Terminal Compromise by Winn Schwartau (my reading book .txt) 📖

had never used at the

Times. “I’ll pay for it myself, and submit it all when I come

back. Then, you make the call. I’ll trust you.”

“You really think it’s that important?” Doug said.

“Absolutely. No question. Something’s going on that smells

rotten, bad, and it includes the Government, but I have no idea

how.” Scott spoke as if he was on a soapbox. He had shot his

wad. That was it. Anything more was a rehash of the same stuff

and it would have been worthless to say more. He shut up and

waited for Doug who enjoyed making his better reporters anxious

with anticipation.

“Have a good trip,” Doug said nonchalantly. He leaned forward

to hunch over his desk, and ignoring Scott, he went back to

redlining another writer’s story.

Tuesday, December 15 Scarsdale, New York

Kirk delivered on his word. In his E-Mail repository at the

Times, Scott found a message from Kirk. It was short, but all

Scott needed to hear. Never mind how Kirk broke into the comput-

ers.

Tues. 12/15 00:02:14.1 << FREEDOM BBS >>

Repo Man,

When you arrive, call 602-356. It’s an Amsterdam number. Jon

Gruptmann is your contact. I told him you were a reporter, but a

good one. I said you’re working to preserve freedom of electronic

information and you were sick and tired of the police and media

beating up on hackers. He thinks you want to give the other side

of the story to the public.

Jon is one of the best in Holland and anywhere.

He agreed to meet and talk with you himself. He will show you

around. Have a good trip. Call me, oops, no can do.

Oh, Yes. Mona Lisa frowned. I will call you.

Kirk

<< TRANSMITTED BY THE FREEDOM BBS SERVICE >>

When Scott got home from work he checked his E-mail and found the

same message from Kirk, telling him to be on the line tonight.

The Mona Lisa frowned. That meant to Scott that someone was

interested enough in Kirk’s activities, or alleged activities at

First State to break in and ruin his computers. And Da Vinci’s.

Who was so scared of hackers, or of what they knew to go to these

lengths? How many have had their computers ravaged?

As anticipated, midnight brought Kirk calling.

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 FREE-

DOM. 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 essen-

tial 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 comput-

er 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 govern-

ment 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 militari-

ly 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.

Question III. What if the Army created experimental computer

viruses and they get loose? Who is responsible for silicon based

biological warfare on desktop computers?

Question IV. Have any computer viral outbreaks actually been

Government projects gone out of control?

Question V. If the Government knew that civilian and military

computers could be systematically attacked and destroyed, why

haven’t we done anything to defend ourselves against a similar

assault?

Last month’s attack on the Stock Exchange by secret EMP-T bombs

prompted an investigation into such military capabilities, and

some surprising answers were uncovered.

In an attempt to get specific answers from various Government

agencies, I located a secretive group called OCTAG/0N. (Offensive

Computer Technology Applications Group/Zero-November). OCTAG/0N

is a highly classified interagency project whose sole function is

to develop methods to destroy or disable computers from great

distances.

According to a highly placed source at the Pentagon, OCTAG/0N

allegedly developed computer viruses that will destroy the ene-

my’s hard disks. Successful deployment, to use Pentagon-ese, is

the hard part. “If we can get at their computers,” an engineer

with OCTAG/0N said requesting anonymity, “we can stop them in-

stantly. Getting them there has been the problem. But now we

know how to get at their computers from great distances.”

In the battlefield, for example, advanced tactical communications

groups explode small Magnetic Bombs (EMP-T) which emit very

strong electromagnetic pulses at certain frequencies. The EM

pulses destroy nearby computers, (RAM, ROM, EPROM, Magnetic

storage). Some computer systems are ‘hardened’ with extra

shielding as in the Tempest program. Other computers, such as

those in Air Force One, inside missile silos, or in the Pentagon

War Room are additionally protected by the secret C3I programs

which ‘super-hardens’ the computers against the intense magnetic

pulses associated with above ground nuclear explosions.

Intensely focussed energy beams of low power can totally disrupt

an unshielded computer as far away as three miles. Synchronized

Interference Techniques provide double duty to both listen in on

and jam air borne computer traffic. One of OCTAG/0N’s pet tricks

is to broadcast a computer virus from a small antenna so that it

is caught by a computers communicating on the same frequency. So

simple, yet so devious.

In conversations with computer experts and the underground hacker

community, the existence of such high tech weaponry has been

confirmed, although the Department of Defense is still issuing a

predictable ‘no comment’.

So, I have to ask again. Why hasn’t our Government been helping

us protect ourselves against an apparently formidable computer

weapons complement? I hope “The Other Guys” aren’t so well

armed.

This is Scott Mason, adding a chastity belt to my modem.

Chapter 17 Monday, December 28 A/K/A Software by Scott Mason

The Christmas Virus is upon is. So is the anticipated New Years

Eve and New Year’s Day Virus.

Seems like wherever I look, someone is making a virus to attack

my computer or celebrate a holiday.

Rather than another rash of warnings about the impending doom and

gloom faced by your computers, my editor asked me to find the

lighter side of computer viruses. I strongly objected, stating

that I found nothing amusing about them. They were a deadly and

cowardly form of terrorism that should