The first call Homosoto made was to Ahmed Shah in his Columbia University office. Ahmed responded with his PRG code as the computer requested.
[[[CONNECTION]]]
GOOD YOU ARE THERE.
I can't get too far without my man-servant.
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR INVALUABLE ASSISTANCE. HE IS DEAD?
Yes. It took two martyrs, one is being tortured by the FBI, but he has Allah to guide him.
GOOD. CAN YOU DO MORE?
I am at your disposal. This is not the war I expected, but I serve Allah's will, and he is using you as his instrument of revenge.
THE BANK CARDS. THEY ARE FOR YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE TO FUND YOUR EFFORTS.
You speak strangely. Is something wrong?
NO, EVERYTHING IS ACCORDING TO PLAN. I EXPECT YOU WILL FULFILL MY WISHES.
Of course, that is the arrangement. But what has changed?
NOTHING. I AM FULFILLING MY DESTINY.
As am I.
THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND.
* * * * *
Alexander Spiradon relaxed in his Alpine aerie home overlooking the hilly suburbs of Zurich while watching a satellite feed of the Simpson's on his TV. He found that he learned American colloquialisms best from American television. They brutalized the language under the guise of entertainment. During a commer- cial for 'The Quicker Picker Upper', his computer announced a call.
He put the VCR on Quick-Record and sat at his Compaq Deskpro com- puter watching the screen display the incoming identification.
[[[AUTOCRYPT CONVERSATION]]]
[PRG RESPONSE?]
Alex entered the code displayed on his personal identification card.
G4-YU7-%T64-666.009
[ACCEPTED]
Alex figured it was Homosoto since this was a very private com- puter. His other computer, an AST 386SX with 330 MB of storage was the one his recruits called with reports. The 25 Sir George's of his army called twice a day. Once to get their assignments and once to send him the results of their efforts.
They didn't have to call long distance, though, and never knew that Alex ran his part of Homosoto's operation from Europe. Sir George and his hidden compatriots used their untraceable cellular phones and merely called a local phone number within their area code. Alex's communications group had set up a widely diverse network of call forwarding telephones to make tracing the calls impossible. They exploited all of the common services that helped make his and Homosoto's armies invisible.
MR ALEX.
Yes, sir.
THE TIME HAS COME.
So soon?
YES. MONDAY IS GROUNDHOG DAY.
Monday? Are you sure? With no warning?
HAVE I EVER BEEN WRONG?
No
THEN DO AS I SAY. PLEASE.
Alex started at the word 'please'. He had never seen Homosoto ever use it before.
Of course. As you wish.
WHAT ARE THE FIRST TARGETS OF THE GROUNDHOGS?
It is complex.
TELL ME!
The reservations systems of American, Delta, Pan Am and TWA. It will shut down air travel for weeks.
GOOD. AND?
The NBC, CBS and ABC communications computers. We have people working in each network. Plus, we have land based transmitters to garble and override network satellite transmis- sions. Quite a neat trick actually. I'm impressed with the technology.
I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR TECHNOLOGY. I WANT TO KNOW THAT THEY WILL WORK. WHO ELSE?
The list is long. Groundhogs are at the Home Shopping Network, American Express and other credit card companies. The Center for Disease Control, Hospitals, the IRS, Insurance Companies. Within a week, their computers will be empty and useless.
THAT IS WHAT I WANT TO HEAR. THIS ENDEAVOR HAS BEEN MOST PROFITA- BLE FOR YOU, HAS IT NOT?
Very much so. It is appreciated.
THEN YOU WILL NOT MIND IF I INCREASE YOUR PAYMENT.
No. Why?
YOU MUST MAINTAIN THE SANCTITY OF OUR ARRANGEMENTS. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
Yes. I assume I ask no questions?
YOU KNOW MORE THAN YOU SHOULD, BUT YOU ARE A MAN OF HONOR AS LONG AS I PAY THE MOST. THAT IS TRUE.
At least you know where I stand.
WILL YOU CONTINUE?
Consider it done. How much more?
