics: "When politics ceases to interest itself in the soul and the body and begins to take interest in life itself. In other words the idea that politics is becoming an issue salient in everyday life". [51]

Biopower: "When power is no longer measured by the giving and taking away of life but rather when life is neither created or destroyed". [52]

Dividuals: "The term dividuals is used to describe the idea that with the current format that society has, the individual is now able to be divided almost infinitely due to the amount of codes and numbers associated with them". [53]

Second nature: "The way in which material objects in the modern era have a tendency to become aesthetic objects. [54]

Metabolic: "Derived from the dynamic flow of biological processes, as an adjective to describe a relationship that is harmonious, systemic, and self regulating, and in which skills and resources are evenly balanced yet constantly updated through a relationship of equilibrium. This simply breaks down to when a part of the system becomes useless to one individual it is then passed on to another individual that can use it". [55]

Organic : "When two or more parts fulfill individual functions for the good of the whole". [56]

Social Hieroglyph : "Social Hieroglyph is the idea that something that does not announce on its surface what it is on the inside. This means that the value of things is not always recognizable unless looking further into it under the surface. [57]

Anti-Entopic Position : "Entropy is the physical principle derived from thermodynamics that stated that, in any given system, things will tend to "fall apart" r tend toward disorder. The Anti-entropic position believe the opposite of this". [58]

[edit] Dividuals

It is argued that "We are no longer dealing with a duality of mass and individual from the modern era. Instead, individuals become "dividuals", and mass become sample, data, markets, or banks"[59] This is an example of how society is currently living. Every single individual has become a dividual. Dividuals are individuals that can be sorted and categorized into numbers and data. Society is being categorized by their personal information which includes information such as address, social insurance number, name, and DNA.

[edit] Joel Stein & The Internet

The following is a clip that was created by Joel Stein from Time Magazine. It provides one with an example of how the Internet uses our information to categorize us into different groups, numbers, and data.

[edit] Discussion Questions

After watching the clip by Joel Stein it is evident that society is constantly using public domains(which are public property.)

  1. Do you feel that data mining is an infringement of public privacy?
  2. Is it expected and accepted?
  3. Where should we draw the line?

[edit] The Bios

[edit] Biopolitics

"Biopolitics is when politics ceases to interest itself in the soul and body and begins to interest itself in life." [60] This is the idea that politics have moved into all aspects of life. " The endeavor, began in the 18th century, to rationalize the problems presented to governmental practice by the phenomena characteristic of a group of living human beings constituted as a population: health, sanitation, birthrate, longevity, race." [61]

[edit] Biopower

"When power is no longer measured by the giving and taking away of life, but to a new mode in which life is neither created or destroyed. This allowed the ancient to feel they had the power to allow or disallow life". [62]

[edit] The Bios In Everyday Life

[edit] Second Nature

Second Nature is the way in which material objects in the modern era have a tendency to become aesthetic objects. Galloway is getting at the fact that our society now puts much emphasis on aesthetics and needed to purchase things that are aesthetically pleasing rather over serving a use. An example of this idea is toilet paper, you can buy the no name brand or brand name, both brands will clean up messes but one feels and looks better than the other. Because of the connotations and politics associated with the no name brand people are likely to purchase the brand name so when people use the paper towels at their house they maintain a certain reputation in the eyes of their guests. Every brand has a stigma attached to it and every stigma is politically charged.


[edit] Conclusion Chapter 3

In conclusion to Protocol and Chapter 3 it can be concluded that modern society has turned individuals into numbers and data. Foucault believes that the world is run by politics this includes the politics of ones everyday life including their daily choices and why those choices are made.

[edit] A.I.

