GUEST WRITERS:
THE (666) OMEN
by Twekiat Menakanist

Time has passed from the days when the law on computer crime included only traditional crimes committed using a computer as a tool. Drafting information technology law, be it the law on electronic transactions, electronic signatures or electronic funds transfer, is a matter of great complexity, filled with dilemma and surrounded by a plethora of obstacles. The rapid development of computer technology has triggered a variety of ingenious new criminal behaviours, and an explosion in specialized legislation doing its best to catch up with them. Despite these most valiant efforts to protect our citizens from these nefarious goings-on, the culprits are, more often than not, more than one step ahead, and are usually able to leap nimbly through the loopholes. The sheer diversity and magnitude of losses directly caused by computers seems impossible to predict or prevent.

The advent of viruses, tiny pieces of computer code which replicate and spread rapidly through a computer system or entire network, is an unprecedented phenomenon that law is not equipped to handle. Policymakers, scholars and computer experts have proposed many deterrence strategies, from criminal sanctions to tort law, even targeting the web designers themselves, but none of these methods has proved successful at deterring criminal virus-makers and hackers.

Whilst the problem has spawned a major industry in complicated anti-virus, anti-spyware software and electronic ‘firewalls’, the detection of crimes and offenders still appears increasingly difficult. And even if the crime is successfully detected, detection usually is to no avail due to the problems encountered in collecting evidential proof.

Indeed, no technician knows every piece, part and function of a computer and software, given the hugeness and complexity of the whole system. Different pieces and parts need to be handled by different skillful hands. Thus, nobody can really master a computer. A technical error may result in such inestimable losses, chaos and confusion as to be disastrous to mankind.

The crucial component of a computer is a tiny-sized silicon chip. We seldom think about this, but the greater the speed and efficiency possessed by a chip, the greater the pollution it generates. Research has revealed that this complexity means in effect that a computer chip can destroy the environment to a larger extent than a car could. This is because silicon chips manufactured to a minute size actually produce a vast amount of refuse during the course of their manufacture. The production of a chip of 2 grams in weight requires fossil energy of about 1,400 grams, which is 700 times the weight of the chip itself.

A study has recently been undertaken by researchers, who analyzed all raw materials and fossil energy used in converting raw quartz into a 32 MB RAM chip. The study revealed that the manufacturing process consumed many times more materials and energy than that consumed in the manufacture of other electronic products.

So- we are faced with an uncomfortable truth- the production of microchips is therefore unsafe to the environment, and will eventually lead to unimaginable environmental destruction.

Let us look ahead a little way. In the computer age, we may imagine that civilizations may even be encapsulated in a single tiny chip. In the event of a technical error, loss or misinterpretation, such abridged civilizations will merely come to an abrupt end. The more complex the production becomes, the greater the risk to man. Thus, we begin to envision the supernatural and borderless power of the computer. Mere “inability to please it” may lead to the termination of our civilizations and lives in a wink!

In the dearth of law delineating or restricting such paranormal power of the computer, I recalled an old film entitled “The (666) Omen” starring Gregory Peck. The movie featured the symbol of the terminator of the earth – the number 666. Central to the theme was the passage in the Holy Bible, which predicts:

“Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man; his number is 666.” (Book of Revelations, Chapter 13 : Verse 18)

In The Omen, the symbol 666 appeared on a little child and caused a catalogue of tragedies, which even our esteemed hero was incapable of preventing.

Finally (and conspiracy theorists please take note), consider this strange and slightly sinister surprise. In the word “computer”, each letter can be translated into a numerical value in accordance with its alphabetical order, as follows:



Then, when multiplying each number by 6, the following outputs are derived.



When all these outputs are summed, we will have…   =   6 6 6


Amen!!! •