The Enterprise Group - Time-Shared Executive Advisors© | The Silence, a novel by John Mariotti

The Silence, a novel by John Mariotti

A recent reader's comments about The Silence:

"I started reading over lunch on Friday, didn't get much done at work that afternoon as I spent most of my time sneaking in a chapter or two at a time. What it boils down to is that I could not put the book down until I finished it last night.

The Silence has the intrigue of John Grisham, the spice of Mickey Spillane and the technical aspects of Tom Clancy. I love the short chapters. I am anxious to read your next one."

The Silence: The story

When Jim Martini goes back to his hometown to see why the plant that supported the town failed, he finds more than a failed company. As he begins snooping around, bad things happen. Someone has other plans for the plant and its adjoining mountaintop. Jim's high school dream-girl, Anita Santo is still there, and now divorced. Jim has other plans for Anita too-if they live to enjoy them.

In China, a revolutionary group is plotting the overthrow of the Beijing government and much more. The leaders are experts in the illicit control of telecommunications and information technology, which lets them spread worm viruses to millions of computers.

The Silence is set amidst a maelstrom of advanced technology and current events. The Chinese downing of an American spy plane, the theft of secrets from US DOE National Laboratories, the buying of influence in Washington and widespread worm virus attacks like Code Red and NIMDA all seem like unrelated events, but are they? The story seems almost too bizarre to be possible-but it is.

While the US reels from the assault of al Qaeda and tries to cope with the increasingly real fear of bio-weapons, another, more insidious form of evil lurks.

Nothing works! US government leaders must confront a threat they cannot even imagine.

Set half-way around the world in Guangzhou, China and in the picturesque mountains of West Virginia, international intrigue, domestic chaos, human bravery and a tender love story are intermingled in The Silence.

The Silence: The Author

John Mariotti is a former corporate top executive. He holds two degrees in Engineering and a Ph. D. in Management. Mariotti started his career in the high-tech world of global telecommunications and computers, and retains a strong interest in technology. He lives between the Cumberland and Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. As a business author, Mariotti has written eight business books and several hundred columns and articles. He also does keynote speeches for conferences on a variety of topics.

The Silence: The Characters

® Jim Martini: born 1959 , Clean cut, nice looking, 6-1, 180 lbs, good athlete, excellent scholar, Valedictorian of high school class. Left Briggs to attend Lehigh U. where he received a B. S. in Engineering, then to Wharton (U. of Penn.) for an MBA. ; Married briefly, now divorced. No close relatives nearby. Martini-Ed (1933) Jim's father, worked at Winton, mother Mary (1935--1990) worked part-time at a day care center. Both had health problems. Heavy smokers, with a hard working life-style that led to early deaths within a couple years of each other in the early 90's when both were in their mid-late 50's.

® Joe Ragurski: born 1959, Rugged and handsome, 6-2, 200 lbs. Great athlete in high school, and a natural leader, but erratic and opinionated. Always like his beer way too much. Didn't go to college after he lost a free ride to State because of a DUI & felony conviction.

® Anita Santo Ragurski: born 1959, Thin, blue eyes, long blonde hair and a great figure. The love of Joe's life through high school. Salutatorian of their class. Married Joe right out of high school in 1977, had two beautiful kids--Ronnie and Alice. Divorced Joe after 10+ years. After the divorce, Alice left Briggs and never came back.

® Alice: The older of the two kids: born 1978, and left Briggs 1996.

® Ronnie: younger of Joe and Anita's kids, born 1979, entered military at age 18 (1997), and just returned to Briggs (2001) after a 4 year stint in military communications and intelligence.

® Karen Venn: born 1961, Married three (or is it four) times, and constantly falling in love--just not staying in love--at least not with the same man. Kampy would have gladly taken her, but she never could even see him. A knock out with great looks, whatever color her hair was that year-but often some shade of blonde.

® Marty Rients: born 1957, wife, Ethel (1956) Owner of Rients Construction Co. with brother Calvin (born 1947) since 1977 when they took it over from their father Ezekiel Rients (born 1926, died 1990).

® Billy R. Gray: born 1957, Bartender at Miller's Pub and school mate of Marty Rients, wife Emily (1957), high school sweetheart and daughter of Charley Miller who started Miller's Pub right after he came back from WWII. ;

® Clara Thompson, secretary to the law firm of Riegel (George) and Manzo (Anthony)

® Mark Aft, (born 1965) who was a partner in the public accounting company WMC has used for years. Mark is cool, polished, well dressed and a little too slippery. Rrecent assignments have been with the international division of a global accounting company and he is cockier than ever after his multiple stays in the Orient.

® Vern Baker, (born 1962) a totally unlikely H.R. V.P., but an acquaintance of Mark's from recent jobs in LA and the Orient. A big overbearing, intimidating, put down artist, who has a nasty streak and a strange sense of humor.

® Irwin Holter, Congressman from West Virginia and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and old friend of the Jim Martini from college days together.

® Bruce Doyle-owner of Gunsmiths, and an old friend of Jim's. A rough talking but a good, honest man.

® Wei Ying, Chinese Minister of Communications and Computing Technology, and the leading proponent of World Dominance in the New Guard of the Chinese government, and an underground former leader of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

® Wu Xuebaio, Senior Assistant to, and the workhorse of the New Guard's plans for World Dominance. A ruthless and unprincipled manipulator who clawed his way to the top at all costs.

® Li Zhan, Administrative Aide for the leaders of the New Guard, and trusted confidant of her brother, Huang Li. Harbors hatred of the way she is treated and a concern for the direction of her leaders, but is loyal to the death because of her fear.

® Qin Shaomin, Coordinator of Project Silence, the key leverage point for the New Guard to force the US and much of the developed world to capitulate to its demands.

® Li Huang, The ambitious young technologist who is the key person in Qin Shaomin's New Guard project team for Project Silence.

® Hou Duo, An aggressive young Chinese military communications specialist, and well trained in special forces work, who was assigned to accompany Li Huang to the US for Project Silence

® "Jimmy" Tseng, The American liaison with the New Guard assigned to assuring no interference from political or military agencies.