Another topic that Galloway brought up was the idea of artificial life (A.I.). This is the idea of a computer that can think for itself or more so work with minimal human interaction. Galloway says that the creation of A.I.is due to a shift from computer programming being linear to a cluster of parallel distributed submachines, this has been said to be the most important step towards artificial to date (Galloway, p108). Following the history of computer, Galloway says that there has been a shift from procedural to object-oriented (Galloway, 108). This means that the computer is relying less on human input and more on itself and its knowledge to make conclusions on its own. Galloway makes conclusions about A.I. based on a computer generated world, Tierra created by Tom Ray, that says this world was so realistic that ...it is not really that "Tierra" acts like the world of living beings, but instead that the world of living beings acts like... "Tierra".

This is the best example of modern A.I. that Ray and Galloway are referring to. It is a computer called "Watson" that is able to think and answer questions by itself.


[edit] Suggested Further Readings

  1. Kelly, M.E. (2010). International Biopolitics: Foucault, Globalization and Imperialism Theoria: A Journal of Social & Politcal Theory, 57(123), 1-26. doi:10.3167/th.2010.5712301
  2. Lipton, J.D. (2010). MAPPING ONLINE PRIVACY. Northwestern University Law Review, 104(2), 477-515
  3. Joinson, A.N., Reips U., Buchanan, T., & Schofield, C. (2010). Privacy, Trust, and Self-Disclosure Online. Human Interaction, 25(1), 1-24, doi:10.1080/07370020903586662


[edit] Chapter 4: Institutionalization

[edit] Overview of Chapter

While the first three chapters of Galloway’s Protocol focus on how protocol has succeeded as the main principle of organization for distributed networks, chapter four discusses how protocol has failed. Galloway discusses how bureaucratic organizations and commercial interests are detrimental to protocol and the development of new technologies. Galloway highlights the various groups (IAB, ISOC, IESG, IETF) responsible for establishing and standardizing the Internet protocols. Galloway draws attention to the importance of the democratic tendencies of the controlling organizations that set the standards through voluntary and openly discussed industry standards. This overview of organizations in control of protocol further emphasizes Galloway’s main point: “The founding principle of the Net is control, not freedom. Control has existed from the beginning.

[edit] Failures of Protocol

Bureaucratic organizations that attempt to regulate and control as well as proprietary interests resulting in market monopolies are both enemies of protocol. Galloway discusses how bureaucratic institutions pose a threat to protocol because they “limit the open, free development of technology” [63]. Organizations that attempt to regulate by setting mandatory laws that must be followed may appear to be a form of protocol, however, this is not the case as protocol’s approach to control is reached through the implementation of a set of fluid, optional standards that do not restrict the development of new technology. Likewise, Galloway points out how commercial, proprietary interests are also an enemy of protocol. Companies with proprietary interests that control an entire market threaten protocol because they cause a single popular product to become the industry standard, limiting the diversity of new technology. For example, Apple IPods dominate the mp3 market, eliminating most competition which means that IPods are the sole industry standard which does not allow for other models and forms of technology to rise. Both bureaucratic and proprietary interests prove detrimental to the broad open initiatives and free exchange that are the driving forces behind protocological thinking.

[edit] Betamax VS. JVC

In this chapter, Galloway uses the example of the battle between JVC's VHS and Sony's Betamax to demonstate how protological behaviour and thinking can get a business ahead in the market. Upon their release, Betamax had a higher quality picture and format, while VHS opted for a longer recording time of two hours as opposed to Betamax's one hour capacity[64]. For JVC's approach to the market they kept prices low and licensed the VHS format to their competitors, purchasing supply and distribution chains for manufacturing and retail sales[65]. Betamax on the other hand attempted to hold their position in the market by keeping the Betamax format for themselves. This meant that JVC standardized the VHS across the industry, even selling to their competition, whereas Betamax did not, allowing for the VHS format to become the industry standard. Galloway relates this to protocol to show how protocological behaviour such as sharing your technology across an industry as JVC did will gain the upper hand over commercially driven behaviour such as Sony.

  • This commercial from 1984 shows the intense market battle that Sony and JVC created and how distributors were able to overcome it.

