You'll hear the proposition phrased any number of ways: Lots of people - some bad actors - possess the know-how and wherewithal to crash the Internet, and it is only through their collective goodwill, overriding self-interests, and/or dislike of prison food that the 'Net has yet to meet that unthinkable fate.

Last week, my colleague to the north, Mark Gibbs, quoted security expert and author Stephen Cobb thusly: "There are, and always have been, people who know how to crash the Internet but have so far chosen not to do so."

This week, Gibbs is defending the sentiment expressed by Cobb .

Me? I'm going to defend logic and common sense, which to my mind are on the side of a different proposition, namely that the ability to crash the Internet - as in kaput for an extended period - remains theoretical, largely because it is exceedingly more difficult than the Chicken Littles would have us fear. Moreover, the fact that it hasn't happened speaks not to a dearth of qualified bad guys with the requisite motivation - but simply a dearth of qualified bad guys.

What do you think? Discuss in our forum.

The best news for me is that the facts - to the extent that there are any in this angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin debate - align on my side. (The unsettling news for me is that there will be three days between when I stop writing and you start reading, leaving far too much time for me to be proven wrong in a most embarrassing way.)

Let's start with an unassailable fact: Not a single bad guy has managed to slip a bullet behind the Internet's ear in the decade or so that the commercialized 'Net has presented a tempting target for every hacker and terrorist on the planet. And it's not that the idea hasn't crossed anyone's mind. Witness this story   from Wired Magazine that carries the headline: "50 Ways to Crash the 'Net."

Note the publication date: Aug. 19, 1997.

Either the bad guys didn't read Wired back then or the 50 ways left a bit to be desired in terms of accomplishing what the headline promises.

Let's frame the matter more positively, though: I say that those toiling to stop the bad guys from killing the Internet have done a butt-kicking good job. Give them a round of applause instead of chalking it up to blind luck and the whims of criminals.