® "Harry" Tsui, Jimmy Tseng's henchman who does the heavy work and wet work?and anything else

® Raj Patel, a brilliant Pakistani programmer and scientist, and overall leader of the Team Silence moving to Briggs. Wife Shredev

® Raman "Ram" Najib, a part Pakistani, part Egyptian programming and transmission engineer assigned to Team Silence as its communications leader, brother Nanjah "Nicky" and his thug partner Pasha, known as "Packy"

® Bob Halter, Special Representative for the National Security Council

® Rebecca Twain, Special agent, CIA, a petite and cute agent, brown hair, brown eyes.

® John Wallace, Director, FBI Cyber-protection Unit..a well-built (6-3, 215 lbs.) intelligent, intense and technologically astute black man.

® Hal Backwith. He is the Deputy Director for Information Security over at NSA. tall, thin graying with an office-job pallor.

Other Briggs characters:

® Ben Jetters: born 1949, Union Rep. and Joe's mentor, and counselor. Widowed in 1988, and lonely since then. A bitter man with a score to settle. Short, stocky, walked with a decided limp from an accident in the plant when he was a young man, shortly after losing his wife Frances. Estranged from son Michael from that time on.

® Michael Jetters, son of Ben, trying to rebuild contact with Ben, embittered by a dishonorable military discharge, and the entire Briggs debacle, and determined to somehow "get even" with someone? newly recruited to the Team Silence as a local point man.

® Bob Bennett born 1947, Plant Manager for the long, good years, and starting into the bad ones. Solidly built, broad shoulders, an old school. Inflexible, but proud and loyal to the company and the old man. Wife, Shirley, a kind., soft spoken, traditional home maker and wife.

® Jim Gagliardi "Gags": born 1960. Banker and country club president. Slender, still, but thinning hair and sallow complexion makes him look older than his years. An old friend of Jim and Joe's, although a couple years older than us. Got Jim and some other consultants involved trying to save the plant, but too late. Just in time to share the grief. Wife: Mary Kay (born 1962), homecoming queen, cheerleader, blonde, beautiful, and knows it.

® Bob Kampenfelter (Kampy"): born 1954, Long time employee of the company. Tried hard to cause change, but his words went unheard, and unheeded. Was the CFO during the good times, and took over operations after. Bob retired early with a heart attack. Too late to save the plant, he had to supervise the shutdown. Never married.

® W. R. Winton (the old man): born 1921, The son of the founder, and the man who built Winton Manufacturing Co. into a thriving enterprise. ; Wife, Millie (1917), died (1946) when she was in her late twenties, giving birth to their third child.Annie.

® Cindy Winton (1950)

® W. R. Winton Jr. (Billy) (1952)

® Annie Winton (1954) The only one of the kids who showed any interest in the business, except as a source of money to waste, was Annie...and even in her late 30's, she was too young, inexperienced, and late to really change things, despite her degrees, and a good stint with a public accounting firm.

The Silence: The Setting

Briggs, WV...a factory town of 40,000 people tucked in the mountains of West Virgina.

Motel 8, out east of town on US Rt. 29, Broad Street, not far north of the Interstate WMC Factory, across the old Norfolk & Southern RR tracks on a 100 acre tract parallel to the tracks, between Main Street on the east and Center St. on the west, still only a few blocks from downtown just south and across the tracks.

Courthouse Square, downtown in the block formed by Main (E), Center (W), First St. (S), and Second St. (N).

McGillicuddy's, across from the courthouse on Center St.

Riegel and Manzo law offices, just a short distance west of Center on the north side of 2nd.

Miller's Pub, also on Broad St., across from motel 8 and back toward town a little.

Anita's home, in the older part of town, northwest of downtown, a couple long blocks from State Highway 135, which runs south to the interstate cloverleaf.

McCaskey's Shell, out at the interchange of the interstate and Broad St.

Wal*Mart and the Diner, just past the interstate south and on the west side of town
Devil's Knuckle Mountain just on the edge of town, and adjacent to and behind the site of the Winton Mfg. Plant.

The Silence: Press Releases

Oak Ridge, TN
June 13, 2003

"A HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS OF PROOF"

IT experts agree-Cyber-terrorist attack likely-and no one is listening!

John Mariotti's new Novel, The Silence, and MIT Technology Review's Simson Garfinkel agree that the viruses and worms attacking the Internet are more than random mischief by hackers. In The Silence, Mariotti, a former executive, spins a chilling, realistic story of a Cyber-terrorist attack that temporarily paralyzes the US.

In the May 2003 issue of Technology Review (MIT) Simson Garfinkel characterizes the continuing virus attacks as a weapons system "Proof of Concept". He asks, "what would the proof of concept demonstration for an information warfare weapon look like?" His answer, "a lot like the computer virus attacks the Internet has experienced in recent years."

"Don't count on the US Government for help," says Mariotti. "The Dept. of Homeland Security can't even keep a cyber-security czar-two have quit in a few months-in frustration that no one takes their job seriously. But nobody thought the threat of flying commercial airliners into building s was realistic-until Sept. 11, 2001."

As Garfinkel describes, new worms circulate regularly. First, Code Red and Code Red II, then NIMDA and Slammer (or Slapper), and recently, Sobig A, B & C. Each new worm exploits known IT vulnerabilities, which are plentiful. Mariotti's fictional villains use the same approach, but in coordinated attacks with evil intent. Garfinkel adds, "Even though each [worm] gained administrative privileges to alter the system they infected, none used its privileges to cause mayhem. A determined enemy would target an exploit with a really nasty payload. The proof that time could be a hundred billion dollars in damage."

Mariotti explains the threat of The Silence. "Everyone thinks of terrorists in terms of blowing things up. But what if they just interfered so that nothing worked? What if someone silenced phones, email and the Internet and took control of the computers that control cell phones, PDAs, financial markets and the Air Traffic Control System?"

"Chaos would reign," says Mariotti. "There are few things that cause panic worse than silencing all communications." Paul Broadbent, a highly ranked, now retired CIA officer comments: "The Silence is a fascinating book that gives the reader a glimpse into warfare of the future. A preview of things to come."

"THE SILENCE" Writers Showcase Press. www.thesilence.info
Paperback (ISBN 0-595-23661-8) from leading on-line booksellers:
Hardcover (ISBN: 0-595-74459-1) from www.iUniverse.com
Contact: jmariotti@chartertn.net
Media contacts: 865-607-9067

"Be Concerned. Be Very Concerned!"

