A Brand New Internet

Well, not for the everyday person like you and me perhaps. But apparently the NSA wants to build a secondary internet so they can put government activity separate from all the civilian activity. While they think it will keep government sites more secure from attacks, they are gravely mistaken.
One of the reasons hackers hack is for the challenge and bragging rights. The mentality could be similar to the compulsive shoplifter who steals and steals and never gets caught. Then one day BOOM. She is caught and does not understand why she got away wit hit all along. Despite security measures taken by many stores to hinder shoplifting attempts, people are dishonest enough to find ways to get around security measures. So doesn't the NSA think that a mischievous hacker will have this same mentality? Or even worse, what about the devious foreigner?
It has recently been disclosed that China is suspected of hacking two satellites a few years ago. Most people do not think about hacking satellites, but now that it is being thought about, a little bit of it is fumy. When satellites are being considered, most people think only paranoid thoughts about the US government spying. Most people, unless you are a US government official perhaps, do not think about foreign intelligence getting the satellites to spy. Whether they will be interested in the everyday person is another story. It is more likely that they only care about what the US government is doing. Phew, we are safe!
But even so, it is scary to think that a satellite can be hacked into just as easily as a personal computer if someone has loose security. Now with the secondary internet put in place, will the security get better or is this more or less just a band aid that the NSA wants to have? If there will be no change in security, it is better that they stay on the same internet and improve security. Hacking is inevitable, especially when there are juicy secrets to be found. So swallow the truth and just improve security in what is in place now. Don't isolate yourself and make yourself more vulnerable. Remember that the Stuxnet attacked technology that was not even attached to an internet.

Hacktivism

Many have heard of activism, but a new trend is combining hacking with activism to make hacktivism. I'm not sure how long the actual hacktivism movement as we know now has been around. For too long, hackers were known as basement boys who had no friends. Not anymore. Now they claim to be fighting the government's battles in the online world.
For example, when Wikileaks came to be known to the public, the sight was hacked into and defaced. The reason for the hacktivists doing this was because they endangered national security by releasing government secrets for all to know, including enemies. Nothing has happened to the guy who did it as he is still hacking. About two weeks ago, he hacked into a website that recruited people for jihad. Hacktivism sounds like a good idea in theory.
There are many things that are online that do not need to be there. Do holocaust denial websites end to exist? Do other organizations deemed as terrorists by the State Department and its allies need websites to spread their agenda? I think not. But then again, I do not work for the government, and at the time of this writing, they are not paying me to fight terrorism.
Unfortunately that is where people's sentiments end there. Unfortunately sentiments cannot lead to an actual ideology. Once a person goes and hacks into a website, they may be participating in what the government deems as cyber terrorism thanks to the lovely Patriot Act that was passed after 9/11. Ironic how the people who want to help fight cyber terrorism of any form can be considered cyber terrorists by their own government. I guess the government really does not want civilians to get involved in their affairs. Let them fight the terrorists and hope they do a good job.
If one thinks about it though, the same mentality can be used for the police. People may not agree with what police do or who they arrest. But if people take action against the police or someone who was not arrested but should have been, they are then criminals even though they may be perceived by many as "the good guy".
So just like in real life when we are walking down the street, we look both ways to make sure we will not get hit by a car. We try to be aware of our surroundings, and if something does not feel right, we leave. We have to do the same online. If something does not feel right, there is a back button or exit button. (Online life is great for that. There are no back buttons in real life!) So until the governments that be can figure out how to keep terrorists off the internet to post their propaganda or recruit people, we as civilians must take care of ourselves and just know not to get involved with bad people. Just like in real life.