ENOUGH. MORE THAN ENOUGH.
[[[CONNECTION TERMINATED]]]
* * * * *
He couldn't believe it. Scott had just watched Nightline, and who was the guest? Madonna. How ridiculous. She badly needed English lessons not to mention a brain. He was relieved when the call came.
WTFO?
I'm here, Kirk. You're two minutes late.
PICKY PICKY.
I had to sit through a half hour of Madonna explaining why she masterbates on MTV.
LIFE'S A CESSPOOL. THEN YOU DIE.
You sound happy tonight.
I'M NOT EXACTLY PLEASED, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU MEAN.
What have you got?
WE'VE LEARNED A LOT. FIRST OF ALL, DGRAPH IS INFECTED.
No shit.
PROFANITY. BIG BROTHER AND FREEDOM ARE LISTENING. REALLY. WE FOUND DOZENS OF DIFFERENT VIRUSES IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF DGRAPH. SOMEONE PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO THIS. I HAVE NEMO AND EVERY PHREAK I KNOW WORKING ON IT TO SEE WHAT OTHER VERSIONS THERE ARE. AND I'M SURE THAT HALF THE HACKERS IN THE COUNTRY ARE DOING THE SAME THING NOW. WORD GETS AROUND. BUT THAT'S NOT THE HALF OF IT.
Continue, oh messenger of doom.
THERE'S MORE ABOUT THE FREEDOM BOARDS. I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN WHAT WE FOUND.
I'm hanging on your every byte.
GOOD. FIRST OF ALL, I HAD NO IDEA HOW BIG THE FREEDOM LEAGUE WAS. OVER 1600 MEMBER BBS'S HERE AND IN CANADA.
Is that large?
THAT MAKES THEM A FULL FLEDGED NATIONAL NETWORK. ALMOST A MIL- LION PEOPLE BELONG. BUT THE BEST PART? THE FREEDOM LEAGUE SOFTWARE IS FILLED WITH VIRUSES TOO.
You've got to be kidding. A million people in on it?
NO, NOT AT ALL. COULD BE JUST A FEW.
A few? How many are a few?
QUIET! THE FREEDOM LEAGUE RUNS A SORT OF FRANCHISE SERVICE FOR BBS'S. THEY GIVE YOU ALL OF THE TOOLS AND TOYS AND SOFTWARE TO HAVE YOUR OWN FREEDOM LEAGUE BBS. SO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO, CAN SET THEMSELVES UP FOR FREE. FREEDOM GIVES THEM EVERYTHING BUT A COMPUTER AND A MODEM.
And in exchange, they have to sell Freedom Software.
NOT EXACTLY SELL, SHAREWARE IS FREE TO DISTRIBUTE, IN THEORY ONLY A FEW PEOPLE MAY EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE INFECTIONS. WHOEVER IS DESIGNING THE PROGRAMS HAS TO BE IN ON IT.
And the franchisers, of course! They set up their own distribu- tion of viruses.
I WOULD GUESS THAT ABOUT 100 OF THE FREEDOM BBS'S KNOW ABOUT THE INFECTIONS.
Why, how do you know that?
GOOD GUESS. WHEN FREEDOM STARTED UP BACK IN '88, IT HAD 100 LOCATIONS.
So it was staged, set up?
MUSTA BEEN. NOT CHEAP. A GOOD BBS TAKES ABOUT $10,000 TO GET GOING.
A million bucks. Chump change.
FOR WHO?
Just a friend. What else?
THEY'VE DISTRIBUTED MILLIONS OF PROGRAMS. MILLIONS.
Is every one infected?
I GUESS SO. EVERY ONE WE'VE LOOKED AT IS.
Who else knows.
NEMO, PHREAK PHRIENDS. IN A COUPLE OF DAYS YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GIVE FREEDOM AWAY. IF IT'S INFECTED, WHICH IT IS, IT'S ALL OVER FOR THEM. THEIR REP IS SHOT.
Aren't you worried about a repeat performance on your computers?
