The Boston Marathon Blasts

[AeternusDoleo]

Mh. My own thoughts - I'm surprised something like this hasn't happened sooner. An improvised fragmentation grenade distributing shrapnel across a mass-gathering. There is no way you can secure the entire route of an event as this. And there are many variants - an improvised mortar lobbing a projectile into a football (or soccer) stadium, or religious gathering (the Hajj comes to mind if you're out to incite a holy war). A suitcase bomb left in a shopping mall - covered by some products as a statement against capitalism. A car bomb on a passenger ferry, set to go off on unloading. There's just so may ways for people to inflict damage wherever others gather.

I'm more worried about attacks against weak or insecure infrastructure. Bringing down a few high-voltage power transmission lines (which isn't that hard if you have a torch and a few cutter charges) could trigger a regional or even nationwide blackout. The recent bouts of DDOSsing (not the minor one against our own server, but the massive ones against Spamhaus and several major banks) show the major problems with the Internet's core protocols not having been designed with security in mind. Same issues with rail and aircraft control systems - which if subverted can trigger a major disaster.

And for those among us who will whine about not bringing people on ideas: If one moderately bored european man can think of this, what do you think an unscrupulous individual motivated by hate will come up with?

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Wide awake in a world that sleeps, enduring thoughts, enduring scenes. The knowledge of what is yet to come.
From a time when all seems lost, from a dead man to a world, without restraint, unafraid and free.

Mostly retired Discovery member. May still visit from time to time.