It's been described as “one of the most complex threats ever discovered.” It is 20 times more powerful than anything of its kind. It’s big, it’s sophisticated and it’s running loose.
Meet Flame; the newest, most dangerous, and most powerful computer virus ever discovered.
Flame is an espionage tool. It infiltrates the targeted computer taking screenshots. It intercepts and records email, chat and other network traffic. It can search for and copy specific files and turn on the internal microphone to record conversations.
Sound scary?
The U.N. certainly thinks so.
But is Flame really as new as we think?
I’m not so sure.
Because long before computers, viruses, or any other recording devices, we were targets of another kind of spying. We read in Ethics of Our Fathers, “Know what is above you: an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all your deeds are recorded...”
But Flame brings a whole new level of understanding to that verse. The possibility of being spied on is now very real. Right in our own homes we can be watched and listened to. Our website history, keyboard activity and conversations can be recorded. There is nowhere to hide. Goodbye privacy, hello Flame!
But this is just a prelude for what’s to come. Because every single thing we’ve ever done in our lives has already been recorded, and after 120 years when we pass on, every conversation we’ve had, every deed we’ve done, will be replayed in front of us. There will be hard evidence – no way of denying our involvement in anything less than honest. Moreover, G-d is actually more progressive than Flame. He records not only our words and actions, but also our thoughts. We are not necessarily held accountable for all our thoughts, but they are still monitored and recorded.
Fascinating that the G-dly soul inside each of us is often referred to as a flame by the Chassidic masters. The virus Flame has to be inserted via a USB cord in order to be active. Our G-dly Flame was inserted inside every single one of us the moment we were born. And from then on it begins recording.
Interestingly, Flame is not yet wreaking havoc indiscriminately. It has been used to target specific people and organizations of interest. The makers of the virus are not interested in the average person, so they are not expending the time and resources to spy on them.
When it comes to G-d, no such luck! He’s interested in every last one of us. No one is insignificant before Him. None of us is exempt from His “recording.” G-d cares about my actions just as much as the Iranian’s actions and as much as my neighbor’s housekeeper’s actions. Everyone is equal before Him.
Just prior to his passing, Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai, a great sage, warned his students, “Fear G-d like you fear man.” Should we not fear G-d a whole lot more than we fear man? The problem is, it’s hard to fear something we can’t see, and can’t quite relate to. G-d sees us, but we don’t see Him. So it becomes easy to sin in front of Him. But we are embarrassed, even afraid, to appear sinful before our friends, colleagues and acquaintances. Imagine if we felt G-d’s presence as much as we feel Flame. If our fear of G-d was as deep as our fear of Flame, we’d all be in pretty good shape. With the advent of this new virus, it’s a good time to reconsider – and try to live by - Rabbi Yochanan’s words.
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