A New Novel - "The Silence" - Predicts Cyber-terrorism Threat

OAK RIDGE, Tenn.,
February 18 , 2003

This headline echoes the theme of a riveting new novel, "The Silence," by John Mariotti. Why? Because attacks like the Sapphire (Slammer) worm on January 25, 2003 is exactly what "The Silence" portrays. The Sapphire Worm, the fastest in history doubled in size every 8.5 seconds; infected 90+% of vulnerable hosts within 10 minutes; achieved its full scanning rate -- 55 million scans/second -- after three minutes. Then its growth rate slowed because the Internet couldn't handle it.

"The Silence" is a work of fiction, but in it, Mariotti portrays Chinese cyber-terrorists attacking -- and silencing -- all US communications. Not only does "The Silence" accurately portray such attacks, but it also describes the technology used. Mariotti comments, "I know we're all preoccupied with Iraq, al Qaeda terrorists and North Korea, but the greatest threat is one we're ignoring: cyber-terrorism on a global scale."

Former CIA Defense Intelligence Manager, Paul Broadbent comments, "More than smart bombs and other technical advances on the battlefield, the outcome of future wars will be determined far in advance of an actual conflict. This [book] is a preview of things to come, and John Mariotti does us great service in his focus and insights on the future."

The Sapphire worm caused network outages and unforeseen consequences like canceled airline flights, interference with elections, and ATM failures. The spread of Sapphire is the first demonstration of the capabilities of high- speed worms-and this worm did not carry a malicious payload!

In "The Silence," Mariotti poses the unspoken question: What if it had been a "Weapon of Mass Disruption?" Imagine what happens then. Could it be ten minutes to 100% data loss, or 100% blocked access to infrastructure services, or business and government systems?

By comparison, Sapphire was two orders magnitude faster than the Code Red worm, which infected hundreds of thousands of computers in July, 2001. In comparison, Code Red had a leisurely doubling time of 37 minutes. It's successors Code Red II and NIMDA infected millions of computers, leaving "back doors" for future access. "Access for what purpose, and by whom?" asks Mariotti. "This is the second such attack in the past few months. Can more massive attacks launched by our nation's enemies, be far behind?"

U.S. Cyber-security czar Richard Clarke in Jan. 31 WashingtonPost.com says, "With slight modifications, the results of the worm would have been more significant. More sophisticated attacks against known vulnerabilities in cyberspace could be devastating."

In Feb. 7 AP report, President Bush signed a secret order titled "National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace," which allows, "... government to develop guidelines under which the U.S. could launch cyber-attacks against foreign computer systems." This clearly implies that cyber-warfare will be a two-way street.

Be concerned. Be very concerned! Read "The Silence" and see why.

John Mariotti has been warning about it all along

"NASHVILLE, Oct. 29 (UPI)-- The Defense Department was braced for a new onslaught of cyber attacks from Chinese hackers in May 2002. . . . The concern was serious enough that the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center put out an official warning." (UPI)
It's the kind of thing that John Mariotti has been warning about all along.
Interview him for this important story. . . .

News from:
Susannah Greenberg Public Relations
26 West 17th Street, Suit 504
New York, N.Y. 10011
Telephone 212-727-7271,
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publicity@bookbuzz.com
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WEAPONS OF MASS DISRUPTION:

The Threat Of Cyber-Terrorism

...is this another unheeded warning, like the ones before 9/11?..."Our society is increasingly relying on new information technologies and the Internet to conduct business, manage industrial activities, engage in personal communications, and perform scientific research. While these technologies allow for enormous gains in efficiency, productivity, and communications, they also create new vulnerabilities to those who would do us harm. The same interconnectivity that allows us to transmit information around the globe at the click of a mouse or push of a button also creates unprecedented opportunities for criminals, terrorists, and hostile foreign nation-states who might seek to steal money or proprietary data, invade private records, conduct industrial espionage, cause a vital infrastructure to cease operations, or engage in Information Warfare."
--Ron Dick, Director of the National Infrastructure Protection Program

NOW THAT THE ELECTIONS ARE OVER, people are once again focusing on Iraq and "weapons of mass destruction," but there's another, related story of a similar danger that gets far less attention than it deserves: Cyber-Terrorism. Those with the power to attack the Internet and our communications infrastructure possess dangerous Weapons of Mass Disruption that threaten us all. "The same interconnectivity that allows us to transmit information around the globe at the click of a mouse or push of a button also creates unprecedented opportunities for criminals, terrorists, and hostile foreign nation-states," warns Ron Dick, the Director of the federal government's National Infrastructure Protection Program.

Just ten days ago, the story broke that the Defense Department was braced for a new onslaught of cyber attacks in May 2002. "We are our own worst enemy," said Air Force Major General John Bradley, deputy commander of the Pentagon's Joint Task Force on Computer Network Operations. "The Defense Department is more vulnerable than anyone in the world." (As reported by the UPI).

But, as John Mariotti has been warning, the harrowing prospect of Chinese hackers ranging around Pentagon computers is just the tip of the iceberg. If terrorists managed to disrupt or destroy the Internet and jam or shut down worldwide electronic communications, worldwide business would screech to halt and the world's economy would go into a tail-spin. Every plane or jet would have a "terrorist" on board if terrorists or foreign agents managed to compromise the vast, computer-driven air-traffic control system. The world's transportation systems and financial markets could be brought to a stand-still. Shipping, billing, manufacturing, communication, would all shut down. Instant messages, cell-phone calls, and email would be lost in the collapse of cyberspace. Corporations and private citizens alike would be affected. Indeed, weapons that attack cyberspace and worldwide communications are Weapons of Mass Disruption that could compromise the economic and physical well-being of the entire planet.

There are many voices speaking out about the growing threat of cyber-terrorism, but they are like the voices that spoke out about plane hijackings before September 11, doomed to be ignored in the absence of a giant wake-up call to focus the world's attention on the looming danger.

John Mariotti, an accomplished non-fiction author with a background in engineering and telecommunications, has studied the threat posed to the United States and the world by cyberterrorists. In an effort to focus attention on this growing threat, and to rally the government to deal with it more effectively, John Mariotti has written a novel in which he interweaves real-world situations with technological possibilities that trigger a global turmoil of epic proportions. Ripped from tomorrow's headlines, Mariotti's book is a cautionary tale and a wake-up call. The book may be presented in the guise of "fiction," but the chilling warning it sets forth is all too real.

