Wired For a Revolution
Iran's mullahs are finding out the hard way that medieval methods of control are no match for 21st--century technology. According to several current and former U.S. and European security officials, Iran is too thoroughly wired for its government's efforts at disabling Facebook, Twitter and text messaging to hold back the tide of dissent. "[The Iranians are] not good at doing it," says a former senior U.S. intelligence official, who asked for anonymity when discussing sensitive subjects, adding that while authorities have tried various stratagems to control cyberspace and cell-phone traffic, "they can't black out the opposition."
Even when the government successfully shuts down networks, the impact is limited. "Everyone has a cell phone," and their cameras work even when service does not, notes former Pentagon intel analyst Matthew Burton. According to a blog called Networked Culture, Iranian spies posing as protesters have set up Twitter accounts to spread disinformation and are hunting for dissident voices by running broad searches for people messaging from specific locations and time zones—but the blog has posted detailed guidance on how to foil the spooks. Protesters are also getting a hand from exiles and foreign sympathizers. One European official, who also declined to be named, says that tech expertise is formidable among the Iranian diaspora: "One out of three of the best brains in Silicon Valley are Iranian."
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Mark Hosenball joined Newsweek as an investigative correspondent in November 1993, covering a range of issues for the National Affairs department. Most recently, he has written and reported numerous stories on terrorism and the Sept. 11 attacks on America. He has also covered campaign finance, the Monica Lewinsky controversy, the death of Princess Diana, Whitewater, the crashes of EgyptAir flight 990 and TWA flight 800, as well as related air safety issues.
Hosenball came to Newsweek from "Dateline NBC," where he worked as an investigative producer. He also worked extensively as a print journalist, writing for a number of British and American publications, including the London Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard, Time Out, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic. In addition, he has done commentaries for American Public Radio.
Hosenball has been honored with a number of prestigious awards. Most recently, along with a team of Newsweek correspondents, he was awarded the Overseas Press Club's most prestigious honor, the 2002 Ed Cunningham Memorial Award for best magazine reporting from abroad for Newsweek's coverage of the war on terror. His reporting and that of his colleagues earned Newsweek the prestigious National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2002 for its coverage of September 11 and its aftermath. And a story he co-authored was highlighted in a citation Newsweek received by the White House Correspondents' Association when it awarded the magazine the 2002 Edgar A. Poe Award for "excellence on a story of national or regional importance. "Newsweek's September 11 coverage started long before the attacks. An article in the magazine's February 19, 2001 issue warned with chilling accuracy: 'The threat posed by (Osama) bin Laden is growing -- and coming ever closer to home."
Hosenball was a contributor to the CANAL + TV documentary, "L'Argent de la Drogue" (Drug Money), which was awarded the "Sept D'Or," the French equivalent of an Emmy. He also contributed to NBC News' coverage of the BCCI scandal, which earned a 1991 Peabody Award.
He attended the University of Pennsylvania and Trinity College in Dublin. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and son.
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