[edit] Spam

The first failure of internet protocol occurred on April 12, 1994 with the introduction of the first case of spam. The issue affected Usenet, a protocol system that discussed the acceptance of new newsgroups through a democratic process that allowed anyone with an email address to vote on whether or not they accepted the new group proposal. If the group is approved a group message is sent throughout the Usenet network. In 1994, a corporation defied Usenets intentions and sent a commercial advertisement to everyone on the Usenet network. The culprits had managed to alter the Usenet’s democratic protocological system into a method for spreading commercially driven advertisements. Because protocol has to be universally adopted, its weakness lies in these institutions and individuals that wish to exploit the system for personal gain. Galloway explains that a weakness of protocol is that it “is not allowed to work purely on its own terms”[66]. Spam is one example of the many ways in which protocol has the potential to fail.

Secret Child Pornography Ring Hacked by Anonymous[67]

This article discusses the hacker group Anonymous and how they hacked into a child pornography sites to eradicate the content.This is an example of protocol because the members of Anonymous work together to decide which websites and issues require their attention then implement their standards on the corporation.

[edit] Institutional Establishment of Technical Protocols

Galloway discusses how protocol is “a type of controlling logic that operates outside institutional, governmental and corporate power, although it has important ties to all three”. Technical protocols are established by an array of mostly voluntary professional bodies that attempt to provide solutions to advancements in technology. Like the idea of protocol itself, the committees in charge of protocol development are open to anyone willing to contribute. An important organization within protocols is The American Standards Institute (ANSI), which established the C programming language in 1983 and standardized the C++computer language in 1990 which is still used today. Like a protocol, the C++ computer language “fit into more environments with less trouble than just about anything else” [68]. Through standardizing protocols such as C++ across entire industries instead of exploiting the technology for commercial profit, protocols have the ability to openly allow technology to reach its full potential. The public organization ANSI and the private company National Institute for Standardization and Technology (NIST) are the organizations responsible for coordinating the standards creation process. Both agencies are nonregulatory which means that the standards they produce are not mandatory laws that the industry must adopt but more so openly debateable guidelines that have the best interest of the industry at heart and are thus usually easily accepted by the technical community.

ANSI follows several principles to maintain the quality and integrity of standardizing development:

  • Decisions are reached through consensus among those affected
  • Participation is open to all affected interests
  • The process is transparent-information on the process and progress is directly available
  • The process is flexible, allowing the use of different methodologies to meet the needs of different technology and product sectors

Galloway stresses the importance of these governing agencies being open, voluntary and fluid in facilitating the international unification of industrial standards. These organizations working alongside governmental and corporate power are what make technical protocol possible.

[edit] Organizational Hierarchy of the Internet

Galloway goes on to discuss how there there are four groups that make up the organizational hierarchy in charge of the internet standardization. These four main groups are what creates a form of structure within the internet; even though there truly is no real structure and restrictions the four groups great protocols for standardization of the internet. They are: The internet society (ISOC), the internet architecture Board (IAB), the internet engineering steering group (IESG) and the internet engineering task force (IETF)

Internet Society (ISOC) Internet Society Official Website

  • Founded in January 1992
  • Is the umbrella organization for all the other three groups
  • Their mission is to assure the open development, evolution and use of the internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world.
  • Facilitates the development of internet protocols and standards
  • Also provides fiscal legal independence for the standard making process, separating this activity from its former US government patronage.

Internet Architecture Board (IAB) Internet Architecture Board Official Website

  • Committee of thirteen who are nominated by members consisting of the IETF
  • Provides oversight of the architecture of network protocols overseas the standards creation process, hears appeals, oversees the RFC editor and performs other chores
  • The IAB is a committee that does not fully inflict protocols themselves, yet are seen more of as an observation committee. The IAB oversees many of the actions and procedures taken by the other three groups in control of standardization.