"We couldn't wage a war without the Internet." --Major General Bradley, Deputy Commander of the Pentagon's Joint Task Force on Computer Network Operations

In his new techno-thriller, The Silence, Mariotti masterfully weaves a tale of cyber-terrorism, plant closings and planetary upheaval as familiar technologies and evil intentions combine as tools of terror and extortion on a global scale. Real-life, current events are a vital element of the novel, making The Silence read like an investigative exposé.

The devastation of a plant closing is the origin of the story. Lax IT security, greedy capitalists, and arrogant, complacent US organizations aid the power-hungry Chinese revolutionaries. Government authorities are as helpless as the general population against the The Silence.

The recent eWeek headline reinforces the premise: "IT pros living in fear of cyber-attack." "[T]he Business Software Alliance last month said that most IT security professionals believe there will be a major cyber attack against the government in the next 12 months." Computerworld echoed the concern with its headline. "Sept. 11: A year later, online privacy and security still weak".

The premise of The Silence was also borne out in recent interviews with Richard Clarke, chairman of the president's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board. When asked about threats, he told Computerworld about the nature and potential of the threat to the nation's critical infrastructure from breaches in cybersecurity:
"There's a spectrum of threats out there, some of which we experience every day... from [individuals] who simply vandalize Web pages to those who conduct nuisance denial-of-service attacks, ...and criminals who conduct fraud and industrial espionage online. On the high end, however, you face people who potentially could conduct attacks to...stop things from working. ... it's potentially nation-states or terrorist groups. These attacks could be conducted in isolation or in conjunction with a physical attack. ... because those groups would seek to disrupt the national economy."

Says Mariotti, "The government, as usual, is moving very slowly and is vulnerable to an attack like the one described in The Silence. The recent growth of wireless/cell phone and 'always on' broadband connections via cable modems increases the risk. I hope my novel will be an enjoyable read, and will also alert the people of the US who use email and chat groups of the need to protect their systems. It is the vulnerability of Microsoft's PC dominance on millions of personal computers to viruses and worms that cyber-terrorists will capitalize on."

"Protecting cyberspace requires guarding both physical and virtual assets. The Internet is different from every other kind of critical infrastructure we want to protect.... You can keep bad guys off the property if you're protecting a building, but you can't keep people off the Internet. The biggest danger is terrorist hackers coordinating a cyberattack with an attack against a physical target.... Imagine if hackers had taken down the air traffic control system [at the same time as the Sept 11 attack]."
--Clyde Wayne Crews, Cato Institute

From the back cover:

What happens when nothing works? Jim Martini returns to his hometown to see why its major employer failed suddenly, nearly destroying the town. He finds more than a failed company. Jim risks his life to expose a conspiracy using stolen US technology to threaten America's future.

A gripping drama set in the lush mountains of West Virginia and halfway around the world in Guangzhou, China. The Silence describes how known technologies and evil intentions become tools of extortion on a global scale.

The Silence will certainly have you reaching for the phone or e-mail to contact loved ones ---if anything still works!

A Print-On-Demand book, available from major booksellers. ISBN: 0595236618. Paperback, 1st ed., 418pp. Publisher: Writer's Showcase Press.

For further information and related stories, visit: www.thesilence.info

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Susannah Greenberg Public Relations
26 West 17th Street, Suit 504
New York, N.Y. 10011
Telephone 212-727-7271,
or send email to: publicity@bookbuzz.com
For Related Information: http://bookbuzz.com

Novel Describes Real Threat of Cyber-Terrorist Attack

A cautionary tale, ripped from tomorrow's headlines!

Attention: Journalist/Producer News Story/ Feature/ Show Idea Please notify us if you plan to use this story. Clippings appreciated (send to above address)

"Our society is increasingly relying on new information technologies and the Internet to conduct business, manage industrial activities, engage in personal communications, and perform scientific research. While these technologies allow for enormous gains in efficiency, productivity, and communications, they also create new vulnerabilities to those who would do us harm. The same interconnectivity that allows us to transmit information around the globe at the click of a mouse or push of a button also creates unprecedented opportunities for criminals, terrorists, and hostile foreign nation-states who might seek to steal money or proprietary data, invade private records, conduct industrial espionage, cause a vital infrastructure to cease operations, or engage in Information Warfare."
--Ron Dick, Director of the National Infrastructure Protection Program

In the tradition of Tom Clancy techno-thrillers like Debt of Honor (a story of international intrigue that eerily concludes with a plane crashing into the U.S. Capitol), John Mariotti has written a harrowing cautionary tale of the nearly unimaginable dangers of a terrorist attack on the world's information infrastructure. The book may be fiction --for now-- but the threats it outlines and brings to light are not just the product of a gifted fiction writer's knack for telling a page-turning story: They are a call for action in the war against terrorism.

"The same interconnectivity that allows us to transmit information around the globe at the click of a mouse or push of a button also creates unprecedented opportunities for criminals, terrorists, and hostile foreign nation-states," says Ron Dick, the Director of the federal government's National Infrastructure Protection Program. In Mariotti's new techno-thriller, The Silence, the dangers become all too real. Mariotti masterfully weaves a tale of cyber-terrorism, plant closings and planetary upheaval as known technologies and evil intentions combine as tools of terror and extortion on a global scale. Current events are part of the novel, making The Silence read like a cross between a fictional story and an investigative exposé.

John Mariotti, an accomplished non-fiction author with an engineering background and telecommunications experience, uses his first novel to interweave real-world situations with technological possibilities that trigger a global turmoil of epic proportions.
The recent eWeek headline reinforces the premise: "IT pros living in fear of cyber-attack." "[T]he Business Software Alliance last week said that most IT security professionals believe there will be a major cyber attack against the government in the next 12 months." Computerworld echoed the concern with its headline. "Sept. 11: A year later, online privacy and security still weak".

