By Hedelberto López Blanch* / Special Contribution to *Resumen Latinoamericano*
Major U.S. and Western Information Technology (IT) and Communication Technology (ICT) companies are waging an extensive and profound cognitive war designed to alter mindsets and distort events—all in an effort to portray the oppressors of the peoples as the “good guys” and the oppressed as the culprits. Concurrently, they carry out cyberattacks against the critical infrastructure of other nations in order to sow confusion.
The distinction between IT and ICT lies in the fact that the former focuses on the management and processing of digital data and information, whereas the latter incorporates the dimension of communication facilitated by electronic technologies. Both are essential for businesses.
Among the largest IT companies are: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Nvidia, Tesla, Samsung, Intel, IBM, and Facebook.
The most prominent ICT tools include: Canva, Google Analytics, WordPress, SharePoint, Google Meet and Teams, Zoom, WeTransfer, and Google Drive.
Information technologies encompass the hardware, software, data, and services used to capture, process, and safeguard information in order to generate value.
Recently, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders denounced the fact that news media ownership is increasingly consolidating into fewer hands; this trend stifles journalistic pluralism and shifts the focus toward propaganda serving the interests of those who control big capital.
Sanders pointed out that the Ellison family—allies of Trump—will soon control: TikTok, CBS, CNN, HBO, Discovery Channel, BET, Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, DC Studios, Fandango, Miramax, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Pluto TV, Showtime, TBS, The CW, TNT, and Warner Bros. He emphasized: “This is oligarchy.”
The Democratic senator added: “To grasp the immense power this represents, consider that TikTok alone has between 1.6 billion and 1.9 billion users worldwide.” Through its various services, CNN is estimated to reach more than 800 million people worldwide.
“Aristotle,” Sanders continued, “defined oligarchy as the rule of the few based on wealth—those who govern in their own self-interest rather than for the common good. In our era, we must add to this their extraordinary hegemony over the media, which grants them the capacity to ‘educate’ us for their own benefit—even when it appears that we are merely being entertained.”
In direct alignment with these actions, Washington is pursuing a course toward digital enslavement across the globe—primarily in Europe and Latin America—a trajectory that will result in technological stagnation and, consequently, hinder the development of IT capabilities in those continents relative to the United States.
Furthermore, U.S. intelligence agencies interact directly with domestic high-tech firms; thus, the expansion of these companies’ presence in foreign nations poses a serious threat to the security of those host countries, while simultaneously enabling intelligence agencies to enhance their capacity to gather information on them and uncover vulnerabilities.
On numerous occasions, it has been demonstrated that Western agencies—primarily those of the United States and the United Kingdom—utilize modern information technology to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states, conducting subversive activities and espionage, while simultaneously employing international hacker groups to exert pressure on governments they deem undesirable.
Data from the United Nations indicate that the global volume of cyberattacks is growing by an average of 80 percent annually. Every day, state institutions, industrial facilities, the energy sector, public utilities, transportation networks, universities, banks, and retail outlets face threats; virtually any enterprise or organization is potentially situated within this risk zone.
In recent months, the BRICS member nations—spearheaded by initiatives from Russia and China—have been working to establish a mechanism designed to ensure transnational security and contribute to the maintenance of global stability and security.
Undeniably, there is an urgent need for a global governance initiative that opens up new opportunities for the utilization of information and communication technologies—opportunities that would enable the advancement of the majority of nations in the Global South, for whom such technologies remain currently inaccessible or prohibitively expensive. (*) Cuban journalist. He writes for the daily newspaper *Juventud Rebelde* and the weekly *Opciones*. He is the author of *La Emigración cubana en Estados Unidos*, *Historias Secretas de Médicos Cubanos en África*, and *Miami, dinero sucio*, among others.
(*) Hedelberto López Blanch is a renowned Cuban journalist. He writes for the newspaper Juventud Rebelde and the weekly Opciones. He is the author of “Cuban Emigration to the United States,” “Secret Stories of Cuban Doctors in Africa,” and “Miami, Dirty Money,” among others.
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE AUTHOR: Hedelberto López Blanch
[ SOURCE: RESUMEN LATINOAMERICANO Y DEL TERCER MUNDO CUBA / EN RESUMEN ]