Internet engineering steering group (IESG) Internet engineering Steering Group Official Website

  • The main objective of the IESG is to observe, assist and manage the technical activities of the IETF

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Internet Engineering Task Force Official Website

  • Core area where most protocol initiates begin, several thousand people are involved mostly though email, but sometime face to face.
  • Least bureaucratic because it is more of an informal community than anything, there are no board of directors, officers; the members are considered members as long as they participate in meeting via email.

[edit] Proposal of new internet Standard

When proposing a new standard for the internet RFC editor and the IESG along with the IAB have complete control over the internet drafts and passing of standard. The process itself is one that is not very difficult or time constraining, it is considered simple by most members. Though with these three main stages there is still very little room for error as the process of correcting mistakes is very short and the corrections must be minimal. There are three stages in which the standard must go through:

1. Proposal standard.

  • the proposal is presented and is then evaluated by IESG for further investigation

2. Draft Standard

  • Once the standard has gone through the proposal stage the second stage is very critical. in the second stage very minor adjustments can be made if there are mistakes. The IESG tests the standard in real world examples to see if the standard is capable of achieving the intended results. Once the standard passes the test minor changes can be made if they need to be.

3. Standard

  • After the standard passes the first two tests and all corrections are made the standard is now considered a standard.

[edit] World Wide Web

  • The world wide web is the most fundamental technologies when it comes to protocol. With the invention of the internet protocol is able to be processed on the web. All four of the groups mentioned previously would not have been in existence if it were not for the creation of the world wide web. On a more macro scale technological protocol itself would not have been as vast and important if it were not for this technological invention.
  • Developed by computer scientist Tim Bernes-Lee
  • While in the process of creating the web, Bernes-Lee also developed coding for HTTP and HTML which are fundamental aspect of protocol on the web today. These languages are used one every web page possible and allows for the existence of technological protocol.
  • Galloway states that When it comes to the net it is not about freedom but rather control, control has been around since the beginning of protocol. In comparison to Galloway a scholar by the name of Lawrence Lessig argue the fact that there is in fact no protocol or control on the web, yet the web is a free and open space that is uncontrollable.

[edit] Summary of Chapter 4

Chapter four addresses the idea of institutionalization in comparison with the web along with technological advances. Galloway touches on many important aspects and changes within technology throughout history. One main and fundamental down turn of protocol was the invention of spam. When spam was first created this showed that throughout the web there is in fact a hierarchy and those who had the most control were able to control the web. As Galloway goes on to discuss difference in technology using the comparison of the VHS and Beatmax he further emphasis the point of technological hierarchy. As the chapter moves forward Galloway talks about control on the web and those individuals who try and enforce protocol and standards along with the three step standardization process. Galloway finishes off the chapter by addressing the idea of control and freedom on the web, and states that there is in fact no freedom and that the web is constantly controlled.

[edit] Suggested Further Readings

[edit] Chapter 5: Hacking

[edit] What is Hacking?

This video tries to help shed some light on hacking.

[edit] Primary Arguments

  • Galloway argues there are “Resistive strains within computer culture”
  • There are definite trust issues / anarchy
  • To “live in the age of protocol” we need to understand resistance from within the protocological sphere instead of trying to compare with other forms of anarchy
  • Mainstream culture sees the hacker as a terrorist, Galloway sees them as libertarians
  • Code is “the only language that is executable”
  • Since hackers are able to easily speak in code, they can effectively push protocol to new limits
  • Galloway equates protocol with “possibility” and “open source”, which is that same for hackers
  • Hackers are eliminating “arbitrary authority”, they play a valuable role in the future growth of society and protocol
  • Hacking provides the ability to exercise power through the action of code and disruption of web continuity
  • Promotes decentralization in that “all information should be free” and “access to computers…should be unlimited and total”

[edit] Primary Sources

[edit] Steven Levy

  • Wired Senior Writer, and author of Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, In the Plex, and other books
  • Hackers: Heroes Of The Computer Revolution Published in 1984
    • Hackers gets into the mindset of those people who push the computer past the envelopes of expectations. Sitting at the keyboard these are artists, pioneers, explorers.[71]
    • Levy describes the people, the machines, and the events that defined the Hacker Culture and the Hacker Ethic, from the early mainframe hackers at MIT, to the self-made hardware hackers and game hackers.
    • The Hacker Ethic (according to Levy):
      • Access to computers should be unlimited and total.
      • Always yield to the Hands-On Imperative
      • All information should be free.
      • Mistrust authority–promote decentralization.
      • Hackers should be judged by their hacking.
      • You can create art and beauty on a computer.
      • Computers can change your life for the better.