The premise of The Silence was also borne out in recent interviews with Richard Clarke, chairman of the president's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board. When asked about threats, he told Computerworld about the nature and potential of the threat to the nation's critical infrastructure from breaches in cybersecurity. "There's a spectrum of threats out there, some of which we experience every day... from [individuals] who simply vandalize Web pages to those who conduct nuisance denial-of-service attacks, ...and criminals who conduct fraud and industrial espionage online. On the high end, however, you face people who potentially could conduct attacks to...stop things from working. ... it's potentially nation-states or terrorist groups. These attacks could be conducted in isolation or in conjunction with a physical attack. ... because those groups would seek to disrupt the national economy."

Says Mariotti, "The government, as usual, is moving very slowly and is vulnerable to an attack like the one described in The Silence. The recent growth of wireless/cell phone and 'always on' broadband connections via cable modems increases the risk. I hope my novel will be an enjoyable read, and will also alert the people of the US who use email and chat groups of the need to protect their systems. It is the vulnerability of Microsoft's PC dominance on millions of personal computers to viruses and worms that cyber-terrorists will capitalize on."

John Mariotti is a former corporate top executive. He holds two degrees in Engineering. Mariotti started his career in the high-tech world of global telecommunications and computers, and retains a strong interest in technology. He lives between the Cumberland and Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. As a business author, Mariotti has written eight business books and several hundred columns and articles. He also does keynote speeches for conferences on a variety of topics.
"Protecting cyberspace requires guarding both physical and virtual assets. The Internet is different from every other kind of critical infrastructure we want to protect.... You can keep bad guys off the property if you're protecting a building, but you can't keep people off the Internet. The biggest danger is terrorist hackers coordinating a cyberattack with an attack against a physical target.... Imagine if hackers had taken down the air traffic control system [at the same time as the Sept 11 attack]." --Clyde Wayne Crews, Cato Institute.

From the back cover:
What happens when nothing works? Jim Martini returns to his hometown to see why its major employer failed suddenly, nearly destroying the town. He finds more than a failed company. Jim risks his life to expose a conspiracy using stolen US technology to threaten America's future.

But the US government is busy fighting the "War on Terrorism" around the globe. This leaves it to Jim, his hometown friends and a small team of FBI, CIA and NSA agents to deal with the most chilling threat of all- The Silence.
A gripping drama set in the lush mountains of West Virginia and halfway around the world in Guangzhou, China. The Silence describes how known technologies and evil intentions become tools of extortion on a global scale.

The Silence will certainly have you reaching for the phone or e-mail to contact loved ones ---if anything still works!

A Print-On-Demand book, available from major booksellers. ISBN: 0595236618. Paperback, 1st ed., 418pp. Publisher: Writer's Showcase Press
For further information and related stories, visit: www.thesilence.info

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Susannah Greenberg
Susannah Greenberg Public Relations
Phone 212-727-7271, Fax 212-208-4629
E-mail: publicity@bookbuzz.com

New Novel Describes Chilling Threat, Realistic Setting

Oak Ridge, TN, August 13, 2002

Panic would spread across the US like wildfire if the events described in John Mariotti’s new novel The Silence were to actually happen. Imagine the reaction of the public and government officials if all electronic communications were “silenced” at one time—and this “silence” was controlled by a foreign power with evil intentions.

In the tradition of Tom Clancy techno-thrillers, Mariotti weaves a contemporary tale of cyber-terrorism, plant closings and the human reactions. The Silence describes how known technologies and evil intentions can be used as tools of terror and extortion on a global scale. Current and recent past events are parts of the novel, making The Silence read like a cross between a fictional story and an investigative expose’.

The devastation of small towns by plant closings forms the basis for the story. Lax info-tech security, greedy capitalists, and arrogant, complacent US organizations aid the power-hungry Chinese revolutionaries. Government authorities are as helpless as the general population in the face of The Silence. The human-interest element grounds The Silence in a reality that makes its premise all the more frightening.

John Mariotti, an accomplished non-fiction author, uses his first novel to interweave real-world situations with technological possibilities that would trigger global turmoil of epic proportions.

The recent headline in eWeek reinforces the novel’s premise: "IT pros living in fear of cyber-attack". “…the Business Software Alliance last week said that most IT security professionals believe there will be a major cyber attack against the government in the next 12 months.”

The Silence may not keep you up all night—but it will certainly have you reaching for the phone or e-mail to contact loved ones—if anything still works!

The Silence will be out in the summer 2002-and available at all major booksellers. See more at http://thesilence.info starting August, 2002.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Susannah Greenberg
Susannah Greenberg Public Relations
Phone 212-727-7271, Fax 212-208-4629
E-mail: publicity@bookbuzz.com

New John Mariotti novel poses a question: “What Happens when Nothing Works”?

Oak Ridge, TN, August 13, 2002

What if all forms of electronic communications were “silenced” at once? This is exactly the frightening prospect posed by the new novel, The Silence, by John Mariotti. US government authorities are temporarily helpless as panic spreads. Evil forces are using global extortion to exact a frightening toll.

The Silence starts with the human pain and suffering of a small-town plant closing, and spreads quickly around the world—to China and Pakistan—where the plot unfolds. Real world situations and current technologies add chilling credibility to The Silence. Mariotti takes readers from human interest to the global power struggle and back again.

A maelstrom of current events is woven through the book, giving the reader a sense that is it—or could be—happening right now. Government agencies struggle with multiple threats, lack of coordination and then, a total communications blackout.

Far less deadly than the attacks of 9/11, yet infinitely more disruptive, The Silence poses the question: “What happens when nothing works?” In the tradition of Tom Clancy techno-thrillers, John Mariotti weaves a contemporary story of cyber-terrorism, plant closings and the human reactions that result.

The recent headline in eWeek reinforces the novel’s premise clearly: "IT pros living in fear of cyber-attack". “…the Business Software Alliance last week said that most IT security professionals believe there will be a major cyber attack against the government in the next 12 months.”

The Silence may not keep you up all night—but it will certainly have you reaching for the phone or e-mail to contact loved ones—if anything still works!

The Silence will be out in the summer 2002-and available at all major booksellers. See more at http://thesilence.info starting August, 2002.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Susannah Greenberg
Susannah Greenberg Public Relations
Phone 212-727-7271, Fax 212-208-4629
E-mail: publicity@bookbuzz.com

New Novel Merges Technology & Current Events

Oak Ridge, TN, August 13, 2002

What if a small group of revolutionaries has been stealing technology and sowing the seeds of a plan to silence all forms of electronic communications? Could stolen US technologies be combined with worldwide Internet attacks by Worms and viruses to disable or control global networks?

