Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday February 27 2018, @12:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the ET-phone-home dept.

Two astrophysicists warn that passive SETI could be dangerous due to malicious code, blueprints, or ultimatums sent to Earth by aliens or alien AIs:

With all the news stories these days about computer hacking, it probably comes as no surprise that someone is worried about hackers from outer space. Yes, there are now scientists who fret that space aliens might send messages that worm their way into human society — not to steal our passwords but to bring down our culture.

How exactly would they do that? Astrophysicists Michael Hippke and John Learned argue in a recent paper that our telescopes might pick up hazardous messages sent our way — a virus that shuts down our computers, for example, or something a bit like cosmic blackmail: "Do this for us, or we'll make your sun go supernova and destroy Earth." Or perhaps the cosmic hackers could trick us into building self-replicating nanobots, and then arrange for them to be let loose to chew up our planet or its inhabitants.

But don't worry?

Although it may be rational for us to engage trade with this alien AI, the researchers ponder the consequences if the cure for cancer involves, say, building an army of nanobots from blueprints provided by the AI. In a sort of reverse-Contact scenario, the researchers imagine a scenario in which the machine blueprints turn out to be malicious. Perhaps humans build these cancer-curing nanobots and they are actually programmed to deplete Earth of certain vital resources.

The scenarios offered by the researchers are pretty far out, but are worth taking seriously in the event we ever establish contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence. Still, that's not necessarily a reason to refrain from opening the message. "Our main argument is that a message from ETI cannot be decontaminated with certainty," Hippke and Learned conclude in their paper. "Overall, we believe that the risk is very small (but not zero), and the potential benefit very large, so that we strongly encourage to read an incoming message."


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by stretch611 on Tuesday February 27 2018, @02:04AM (2 children)

    by stretch611 (6199) on Tuesday February 27 2018, @02:04AM (#644386)

    While this, in theory, can be a credible threat, who is going to do anything about it?

    We have corporations trusted with our most sensitive data, (Equifax and others) that do not even perform maintenance patches.
    Every few days there is a new disclosure about companies getting hacked and losing our personal information.
    Marketing companies don't even bother to check for malware when publishing ads on the internet.
    Many people barely know how to turn on their computers, yet alone try to keep it safe.
    And the less said about IOT... the better.

    Big business will never improve as long as the continue to not be liable.

    Our own government is horrible with security too, only playing lip service to it and getting rid of it when it is inconvenient.
    From https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/24/security_roundup/ [theregister.co.uk]

    Matthew Masterson, chairman of the US Election Assistance Commission, has been doing some sterling work in working with election officials and security professionals to try and fix the parlous state of voting machine security.

    But now he's out of a job [reuters.com] and his likely replacement is fellow commission member Christy McCormick, who in the past has expressed skepticism that election hacking is even a serious issue and criticized the Department of Homeland Security for designating election mechanisms as critical infrastructure.

    Why would we do anything about alien hacking, when we don't do anything about hacking here on earth?

    --
    Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +2  
       Interesting=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   4  
  • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Tuesday February 27 2018, @02:45AM (1 child)

    by krishnoid (1156) on Tuesday February 27 2018, @02:45AM (#644410)

    We need a hero [edisonrex.net] (or you can start reading from the beginning of the archive, it's only about 5 pages in from the start).

    • (Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Tuesday February 27 2018, @07:06PM

      by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Tuesday February 27 2018, @07:06PM (#644727)

      Looks interesting, Thank you for the link.

      --
      "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."