Cyberterrorism: Regional and Local Response

Here's a program you can watch online, or read the transcript, dealing with a hypothetical cyber-terror situation. I used to watch programs like this on public television. They would take topical situations that had really happened recently, and change it to a hypothetical scenario, and with a panel of usually well know members of government, business, military, and law, and then discuss how they would deal with the situation. I found those shows very interesting and informative, because it gave insight into how decisions are actually made, behind closed doors, by the very people who have made such decisions in real life.

"Cyberterrorism: Regional and Local Response" is a joint collaboration between the Interactive Media Laboratory (IML) at Dartmouth College and The Fred Friendly Seminars, under the auspices of the Program on Counterterrorism Preparedness of the Institute for Security Technology Studies (ISTS), also at Dartmouth College.

The Socratic Dialogue format was developed and refined by Mr. Fred Friendly, first under the auspices of the Ford Foundation and then as a program of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Using a hypothetical case history and a skilled moderator, the Seminars compel panelists to decide how to act in complicated situations where the right choices are not clear. As panelists wrestle with the hypothetical, a tense and spontaneous drama is created that illuminates complex questions in stimulating and entertaining ways. The Seminars have proven uniquely effective in exploring knotty ethical, legal and public policy issues and in creating the basis for panelists to "talk to each other, rather than shout past each other." Fred Friendly died on March 3, 1998, but the Socratic series continue to carry on his work. Mrs. Ruth Friendly serves as senior editorial advisor.

"Cyberterrorism: Regional and Local Response" was shot in front of a live audience at Atlantic Video Studios, Washington DC.