John L. Mariotti’s new novel The Silence poses—and answers such questions—with chilling realism. Starting with the human pain and suffering of a small town plant closing, The Silence reaches halfway around the world to Guangzhou, China to expose a global conspiracy. Using current, known technologies, a small group of Chinese revolutionaries plans to bring the world’s most powerful country to its knees.

Far less deadly than the attacks of 9/11, yet infinitely more disruptive, The Silence poses—and answers—the question: “What happens when nothing works?” In the tradition of Tom Clancy techno-thrillers, John Mariotti weaves a contemporary story of cyber-terrorism, plant closings and the human reaction.

The Silence may not keep you up all night—but it will certainly have you reaching for the phone or e-mail to contact loved ones—if anything still works!

The Silence will be out in the summer 2002-and available at all major booksellers. See more at http://thesilence.info starting August, 2002.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Susannah Greenberg
Susannah Greenberg Public Relations
Phone 212-727-7271, Fax 212-208-4629
E-mail: publicity@bookbuzz.com

New Novel Warns of Impending Threat

Oak Ridge, TN, August 13, 2002

John Mariotti is sending Americans a warning with his new novel The Silence. Beware of the security gaps in your modern computer-based communications network! It is dangerously vulnerable to cyber-terrorist attacks.

Rachel Carson’s novel The Silent Spring alerted America to imminent environmental damage half a century ago. Now, Mariotti, an accomplished business author and former executive, uses a fictional novel to warn of the imminent threats to the world’s modern communications, its information infrastructure, and its very way of life.

The threat in The Silence is fictional, but as Mariotti puts it, it is really more of a “factional” novel, merging current events, known technology and evil intentions in a gripping story. The Worm viruses and other technologies used by the revolutionaries in the book are based on real technical information and known security breaches.

Readers will ask what they can do to help prevent such a cyber-attack. Mariotti’s answer is first, believe that the threat is real and the danger imminent. Reading The Silence will alert readers to some of the dangers. Mariotti hopes that readers of the book will spread the word of it via forwarded e-mail endorsements.

If enough people read The Silence, and react to the risks described in it, then existing network security resources can be used to thwart such attacks. By creating a concerted effort, Mariotti hopes to emulate Carson’s results—a massive campaign to avoid the undesirable consequences described in the story.

As Mariotti says, “At the very least, I hope The Silence will be an interesting and enjoyable read. But what I really hope is that it will galvanize thousands of people to take precautions, and even alert government leaders to the imminent danger. Our future, and that of our children could depend on it.”

The Silence will be out in the summer 2002-and available at all major booksellers. See more at http://thesilence.info starting August, 2002.