[edit] Bruce Sterling

  • Bruce Sterling is the author of The Hacker Crackdown written in 1992.
  • Sterling's introduction to his book includes the following description:
This book is about trouble in cyberspace. Specifically, this book is about certain strange events in the year 1990, an unprecedented and startling year for the growing world of computerized communications. In 1990 there came a nationwide crackdown on illicit computer hackers, with arrests, criminal charges, one dramatic show-trial, several guilty pleas, and huge confiscations of data and equipment all over the USA. The Hacker Crackdown of 1990 was larger, better organized, more deliberate, and more resolute than any previous effort in the brave new world of computer crime. The U.S. Secret Service, private telephone security, and state and local law enforcement groups across the country all joined forces in a determined attempt to break the back of America's electronic underground. It was a fascinating effort, with very mixed results. The Hacker Crackdown had another unprecedented effect; it spurred the creation, within "the computer community," of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a new and very odd interest group, fiercely dedicated to the establishment and preservation of electronic civil liberties. The crackdown, remarkable in itself, has created a melee of debate over electronic crime, punishment, freedom of the press, and issues of search and seizure. Politics has entered cyberspace. Where people go, politics follow.[72]
  • Interestingly enough, this book was published by Bantam with strict copyright notices; however, Sterling offers this entire book electronically for free.

[edit] OECD

Is The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development definition from 1983 say that a computer crime is: “Any illegal, unethical, or unauthorized behavior involving automatic data-processing and/or transmission of data. A criminal offence involving a computer as the object of the crime, or the tool used to commit a material component of the offence.”

[edit] Canadian Criminal Code

Hackers are breaking many of Canada's criminal code laws, some of them include:

  • Canadian Criminal Code Theft of telecommunications section 326.
  • Concerning access devices for theft of telecommunications 327.
  • The credit card theft and fraud laws 342.
  • Concerning access devices for credit card fraud 342.01
  • The unauthorized access to computer law 342.1
  • Concerning access devices for unauthorized access to a computer 342.2
  • Canadian Mischief laws 430.

[edit] 414 Hacker Group

  • The 414s were identified as a group of six teenagers (aged 16-22) in the early 1980s who hacked into dozens of high-profile computer systems, including ones at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Security Pacific Bank.
  • They took their name from the area code of their hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
  • The head spokesman of the group was 17 year old Neal Patrick.
  • Patrick and the 414s were described as meeting the profile of computer hackers at the time: "Young, male, intelligent, highly motivated and energetic" and Patrick claimed his only motivation was the challenge of getting into places he wasn't supposed to, and remaining there undetected.[73]
  • Most of the public found the group to be harmless and compared them to the movie WarGames.
  • They used inexpensive personal computers and simple hacking techniques, such as using common or default passwords and exploiting well-known, but unpatched, security holes.[74]
  • Most of the members of the 414s were not prosecuted but the US government called for new laws about computer hacking.
  • Here is a link to a newspaper article written 10 years after the incident: (http://my.execpc.com/~jfriese/stuff/414s_revisited/414s_revisited.html)

[edit] 2600

2600: The Hacker Quarterly is an American publication that specializes in publishing technical information on a variety of subjects including telephone swatting systems, internet protocol's, and services, as well as general news concerning the computer "underground" and left wing, and sometimes (but not recently), anarchist issues. [75] If you are interested in looking at the magazine online here is the link: http://www.2600.com/

