Our only hope then is that the hackers can't resist the temptation to brag about their hacker skills. The most promising response is probably defensive, to harden networks and make them more resistant by enhancing firewalls and encrypting communications. But if we do apprehend and convict the wreckers, let us all agree now that they and any accomplices will not be treated indulgently as harmless pranksters. This is no more a game than it was when the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean preyed on innocent trade. Interference with electronic communications can easily result in death and disaster.
Nobody can be sure of the fallout.
We were lucky this time. We have been warned. Send your comments to him by clicking here.