Peter Rhodes on hacking, headwinds and shedding no tears for Downton
If one good thing comes out of this latest rash of computer hacking, it may be a re-think of that divisive little term of our times: key workers.
These are the people who, according to the gospel of the public sector, keep the country running. They are fire fighters, nurses, doctors, teachers, social workers, senior politicians and suchlike. But while they are useful people to have around, how key are they? When your car factory hasn't produced a car for a month or your store has been ransomewared and shut down by teenage hackers in St Petersburg, your saviours are likely to be working-class techies in white vans, not a nurse or a PE teacher.
Ransomewared? Perhaps ransomworn sounds better.
Meanwhile, maximum respect to the BBC's cyber correspondent, Joe Tidy, for standing up to malware crooks who, eager to plunder the Beeb's innermost secrets, tried to recruit him. Tidy not only turned them down but wrote a report of his experience, revealing some interesting tit-bits about the hackers. Has he crossed the line from heroism to recklessness? These hackers are not nice people; I doubt if they conduct their trade by the Queensberry Rules.
“Harsh global headwinds” was Rachel Reeves' three-word mantra from Labour's conference. I was reminded of interviewing Gordon Brown when he, as Chancellor, was looking for an excuse for his struggling economy. I lost count of how many times he used the word “global,” but at every opportunity he shot the G-word into our conversation like a magician with a hat full of rabbits.
“Global” is the thing you blame when things go badly. When things go well, it is, of course, all due to the Government's fiscal brilliance and dazzling foresight. When a Chancellor starts invoking the G-word, as Reeves is doing, expect a nasty shock from the taxman.
Today would have been my father's 100th birthday. He was born in Bradford in 1925 and, like his wife, mother-in-law and grandfather, was employed in service by rich folk. The pay was dismal, forelock-tugging was obligatory and the staff learned never to knock before opening a door because that would involve the unspeakable act of drawing attention to yourself. Apparently some fans are leaving cinemas in tears after seeing the movie Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. I don't think Jack Rhodes would have been among them
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