[edit] Phrack

Phrack is an ezine (online magazine) written by hackers for network administrators first published November 17, 1985. It is described as "the best, and by far the longest running hacker magazine, it is open for contributions by anyone who desires to publish remarkable works or express original ideas on the topics of interest. It has a wide circulation which includes both hackers and computer security professionals.[76] Originally covering subjects related to phreaking and telephone system hacking, anarchy and cracking, the articles also cover a wide range of topics including computer and physical security, hacking, cryptography and international news. Phrack "has had its finger on the pulse of hacker culture" and is considered both a handbook and a manifesto for hackers.[77]

[edit] Kevin Mitnick

Image:kevin-mitnick_270x405.jpg [78]

He is the most famous and notorious hacker. In 1995 Mitnick's criminal acts include the theft of thousands of programs and data files and over 20,000 credit card numbers from computer systems all over the country. HE received a very light punishment The history of Kevin Mitnick's crimes and punishments should make one point very clear. The current system for law enforcement and justice for computer crimes is totally ineffective for some individuals. If Mitnick had received harsher sentencing in one of his prior convictions, or if it was well established that anyone convicted of illegal computer break-ins would face serious punishment, he might not have been so quick to return to hacking After years of unethical hacking and intruding of people’s personal property today he is “Consulting,an author, and public speaker. he goes around the world speaking about primary activity--ethical hacking, pen testing, system hardening, training, education” [79] Although Mitnick has turned it around and stopped “breaking laws” he is still a hacker. There has also been movies made on Mitnick’s life called freedom down time and also takedown. [80]

[edit] HAK5

HAK5 is an online show, they describe themselves as a band of IT ninjas, security professionals and hardcore gamers, Hak5 isn’t your typical tech show. It take on hacking in the old-school sense, covering everything from network security, open source and forensics, to DIY modding and the home brew scene. Then we wrap it all up with a healthy dose of cocktails and geek comedy. Damn the warranties, it’s time to Trust your Technolust. [81]

[edit] Anonymous

"Anonymous" Hacker group threatens to shut down Occupy Toronto

[edit] Critiques

  • The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definition from 1983 say that a computer crime is:
    • “Any illegal, unethical, or unauthorized behavior involving automatic data-processing and/or transmission of data. A criminal offence involving a computer as the object of the crime, or the tool used to commit a material component of the offence.”[82]
  • Canadian law has recorded criminal code against hacking:[83]
    • Canadian Criminal Code
      • Theft of telecommunications section 326.
      • Concerning access devices for theft of telecommunications 327.
      • The credit card theft and fraud laws 342.
      • Concerning access devices for credit card fraud 342.01
      • The unauthorised access to computer law 342.1
      • Concerning access devices for unauthorised access to a computer 342.2
      • Canadian Mischief laws 430.

[edit] Suggested Further Reading

  • Steven Levy, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution (New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1984)
  • Bruce Sterling, The Hacker Crackdown (New York: Bantam, 1992)
  • Knight Lightning, Shadows Of A Future past (Phrack, vol. 2, no. 21, file 3)
  • Richard Stallman, http://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html
  • Clifford Stoll, The Cuckoo's Egg, (London: Bodley Head, 1990)

[edit] Study Guide

  • What do you think of when you hear the word "hack"?
  • Do you know what it means to really be a hacker?
  • If you knew how to hack, what would you use it for?
  • In your opinion, are hackers terrorists or libertarians?
  • How do the implications of online abuse relate to real-life crime?
  • Should all computer-related technology be open source?
  • Is hacking just another result of technological determinism?

[edit] Chapter 6: Tactical Media

[edit] Chapter Summary

"Tactical media are what happens when the cheap 'do it yourself' media, made possible by the revolution in consumer electronics and expanded forms of distribution (from public access cable to the internet) are exploited by groups and individuals who feel aggrieved by or excluded from the wider culture" [84]

[edit] Computer Viruses

[edit] Types of Computer Viruses

1. Virus

  • "Self-replicating code segment which must be attached to a host to propagate" [85]
  • Computer programs which are intended to spread themselves from one file to another to cause damage to someone's computer or operate it in an illegal form. Viruses may spread files quickly or may do so very slowly.

