Random Scary Internet Conspiracy Theories (15 items)

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  (#4) Remote Car Hacking

  With “the Internet of things” becoming more and more of a reality, it’s not a nightmare scenario for hackers to be able to insert code into the brakes, engine, or locks of an Internet-enabled car and take control of it. According to former White House counter-terrorism head Richard Clarke, “There is reason to believe that intelligence agencies for major powers - including the United States - know how to remotely seize control of a car.”

  Whether this has ever actually happened is debatable – some conspiracy theorists believe journalist Michael Hastings was “taken out” in one such attack, though evidence doesn’t support it. But clearly there is at least a theoretical, if not an easily achieved, way to use the Internet to take control of a car and make it do things its rightful owner doesn't want it to do.
  
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  (#10) Net Neutrality Is a Government Takeover of the Internet

  Is the 2015 Net Neutrality legislation, which will ensure the Internet is regulated like a utility, as opposed allowing service providers to throttle down speeds or block access to certain sites, actually a backdoor takeover by the government?

  Many opponents of the legislation believe so, calling it a “federal takeover” and a draconian measure that will lead to bureaucrats deciding where you can do, what you can download and what speeds at which you can do it. However, net neutrality supporters see it as the opposite of this – a codified continuation of the free and open Internet we have now.
  
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  (#14) Obama Is Going to Ban Internet Conspiracy Theories

  Did a high-ranking official in the Obama administration really say that he sought to ban the dissemination of conspiracy theories on the Internet? Sort of. Cass Sunstein was head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the White House for three years, where he was seen as Obama’s “information czar” and someone who wanted to exert socialist control over the American population.

  But before this, he had authored a paper called “Conspiracy Theories” that stated one way a government could get a handle on out of control speculation would be to simply ban it.

  Sunstein never actually advocated that the Obama administration do this, nor would they have any legal justification to do so. Plus, one look at the Internet proves that conspiracy theories aren’t going anywhere, no matter what any paper says.
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  (#7) Superfish

  Your computer almost certainly either has been or is currently infected with some kind of ad-serving malware that broadcasts your personal information and passwords, and makes you vulnerable to serious hack attacks. This is the lesson of the Superfish debacle, when computer manufacturer Lenovo took a very public punch in the mouth after being exposed for installing this visual shopping adware on its recent computer models.

  Users were unaware that the software had been included, or that it was making it possible for ads to be placed on secure websites, and passwords from those sites to be intercepted and downloaded by third parties. The risk was so great that the Department of Homeland Security advised users uninstall the root kit and delete its accompanying certificates, due to the risk it posed for an organized cyber attack from another country.
  
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  (#2) Utah Data Center

  A gigantic data storage center designed to track everything you do in cyberspace, located in the middle of nowhere with a creepy name and an officially classified mission? Sounds like the stuff of conspiracy theorist nightmares – but it’s a real place. Officially named the Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center, but better-known as the Utah Data Center, this million square foot complex cost over $2 billion to build, and can store as much as 12 billion gigabytes of information.

  What information does it store? If you believe the Edward Snowden disclosures, everything you do on the Internet and a log of every call you make or receive. Reactions to the sheer size, scope, and creepiness of the Utah Data Center have included protestors flying drones over it and Utah lawmakers proposing bills to cut off its water supply – all activities that are no doubt being logged and stored in the Utah Data Center.
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  (#9) The Internet Kill Switch

  The idea of one single command bringing down the entire Internet has been referenced in both national security and conspiracy theory circles. Language written in the Communications Act of 1934 gives the president the authority to suspend radio and telephone communications in a time of national crisis. Proponents of a “kill switch” for the Internet contend that there might be a time when such a crisis might prompt the shutdown of the Internet.

  Its opponents believe that a power-mad president could activate the kill switch to prevent dissent and nationalize the flow of information – and point to countries like Egypt where the exact same thing has happened. Such a kill switch doesn’t actually exist in the US, despite several years of debate about it.
  

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