Information Warfare is real and its NOW.

Amazing that one really doesn't hear that much about it, but of course banks and other hacked businesses don't like to let on that their systems have been penetrated.  Lots of trade secrets are being stolen.


Read more from the people who track this stuff:  The-changing-and-terrifying-nature-of-the-new-cyber-warfare


Don't say you weren't warned. 

Reality Apes Fiction

This week when I read about the Chinese cyber-attacks, and especially the computer security firm (Mandiant) that revealed them, I couldn't help but think of well, The Shadow Warriors, and how in  1993 (twenty years ago) I discovered that the Computer Security Conference (even then an annual one) was held at Raffles Place in Singapore, and I had an (imagined) computer security firm with a mission and employees, and I took them to Singapore and bad stuff happened, and The Shadow Warriors novel was born.   Paul Strassman gave me the idea for the software agents (shadow warriors) who roamed cyberspace causing trouble and finally began an  info war, or information warfare.  I had a character we first meet in Hong Kong named Ocho Lee, who was at the root of the trouble.  This was before Hong Kong became part of China, although if you were ever in Hong Kong, you know that it was always China and today China has become like Hong Kong, not what everyone worried about back in the day.       

Remember the domino theory?  That once the commies got their mitts on unsteady little democracies, they would all fall like dominoes.  That didn't happen, and if fact if was the Communist bloc that fell like dominoes.  How could we have had it so wrong?

But I digress.    Even in 1993 computer security was a hot topic as it is today.  This week The Boston Globe had an interesting article about the  company (Mandiant) that blew the whistle on the Chinese. Mandiant is not our government but a "digital forensics" company that protects private companies from hack attacks and information theft. Private firms playing major role against cyberattacks
Most of the Mandiant gurus are "retired intelligence and law enforcement agents who specialize in computer forensics."  I went to the website and they were all men, kind of a surprise in this day and age.  Mandiant is the Blackwater of Computer Security according to the Globe
 Mandiant Report
This is interesting stuff, and although I am no longer writing about technology (it changed faster than I could write and sell) the temptation is still there.

My ficitonal computer security company was Nemecek Associates.  Franz Nemecek was a retired one-time math professor who fled the Hungarian revolution.  Wayne Wendel  was a hacker's hacker in the MIT tradition.  Emma Lee Davis happened into computer security and is the admittedly least technical of the trio, but definitely has her nerdy moments and she functions as the project manager who doesn't have to dig down dirty into the bits and bytes.  Nemecek is assisted by various hackers, old MIT buddies of Wayne's.  This was so much fun to write about, and I have two unsold books about Emma's (and the others) adventures.  The most fun  is when  Emma and Wayne go to Burning Man and the exciting times they have on the Playa. Lots of computer geeks and gurus to go Burning Man.

If you think all this sounds like a good read, pick up a copy of The Shadow Warriors, available in trade paperback or in ebook form.  Try Amazon or Smashwords for the e-book, Amazon for the paper copy.  The author is Judith Copek, who made a huge mistake by not checking Google before she assigned the title of so many other books, games and what have you to her novel.  A mistake not to be made again.

Computer security can be exciting, even riveting, because it's the white hats against the black hats, and they're both smart and interesting.     And devious.  Always devious.     

More Battles on the InfoWar Front

Defense Department Looking to Automate Cyber Defenses

Automation is wonderful, but nothing beats a keen pair of eyes.  I'm sure the government will monitor the automation.

Read the Infowar Blog

Here is the link. Infowar Blog Lots of late-breaking news, etc.

 Assume everyone who can read has learned of the attack on GoDaddy yesterday.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Yes, Sir! Senator!

The Senate has blocked an important cybersecurity bill that would have required business and industry to beef up their security standards, especially in vulnerable infrastructures like dams, transportation and power grids.  If information warfare ever breaks out, and most experts think this is just a matter of time, it will affect all businesses, and then we will have to listen to them howl about the money they are losing.  Yet, the U.S, Chamber of Commerce screamed that the legislation would be “too burdensome” for corporations. 

From my years in IT, I learned that business never wants to spend money that won’t immediately bring in more money, and that the short term always trumps the long term.   Most CEO’s understand zilch about their vulnerability in the area of cybersecurity  and how real the threat of information warfare is.  They think the IT department, well, they should serve sales and marketing and sure, keep our data safe.  

Ask yourself how many companies have had credit card and other information stolen.  Hasn’t that been rather costly?  Wouldn’t it have been better to beef up security rather than alienate customers and suffer all the bad publicity?  Can’t they see beyond their noses?

