Are Aliens Hacking into Our Data Systems to Study Us?

Cybercrime appears to be so common an occurrence that we dismiss it as the work of petty hackers in computer labs and cafes all across the world. Certainly, we should be concerned about our data, but when extraterrestrials and other threats are out there, identity theft and having to get a new credit card shipped to your door don’t seem like such huge problems.

Yet here’s a more concerning issue: We don’t always know who is doing the hacking, especially when top level targets or large stores of data are involved. What if aliens don’t need to observe us or spy on us like they used to because we’re effectively spying on ourselves for them? Nearly everyone in the developed world has a device with a camera and microphone attached, billions of people send private messages daily, and billions more also input sensitive financial and health information regularly into those devices.

There is a clear means for any being or group who wants to learn more about us. Wouldn’t you take advantage of the situation, especially if you looked down on the human race?

What Is the Data for?

If aliens wanted money, they could easily get it. They don’t need to hack the average Joe’s bank account to do so. As a matter of course they likely don’t even bother with money, or else they have a reserve for when they want to send converted people or disguised agents to our world (whatever tactics they might use). No, if they want anything from us, they want to study us, either as a biological organism or as a culture.

Fortunately for them, we study ourselves a lot, and as such, there is a lot of material out there, but we can’t be sure what everything is for. Perhaps we are meant to be compared to others. Perhaps we are to be judged. Nevertheless, everything they need to know is right there, waiting for them. For all we know, it’s getting delivered by the government.

What If Our Tech Was Planted?

It would hardly be the first time this was suggested, but the boost in the average level of technology and events such as Kenneth Arnold’s sighting or the Roswell incident coincide quite nicely. While some leaps in technology seemed natural, our perfection of things such as alloys and the continued improvement of communications networks make one give a second glance to a few things.

The growth of computer technology is suspicious in particular. We can buy the equivalent of a supercomputer 30 years ago for perhaps $10 today. High-tech companies are highly secretive, but we can’t be certain whether they’re just protecting trade secrets or whether there is something more deliberate being done to manipulate human tech progress to give aliens a more direct link to our species’ collective psyche. Easier manipulation is a valuable goal, whether or not extraterrestrials intend to involve themselves further in our affairs.

Was the internet planned out for us by outside parties? Is there something greater in mind for our information networks? These are questions that require further investigation.

Can People Defend Themselves?

Since we don’t know too much about what aliens are doing or how they would collect our data should they want it, we aren’t entirely sure. There are measures that one can take to be safer, but not all defenses are impenetrable. Nonetheless, here are a few things people can do:

• If at all possible, people should try to avoid inputting as much data as possible into their devices, at least the data that matters. Ordering food online with a credit card won’t raise any flags, but anything that could be interpreted on a deeper psychological level might be valuable to onlookers. Health information is similarly valuable and lets them study us on a larger scale.
• If extraterrestrials use a level of computer technology similar to our own, or perhaps more likely, if they use a different type of technology and have to rely on human technology to hack into human systems, then standard defenses might just work. Antivirus programs are a computing necessity anyhow, and the anonymity provided by a proxy might just help deter threats. It is unlikely, but every potential advantage counts.
• Be careful about who else has your information. One shouldn’t be private to the point of raising suspicion, but other people and organizations won’t be so careful as you, and others will slip up in comparison to beings who are very determined and very patient. Aliens will most likely go after large stores of data, so outside of advocating for better security on their part, it might be out of our hands.

This is a difficult topic, as we simply don’t know the scale of alien intervention in our technology or to what degree they might want our data. The human race deserves its sovereignty, however, and our secrets need to be our own.

How do you treat your data and your online presence? How do you think extraterrestrials might be using this data, against us or to study us? Do you think anyone else is colluding with them to make this an easier process? There are a lot of different factors to consider, so other opinions and thoughts are most welcome to keep information and our way of life safe from alien intervention.