Terminal compromise by Winn Schwartau

Author:Winn Schwartau [Schwartau, Winn]
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science fiction
ISBN: 9780585151861
Publisher: Champaign, Ill. (P.O. Box 2782, Champaign 61825) : Project Gutenberg, [199-?]
Published: 2010-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

WE'RE GOING AFTER THEM

After who?

FREEDOM. NEMO AND SOME PHREAKS PHRIENDS ARE GOING TO FIND OUT

WHAT'S GOING ON.

What's wrong?

DID YOU EVER TALK TO ANYONE AND FEEL THAT THINGS WEREN'T QUITE

RIGHT?

Sure.

WELL SO DO I. DA VINCI IS A STRAIGHT WHITE HAT HACKER. I HAD

HIM CHECKED OUT BY PHRIENDS. THEN I CALLED FREEDOM AND JOINED

UP. I GAVE THEM A BUNCH OF SOFTWARE AND I TOOK SOME. I ASKED TO

CHAT WITH THE SYSOP AND WE'VE BEEN TALKING DAILY. STRANGE GUY. Strange? Over a computer?

YOU CAN TELL. HE SPOKE WITH AN ACCENT.

You're putting me on.

REALLY. EVER READ A VCR MANUAL TRANSLATED FROM THE JAPANESE?

THEY LEAVE OUT THE the's FROM EVERYTHING. IT HAS AN ACCENT. AND

THE WORD DUDE ESPECIALLY UPSET HIM.

Dude? Good reason to be suspicious.

THEN I HACKED HIS SYSTEM WHEN I KNEW HE WASN'T ON LINE. JUST TO

LOOK AROUND MIND YOU.

How can you do that?

BBS'S ONLY COME IN SO MANY FLAVORS. THEY'RE PRETTY EASY TO

CRACK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A COPY TO WORK ON.

Ah hah!

I FOUND HUGE AREAS OF HIS COMPUTER NOT ASSIGNED TO THE BBS. So?

A BBS COMPUTER IS DEDICATED TO ONE FUNCTION, BBS'ING. SO I POKED

AROUND AND FOUND ANOTHER COMPLETE BBS SYSTEM, NOT PART OF FREEDOM. TOO MUCH WAS ENCRYPTED, THOUGH, TO LEARN MUCH. BUT WE

WILL.

Don't get yourself into hot water again . . .

NOT TO WORRY. I'LL BECOME ONE OF THEM. PLAY THEIR GAMES. IT'S

EASY TO BE ANYONE YOU WANT. I WANT TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON BEHIND

THE SCENES. SHOULDN'T TAKE LONG.

* * * * *

Friday, December 18

New York

U.S. Army on Virus Vigil!

by Scott Mason

In July of 1990, the United States Army joined the inner sanctum of the Computer Hacker.

The Pentagon had finally realized that the computer is as essential to battlefield operations and communications as is the gun and the radio.

Therefore, as the logic goes, why shouldn't the computers be directly attacked as are other military targets. In keeping with that line of thinking, the Army said, use computer viruses. Viruses are those little gremlins which roam throughout a computer system, hiding themselves in silicon gulches, waiting to ambush mountains of megabytes and erase deserts of data. Perfect for modern warfare.

The Army issued an RFP, (Request For Proposal) asking the private sector to study and design computer viruses and other methods to be used offensively against enemy computers. The half million dollar contract was awarded to a Beltway Bandit, a small government sub-contractor so named for their proximity to Interstate 495, which loops around Washington, D.C.

So, the Army is going into the hacking business, but this brings up quite a few questions.

Question I. How long has the Government known that computer viruses and other maladies could be used in a strategic militarily offensive fashion? RFP's are always preceded by much internal research and consultation with private industry. The Government typically will have issued RFI's, (Requests For Information) and RFQ's (Request For Quotes) and already have a darn good idea of what's available and from whom.

Question II. Has the Government already sponsored such research?

The existence of the EMP-T Bomb has created quite a furor.

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