2. Worm

  • "Like a virus, self-replicating program but one that requires no host to propagate" [86]
  • Share same similarities of a virus, though worms spread from computer to computer rather than from file to file. Worms are considered to be highly attracted on infecting as many computers as possible.

3. Trojan Horse

  • "Program that appears to be doing something useful but also executes some piece of undesirable code hidden to the user" [87]

I Love You Virus

  • Computer worm that started in 2000 which infected millions of computers
  • This virus sent out an e-mail with the subject heading "ILOVEYOU", it included an attachment that when opened infected the computer & sent the virus to every contact within the address book[88]
  • Prime example of how Galloway relates a virus to an epidemic, similar to a plague infecting anyone who comes into contact

[edit] Cyberfeminism

  • Cyberfeminism is a type of tactical media that was created as a means to question body and identity within cyberspace. Galloway describes cyberfeminism as a being responsible for spreading "an alliance between women, machinery, and the new technology that women are using". In Zeros and Ones Sadie Plant wrote that "technology threatens phallic control and is fundamentally a process of emasculation". Galloway states this technology to be protocol. Galloway furthers his statement by adding, "as protocol rises, patriarchy declines", meaning that resistance to said protocol can instigate social change. Cyberfeminism is also described as a "the process of forgetting the body", arguing that we must make "life a medium". In other words, once we can translate life into a a code, then we are detached from our bodies and cyberfeminism occurs (Alexander Galloway's Protocol: An Argument Summary). [89]

[edit] Hacktivism

Image:proandcon.png

[edit] Anonymous International Hacking Group
  • Anonymous considers themselves to be an "international hacktivist group"
  • While they have been known and responsible for the hacking of many corporations such as....
    • Amazon
    • PayPal
    • MasterCard
    • Visa
  • Anonymous has recently generated a positive support from the public. Their latest movement involved targeting a collection of child pornography sites called "Freedom Hosting", they not only succeeded in crashing the sites but they also managed to track down the names of 16,000 users. They did issue a warning to remove all illegal contact but clearly these sites did not feel threatened enough to do so. They stated "We will continue to not only crash Freedom Hosting's server, but any other server we find to contain, promote, or support child pornography" [90]
  • Anonymous seems to have various target groups in which they intend to hack
    • Looking further into Occupy Wall Street, Anonymous made a bold statement that they would hack down Fox News due to the biased news media coverage, "it intends on destroying the Fox News website because their continues right-wing conservative propaganda can no longer be tolerated"
  • According to Anonymous, the video shown below indicates that...
    • "Facebook has been selling information to government agencies, in order to spy on people from all around the world"
    • Everything we do on Facebook, stays on Facebook, regardless of privacy settings & if information is deleted, it can be recovered at any time
    • "Facebook knows more about you than your family"

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks Official Website

  • WikiLeaks is a not-for-profit organization that leaks anonymously submitted information about a various number of news related issues. Stories that have been broken by WikiLeaks include topics such as:
    • War, killings, torture and detention
    • Government, trade and corporate transparency
    • Suppression of free speech and a free press
    • Diplomacy, spying and (counter-)intelligence
    • Ecology, climate, nature and sciences
    • Corruption, finance, taxes, trading
    • Censorship technology and internet filtering
    • Cults and other religious organizations
    • Abuse, violence, violation (WikiLeaks About Section) [91]
  • The following video is located on the homepage of the WikiLeaks website, though the intended message of this video is to ask for money to support WikiLeaks, it gives a somewhat brief description of what the organization does for the public.

