Written by Connor Bouffard
Due to the banning of thinking machines in the Dune universe, computers and computer networks do not exist. As mentioned in chapter 3, the network that Dune relies on in order to spread and store information is face to face communication between individuals. People are physically required to travel from place to place in order for any form of data to be transferred. In this way, the network of Dune is much more limited in terms of size and speed, but with that comes a much more secure network.
The limited size of the network of Dune comes from the fact that in order to become part of the network of information, someone needs to specifically tell you the information. The small size of the network also means that there are very few access points into the network. Very specific people need to be targeted, and they need to willingly tell the information in order to allow someone new into the network. With the requirement of face-to-face communication, the chance of someone accidentally leaking important information, or bad agents reaching data that they should not have access to is significantly decreased.
This however, does not entirely eliminate this possibility. In the Dune universe, spies and eavesdropping are the equivalent of hackers on Earth. On Earth, hackers try to gain access to private information by tapping into streams of data or databases. The Dune equivalent of this is, purposefully or not, overhearing private conversations. For example, when Paul overhears his mother talking with the Bene Gesserit about how he may be The One. To combat this, measures have been developed such as the silence field that prevent anyone outside of it from hearing the conversation, stopping any nearby persons from acquiring private knowledge. As well, moles and double agents can act as malware, not only wasting the resources of one side, but also collecting information for the other. We see this with the betrayal of Doctor Yueh, who is able to use his inside knowledge of the system to render the Duke of house Atreides completely helpless during the Harkonnen attack.
Even though Dune does not have a computer network in the traditional sense, their network of information is still a highly important part of their society. While their much more analog way of dispersing information does lead to a much more secure network of communications, it is still not completely safe. Precautions still need to be put in place to ensure complete protection of private information and the people who have it.