Iran: A Rising High Tech Hot Spot?

The Next Silicon Valley has recognized Iran as one of ten semi-periphery nations on the verge of becoming an economic and technology hot spot.  They reviewed the existence of middle-class income brackets (though Iran itself is not home to a sizable middle-class) and GDP during a global recession to include Iran in the list of rising high-tech spots.  Iran gained notoriety among internet analysts when sites like Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter were fully integrated into a massive civil movement as an alternative means of communication and dissemination.  This, in turn, inspired everyday computer experts like Austin Heap to introduce new technologies to Iranian dissidents allowing them to sidestep censorship and the authorities.

Iran’s inclusion as a possible rising high-tech spot may come as a surprise to some.  While Iran has many rising technology sectors, the internet still remains a low point of Iranian advancement.  For one, Iran is not nearly as wired as South Korea and several others who cracked the list.  And it certainly doesn’t help when the regime purposely slows internet speed, growth, and access.  The government’s high tech prowess is an indication that they recognize the internet poses potential security challenges to regime preservation and their ability to agenda set global news headlines.

During the unrest, the use of mobile phones to record violence uploaded to Twitter and Youtube marked the inability of the Mullahs to block footage from reaching global television sets.   Mere months later, a group purportedly tied to the Iranian government successfully hacked into Twitter.  The media often under-reports the Iranian cyber-wars, but the regime’s hard-lined censorship has summoned new global ‘warriors’ who are fighting on behalf of those restricted within Iran.  Simultaneously, international organizations who aid the regime’s capability to monitor and restrict technology mediums within the country are now being called into question.

The call to arms to fight an Islamic oligarchy through an unimaginable space has marked Iran as the first true battleground of ‘high-technology warfare’.  And while the Green movement itself may have diminished, the challenge of reversing Iranian internet censorship tactics continues.  Remarkably, anyone with a good deal of computer knowledge could join the battle from the comfort of their own homes.  And if they dare, like Austin Heap, they can engage in the trenches.

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