Masters of Deception (MOD)

  • New York based hacker group that was created in 1989 by Paul Stira, Eli Ladopoulos, and Phyber Optik (also known as Mark Abene). The MOD group "gained recognition for downloading confidential credit histories (including Geraldo Rivera's, David Duke's, and a rival hacker's mom's), breaking into private computer files, and rewiring phone lines. As MOD's fame grew, so did its membership." (Quittner, 1994) [92] [93]

Take This Lollipop Take This Lollipop

  • The interactive video created by the maker of ElfYourself (Jason Zada) allows you to see what your Facebook tells people about you. After you grant permission to connect to your Facebook, it connects you to the website and this extremely creepy hacker has access to open your photos and information

[edit] Conflicting Diagrams

  • Galloway points out a shift from "centralized hierarchical powers" to "distributed, horizontal networks". He notes the conflict of power between these two network diagrams, and how the distributed network diagram works for the systems sustainability, because "deconstruction of a part of the network would not threaten the viability of the network as a whole". Therefore, there is no way to remove power from the network without removing the entire network itself. Galloway describes that hierarchies have a difficult time fighting networks and that it takes time. This shows how tactical media is powerful as a weapon (Alexander Galloway's Protocol: An Argument Summary). [94]

[edit] Discussion Questions

  • Do you think that individuals can use viruses as a positive form of tactical media?

[edit] Suggested Further Readings

  • Slatalla, M., & Quittner, J. (1996). Masters of deception: the gang that ruled cyberspace. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

[edit] Notes and References

  1. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P3
  2. California State University Dominguez Hills. (2005). Covalaeski's power goes to school: Teachers, students, and discipline 

. Retrieved October 28th, 2011, from http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/covaleski01.htm
  3. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P3
  4. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P30
  5. Tutzauer, F., & Elbirt, B. (2009). Entropy-Based Centralization and its Sampling Distribution in Directed Communication Networks. Communication Monographs, 76(3), 351-375. doi:10.1080/03637750903074727
  6. Lim, M. (2007). Inverted-Panopticism: The Use of Mobile Technologies in Surveillance. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-23. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
  7. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P31
  8. Wikinvest. (2010). Concept:cloud computing. Retrieved from http://www.wikinvest.com/concept/Cloud_Computing
  9. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P37
  10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_Networking
  11. http://www.linktionary.com/g/gateway.html
  12. http://www.linktionary.com/g/gateway.html
  13. http://www.linktionary.com/g/gateway.html
  14. http://www.linktionary.com/g/gateway.html
  15. http://www.linktionary.com/g/gateway.html
  16. http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/trans.html
  17. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/protocol
  18. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P55
  19. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P56
  20. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediation_(Marxist_theory_and_media_studies)
  21. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P56
  22. Griffin, Em. "Mapping the Territory." A first look at communication theory. 7. ed. Boston: Mcgraw-Hill Higher Education, 2008. 43. Print.
  23. Griffin, Em. "Mapping the Territory." A first look at communication theory. 7. ed. Boston: Mcgraw-Hill Higher Education, 2008. 43. Print.
  24. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P59
  25. Trend, David, and Donna Haraway. "A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the 1980s." Reading digital culture. USA: Blackwell, 2001. 28. Print.
  26. Trend, David, and Vannevar Bush. "As We May Think." Reading digital culture. USA: Blackwell, 2001. 10. Print.
  27. Trend, David, and Vannevar Bush. "As We May Think." Reading digital culture. USA: Blackwell, 2001. 11. Print.
  28. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P60
  29. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P60
  30. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P64
  31. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P61
  32. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P60
  33. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P68
  34. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P65
  35. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P65
  36. Lury, Celia. "Exchanging Things: The Economy and Culture." Consumer culture. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2011. 39. Print.
  37. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P66
  38. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P66
  39. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P66
  40. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P66
  41. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P67
  42. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P67
  43. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P67
  44. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P68
  45. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge MA) P69
  46. Galloway, A. (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA) P72
  47. Galloway, A (2004) Protocol. (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA) P75
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