The Silence: Technology & Current news item

"The concerns that bring you to this Institute - computer security and threats to information assets - are of central importance to us all. A few years ago, these conferences were quite rare. "Worms" and "viruses" were described in biology textbooks, not police reports. Today terms like these bring to mind crashed networks, massive disruptions in communications and infrastructure systems, and billions of dollars in damages."--US Attorney General John Ashcroft, May 2001 http://www.cybercrime.gov/
"Widespread Software May Disrupt Web Tonight" The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internet security organizations urged operators of business-type computers to prepare for a digital onslaught tonight, when the virus-like "Code Red" software was expected to spread so rapidly that it may disrupt the Internet on a global scale. The extraordinary warning came from grou0ps led by the FBI's cyberprotection unit, the National Infrastructure Protection Center?.The FBI?urged computer operators to install a repairing patch for software from Microsoft Corp called Internet Information Server, which runs about six million Web sites. --The Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2001
"Code Red Is Studied for Clues to Its Origin, Possible Tie to Older Virus"
"?the hunt is on for Patient Zero, or the first victim. ?it is nearly identical to another piece of rogue software that fizzled after an unsuccessful attack on a US Dept. of Energy research laboratory in April. ?The earliest version of Code Red, first discovered July 13, vandalized each victim's Web site with the message "Hacked by Chinese!" And three of the computers known to be spreading the infection earliest were inside China. --The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 6, 2001
"Tech Skirmish: Energy-Saving Light Bulbs Mar Satellite Radio"
"The microwave-powered bulbs, substitutes for conventional bulbs, emit radio waves that interfere with another hot technology: satellite radio. ?paying subscribers may hear static-or silence-if they drive within a mile of highways lit by the bulbs." --The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 6, 2001
"Son of Code Red? New Worm Brings New Risks to Web"
A new week, a new worm? ?The new worm-called Code Red II-potentially poses more danger than Code Red does. Both spread through a patchable security hole in Microsoft Corp.'s IIS server software. But the new worm creates a back door in systems so a hacker can get in and tinker later. --Investor's Business Daily, Aug. 7, 2001
"Nimda worm latest to target Internet users"
Attorney General John Ashcroft warned computer users about a new Internet threat that could slow the global network worse than the "Code Red" worm that struck earlier this summer. ?"There is no evidence at this time which links this infection with the terrorist attack of last week" ?"Efforts to isolate and track the worm were hampered by the swiftness of the attack, said Vincent Gullotto, head anti-virus researcher for McAfee.com. "It's taken down entire sites; I can't even get to the Internet right now."--Associated Press, Sept. 19, 2001
"NIMDA Gives Intruders Administrator Privileges"
?experts from Exodus Communications believe the NIMDA virus is designed not just to compromise computer systems, but to take over and manipulate them in the long run. ?it's aware of the Trojan horse left by Code Red variants, and looks for it on systems. If it finds the Trojan horse, it will activate it and use it to infect that system. --Interactive Week, Sept. 19, 2001
E-BOMB--In the blink of an eye, electromagnetic bombs could throw civilization back 200 years. And terrorists can build them for $400.
The next Pearl Harbor will not announce itself with a searing flash of nuclear light or with the plaintive wails of those dying of Ebola or its genetically engineered twin. You will hear a sharp crack in the distance. ?Fluorescent lights and television sets will glow eerily bright, despite being turned off. The aroma of ozone mixed with smoldering plastic will seep from outlet covers as electric wires arc and telephone lines melt. ?Your computer and every bit of data on it will be toast. ?The background music of civilization, the whirl of internal-combustion engines, will have stopped. Save a few diesels, engines will never start again. You, however will remain unharmed. This is not a hypothetical, son-of-Y2K scenario. It is a realistic assessment of the damage the Pentagon believes could be inflicted by a new generation of weapons-E-bombs.--Popular Mechanics, Sept. 2001
"Hardening The Net's Defenses"
"The number of vulnerabilities in and attacks against the Internet's infrastructure is growing at an alarming rate. Every week seems to bring a new and more diabolical worm or virus."--Todd Spangler, Interactive Week, Oct. 8, 2001.
"Telco on the frontline"
"[the damage from 9/11]? underscores the vulnerability of the modern telecom network, a vast jumble of copper and fiber lines, wireless transmitters, and computers operated by many different phone companies."--Stephanie Mehta, Fortune Oct. 15, 2001
"Computer experts say terrorism, cyber-attack could be combined"
"Computer experts asked Congress Wednesday to imagine a terrorist assault that combines the massive destruction of Sept. 11 with a simultaneous cyber-attack. Cyber-security expert Terry Benzel?raised chilling "what if" scenarios as she and her experts called for a crash research effort to protect computers against a terrorist attack. ?"What is terrorists were able to impact our communications system, thus hampering the rescue and recovery efforts?" --Associated Press, Oct. 11, 2001
"Web Experts See No Simple Security Answers"
"This type of attack on our information-technology infrastructure will be more frequent and more virulent." -John Gilligan, US Air Force acting chief information officer. --The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 11, 2001
"Fear along the firewall"
"A terrorist could collapse the telecommunications nets. This is an area about which the industry is completely unaware." --FAA Administrator Langhorne Bond
"Several years ago, a Russian firm, AviaConversia, offered a $45,000 device not much bigger than a pack of cigarettes, that could disrupt satellite signals over a 150-mile radius. ?a simpler one can be constructed with $500 worth of Radio Shack parts." ?
"The most devastating scenarios we look at today that are not chemical, biological or radiological tend to be cyber attacks. You can have a greater impact using fewer resources, and you have a greater certainty of not being apprehended." --Neil Livingstone, CEO, Global Options (risk-management firm that employs former FBI and Navy SEAL veterans)
--Fortune, Oct. 15, 2001.
"Preparing for a Cyber-Assault"
Future worms could have "sleeper" commands that would coordinate widespread activation of the virus with a conventional terrorist attack.--Business Week, Oct. 22, 2001
"Guarding against cyberterrorism"
"One of the things that terrorists can do with absolute impunity is cyberintrusions." --John Powers, former executive director of President Clinton's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection. "This blended threat is going to be the wave of the future. You're not going to be easily able to diagnose the attack and stop it." -Rob Clyde, CTO of Symantec. --InfoWorld, Oct. 22, 2001
CONVENTION ON CYBERCRIME, Budapest, Hungary, 23 November 2001
The member states of the Council of Europe and thirty-one other States (countries) of the world concluded the Convention on Cybercrime and published a 25-page document containing the resolutions of this council.
Within that document, one paragraph is a single lengthy sentence that reads as follows:
"Convinced that the present Convention is necessary to deter action directed against the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of computer systems, networks and computer date as well as the misuse of such systems, networks and data by providing for the criminalisation of such conduct, as described in this Convention, and the adoption of powers sufficient for effectively combating such criminal offences, by facilitating their detection, investigation and prosecution at both the domestic and international levels and by providing arrangements for fast and reliable international cooperation."
More information about this Convention can be found at:
http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Projets/Finalcybercrime.htm
"?viruses followed in the footsteps of the first modern worm-Melissa, which struck in may 2000-and built on it with so-called blended threats. Code Red, for instance, defaced Web servers and installed a distributed-denial-of-service client. But NIMDA attacked in different ways; through e-mail, infected Web pages, shared network drives and infected files."--eWeek, Dec. 31, 2001
"In CyberSpace: Finding Hidden Messages
Seemingly innocuous e-mails sent and received by terminals in public libraries are virtually impossible to monitor, despite millions of dollars spent on worldwide electronic eavesdropping systems like the super-secret Echelon? the sheer volume of e-mail sent today makes it difficult to analyze all the data collected. ?Even if intercepted, messages can be impossible to decipher if encrypted. ?there are ways to hide text inside a picture, audio or video file. ?Easy to use, drag-and-drop steganography software is widely available on the Internet?--Popular Science, Dec. 2001
"Will Spyware Work?"
"Even the most sophisticated intelligence paraphernalia still can't guarantee success when pitted against the malevolent combination of human ingenuity and capacity for evil." ? "While agencies theoretically cooperate, especially since September 11, there is no centralized information system to compare and contrast data collected among them. - MIT Technology Review, Kevin Hogan, Dec. 2002
"Networking the Infrastructure"
"[re; terrorism after the 9/11 attacks] One prediction that security experts can make is that the next attack probably won't resemble the last one."--MIT Technology Review, Wade Roush, Dec. 2001
"Right now I don't think it's possible to be too worried?" [about safeguarding systems] --Weston Nicolls, former NSA (National Security Agency) executive, now Chief Information Security Officer for Telenisus Corp. Inc. January 2002.
"Once you're attacked is not the time to think about how to respond,?"--Mark Schertler, VP, Primitive Logic reported by Anne Stuart in Inc. magazine, January 2000.
"Worm Watchers"
"Code Red II and Nimda, just two of the new automated menaces (both technically worms, rather than viruses) now infecting millions of computer networks. ?such attacks can't be prevented entirely?and can infect networks without anybody noticing. Code Red II scans the Internet for vulnerable Web servers and creates "back doors" that allow hackers to control servers remotely, to date causing $2 billion worth of server downtime and Internet traffic jams. Nimda spreads automatically via shared files, Web pages, e-mail and other routes. Infected computers can be cleaned, but the worms spread with such speed and in such volume that networks can grind to a halt." --MIT Technology Review, Jan.-Feb. 2002
"Microsoft said last month that Windows XP suffers from serious problems that allow hackers to steal or destroy a victim's data files or implant rogue computer software across the Internet. The glitches were unusually serious because they allow hackers to seize control of all Windows XP operating systems software without requiring a computer user to do anything except connect to the Internet."--From wire news reports --Associated Press, January 4, 2002
"Programmers Could Thwart Hacker Attacks With Smarter Software"
"?the glitch in a messaging system [AOL Instant Messenger] used by more than 100 million worldwide shows how serious the problem is. ? Somebody could have completely taken over those machines. ? Basically anything that the user could do by sitting at that machine, a hacker can do from that machine in an anonymous way." --Avi Rubin, Principal Researcher, AT&T Labs. --Investors Business Daily, Jan. 22. 2002
"A packet bounce attack"
"?these flooding packets were coming from the Internet's core routers. Our own ISP's routers were 'attacking us' as were routers of other large ISPs, a few of the main DNS root servers, and many of the web servers belonging to Yahoo.com. ?none of these servers were compromises?.the author of the attack had falsified the source of the initial packets so they seemed to come from [our] own IP address." -Steve Gibson, Gibson Research, --InfoWorld, , Jan. 28. 2002.
"We're behind the curve in keeping up with the global telecommunications revolution,?"--Michael Hayden, National Security Agency Director on CBS's 60-Minutes, Feb. 2001
"Computer Viruses Strike More Often"
"An exhaustive annual survey shows another jump in the spread of computer viruses, and security experts see the problem evolving in some new directions. ?ICSA labs experienced 1.2 million incidents involving malicious computer code on 666,327 computers during the 20-month period that ended Aug. 31. ?"The most-damaging virus of 2001, known as Nimda, broke out after the survey had begun, so the disaster numbers are probably understated. ?"The world is getting worse. ?You are getting more and more out of control. ?There are futuristic attacks we can't talk about that don't even require scripting." --Peter Tippett, TruSecure CTO,---The Wall Street Journal, Mar. 4, 2002.
"Cyber security on foreigners to tighten"
"Analysts have long warned about lax security in government computer systems. 'These [software] systems are wide open', said Ed Yourdon, and independent expert in technology security policy." --Los Angeles Times, Charles Piller, March 8, 2002
"Things will continue to get worse for the foreseeable future. Systems are getting more complex faster than they are getting more secure."--Bruce Schneier, Chief Technology Officer, Counterpane Internet Security
"Special Report//Security"
"In July [2001], one month after Microsoft announced a vulnerability in Internet Information Server 4.0 and Internet Information Services 5.0, Code Red, self-propagating malicious code, is released and begins to exploit IIS-enabled systems. In early August [2001], the Code Red II worm, exploiting the same vulnerabilities, appears. ?The W32/Nimda worm, taking advantage of the back doors left behind by the Code Red II worm, is the first to propagate itself via several methods, including e-mail, network shares and an infected Web site. The worm spreads from client to Web server by scanning for back doors." ; --Symantec Corp., CERT, eWeek reporting in eWeek, March 25, 2002
"We're seeing an intersection between terrorists focusing on infrastructure and their use of Internet-based attacks to do so. Alan Paller, director of research at SANS, --eWeek, March 25, 2002
"Computer Security Students Now Funded"
"Officials warned it would be only a matter of time before terrorists learned to exploit vulnerabilities in major systems, from air traffic and banking to spacecraft navigation and defense. --Associated Press, Matthew Fordahl
"Disaster Prevention Strategies"
"A recent survey of 300 companies in 25 countries by Riptech, a provider of security services, found that attackers per company increased by 79% between July 2001 and Dec. 2001. ?Last year, the researchers estimate that companies lost just under $15 billion due to computer viruses alone. ? In fact, many of today's most sophisticated worms, viruses, and Trojan horses are spread inadvertently by employees working through existing firewalls using instant messaging software or music file-sharing sites." --Insert to Baseline, Spring 2002.
"Many Hacked Corporations Keep Quiet"
"Most large corporations and government agencies have been attacked by computer hackers, but they frequently do not inform authorities of the breaches, an FBI survey finds. ?90% of respondents detected computer security breaches but only 34% reported these attacks to authorities." ; --Associated Press, , D. Ian Hopper, April 7, 2002