I guess not.  For a detailed look at the Senate’s short-sightedness, here is the  link from the New York Times:

 Cybersecurity Bill Blocked

CyberSecurity: people just don't get it!

Gaaa!  After reading about the Olympic grand slam opening last night, I caught sight of a NY Times article about taking the teeth out of a CyberSecurity bill because it would be too hard (read expensive), for businesses to comply with.  Business would be the first to scream and rant if a cyber war broke out and they were brought down by infrastructure problems or a ripped-to-shreds economy.

I worked in IT for 20+ years, and believe me, business is always dragging its security heels.  I had to scream loud and long before the customer service people stopped leaving orders by the fax and copy machines, orders with the customers' credit card numbers and expiration dates.  I had to beg for a shredder for confidential information.  I had to preach and tear my hair before everyone understood that by law you could not put the credit card CVVC number on an electronic file.  I cannot tell you  how many forms used to ask for that number.  Duh!  Business is in business to do business and as the old saying goes, the devil take the hindmost.  Credit card processors are hide bound and dragged their feet for as long as possible before the fines outweighed the cost of cleaning up their act.

Business will never implement security measures because it's always more important to please the marketing department who comes up with some meatball idea that needs implementation yesterday!  Executives are mostly focused on sales, not the security infrastructure.  Someone has to mind the CyberSecurity store and right now it's looking like that someone is no one.

When the cyber war breaks out, don't blame me and don't blame your president.  Blame those who didn't want to spend a few bucks to beef up their systems:  electric grids, transportation, nuclear power plants, all those pieces of our infrastructure that may be vulnerable to cyber-attacks.  Brother can you spare a dime?  

New Book on Info War

The Art of Intelligence: lessons from a life in the CIA's Clandestine Service

Just out today!  Sounds compelling for anyone interested in our government's fight against cyber-terrorism.  

The Coming Cyber Wars

Today's Boston Globe has an interest op-ed page about cyber warfare and what the U.S. government admits and does not admit.   All the gurus on this topic agree that the cyber war will be a "when" not an "if" scenario, and of course industry is lagging behind any meaningful readiness.    As a result, the government may have to intervene to keep electric grids and the whole infrastructure safe(r).

Most people are unaware of this whole concept.  Scary, really.  If you want to read about the kind of war I'm talking about in an earlier time, a "what might have been" scenario, it's just as frightening today as it was for the fictional participants then.  And just as puzzling.  Who knew?  And today?  Who is ready?  Maybe the U.S. government, perhaps other governments, and perhaps no one is really ready.  Read about it here…

http://tinyurl.com/6yp5hsa

Advanced, Persistant Threats - Cybercrime Now

The Next Generation of Cybercrime: How it’s evolved, where it’s going.  I downloaded this from Computer World's White Pages today.  Very interesting.  APT are a form of Info Warfare.



Want to read some fictional cybercrime?  Have a Kindle?  The Shadow Warriors are lurking in the wings.

http://tinyurl.com/6yp5hsa

Another cool information warfare site!

Infowar Monitor
 The revolutions in the Middle East are also being fought on the net, Facebook and even Twitter.  In fact a Tweeter observed the raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound, wondering WTF?


The Syrians, as one might expect, have tried to usurp cyberspace for the own devious aims.  See the above link. 

Another skirmish in the Cyber War

Bringing the site down is not as dire as hacking into it would be. 



CIA Website Brought Down

Cyber War

This just in: Cyberwar, the NSA and the Internet 

Some interesting bedfellows, but then we all know that war and politics make strange bedfellows.

Information Warfare Web site

Any readers or potential readers of The Shadow Warriors might want to learn more about Information Warfare.  This is a great site that has all the latest hacks and attempted hacks.  
Information Warfare Web Site 

The info warriors have to stay on the cutting edge, no, make that the bleeding edge of technology. 

The Shadow Warriors, Auf Deutsch

“The Shadow Warriors” beschreibt Information Warfare. Hacker aus allen Winkeln der Welt, wollen entweder bösartiges Software (die Schattenkrieger des Titels) erfinden oder stehlen. Sie können Kraftwerke und den Luftverkehr stillegen, sogar die Verteidigung eines Landes in die Knie bringen. Die Handlung spielt hauptsächlich in Göttingen, aber auch in Asien und Europa, einschliesslich Berlin bevor die Mauer fiel. Dennoch sind die Gefahren heute genau so akut wie damals, wenn nicht noch grösser. Emma Lee Davis, die Heldin des Romans, beschreibt die Hackerkultur in ihrer respektlosen Stimme. Sie riskiert ihr Leben und Ehe und muss sich fragen, “wenn wir Computerverbrechen verhindern sollen, wieso helfen wir denn dabei?