The Silence: Related Web Sites

The Silence, a novel by John Mariotti

The Silence: The story

The Silence: The Author

The Silence: The Characters

The Silence: The Setting

The Silence: Press Releases

"A HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS OF PROOF"

IT experts agree-Cyber-terrorist attack likely-and no one is listening!

"Be Concerned. Be Very Concerned!"

A New Novel - "The Silence" - Predicts Cyber-terrorism Threat

John Mariotti has been warning about it all along

WEAPONS OF MASS DISRUPTION:

The Threat Of Cyber-Terrorism

From the back cover:

Novel Describes Real Threat of Cyber-Terrorist Attack

A cautionary tale, ripped from tomorrow's headlines!

New Novel Describes Chilling Threat, Realistic Setting

New John Mariotti novel poses a question: “What Happens when Nothing Works”?

New Novel Merges Technology & Current Events

New Novel Warns of Impending Threat

The Silence: Technology & Current news item

The Silence: Related Web Sites

The Silence: Where to buy it

Hardcopy:

Telling It Like It Is!

Navigate:

News Articles
© John L. Mariotti

Contact Us

AMAZON.COM

The Silence, a novel by John Mariotti

The Silence: The story

The Silence: The Author

The Silence: The Characters

The Silence: The Setting

The Silence: Press Releases

"A HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS OF PROOF"

IT experts agree-Cyber-terrorist attack likely-and no one is listening!

"Be Concerned. Be Very Concerned!"

A New Novel - "The Silence" - Predicts Cyber-terrorism Threat

John Mariotti has been warning about it all along

WEAPONS OF MASS DISRUPTION:

The Threat Of Cyber-Terrorism

From the back cover:

Novel Describes Real Threat of Cyber-Terrorist Attack

A cautionary tale, ripped from tomorrow's headlines!

New Novel Describes Chilling Threat, Realistic Setting

New John Mariotti novel poses a question: “What Happens when Nothing Works”?

New Novel Merges Technology & Current Events

New Novel Warns of Impending Threat

The Silence: Technology & Current news item

The Silence: Related Web Sites

The Silence: Where to buy it

Hardcopy:

Telling It Like It Is!

Navigate:

News Articles© John L. Mariotti

Contact Us

AMAZON.COM

News Articles
© John L. Mariotti