NO. I MOVED WHAT WAS LEFT OF MY EQUIPMENT AND WE SWITCHED TO CELLULAR CALL FORWARDING. CAN'T BE TRACED FOR MONTHS. BUT I APPRECIATE THE CONCERN.
I'll call you. My main man is going to want to talk to you.
* * * * *
Monday, January 18
New York City Times
dGRAPH INFECTED WITH VIRUS: DGI OFFERS FREE UPGRADES.
by Scott Mason
In an unprecedented computer software announcement, DGI
President and industry magnate Pierre Troubleaux admitted that every copy of dGraph sold since late 1987 contains and is infected with highly dangerous and contagious computer viruses.
He blamed Taki Homosoto, chairman of OSO Industries, and the parent company of DGI for the viruses that Troubleaux said were implanted on purpose.
Mr. Homosoto had no comment on the allegations.
Since there are so many different viruses present in the dozens of dGraph versions, (Mr. Troubleaux estimates there may be as many as 500) it is impossible to determine the exact detonation dates or anticipated damage. Therefore DGI is offering free uninfected copies of dGraph to every registered user.
Industry reaction was strong, but surprisingly non-critical of DGI's dilemma. In general the reaction was one of shock and disbelief. "If this is true," said one source, "the amount of damage done will be incalculable." He went on to say that since the virus problem has been largely ignored, very few businesses have any sort of defensive measures in place. Estimates are that large companies have the most to lose when the dGraph Virus explodes.
The major software manufacturers came to DGI's support saying, ". . .it was bound to happen sooner or later. We're just glad it didn't happen to us." Leading software firms including Micro- soft, Lotus, Computer Associates and Borland have offered their disk duplication and shipping facilities to assist DGI in dis- tributing over four million copies of the program.
Even with such support policies by DGI and the assistance of the software industry, there is a great fear that the infected dGraph programs have communicated viruses to other programs and comput- ers. According to Ralph Potter of the International Virus Asso- ciation, "This is a disaster of unfathomable proportions. It could not be much worse than if DOS had been carrying a virus for years. The designers knew what they were doing, waiting so long before the viruses were triggered to go off. The ultimate Trojan Horse."
The National Computer Systems Laboratory at the National Insti- tute of Standards and Technology issued a terse statement saying that they would soon publish recommended procedures to minimize the effects of the current virus crisis. They predicted at least 2 millions personal computers would be stricken with the dGraph Viruses.
One dGraph User Group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has begun a class action suit against DGI and OSO on behalf of all users who have damage done to their computers and or data. They claim at least 10,000 co-plaintiffs on the initial filing with District Court in Milwaukee and are asking for $10 Billion in damages.
End.
Scott's story went on to describe that the FBI and Secret Service were taking the threat as a national security risk and would make a public statement in a day or so. Leading software industry prophets were quoted, all taking credit for warning the computer industry that such massive assaults were predictable and prevent- able. They blamed the government and computer manufacturers for laxidazical handling of a serious problem that could have been prevented. Scott had to make a large chart to keep track of the competitive finger pointing from the experts.
DGI's stock fell 75% after the announcement until the SEC sus- pended its trading.
* * * * *
The Associated Press wire announcement was followed in seconds by the one from UPI. Doug tore it off the printer and raced it over to Scott.
"I believe this will be of interest to you . . ." Doug chuckled as Scott read the wire.
Tokyo, Japan: Taki Homosoto, the billionaire founder and
chairman of OSO Industries, was found dead this afternoon in
his opulent Tokyo office. According to police and company
spokespersons, Mr. Homosoto died by his own hands in tradi-
tional Japanese warrior fashion; hari-kari. His body was
found curled up in a pool of blood with the ritualistic
sword penetrating his abdomen protruding from his lower
back.
Police say they discovered a note on his person that ex-
plained the apparent suicide. The letter is believed to have
been hand written by Mr. Homosoto. The contents of that
letter, as released by the Tokyo police follow:
Honorable Friends,
I now resign as Chairman of OSO Industries. My time is
over.
For almost 50 years I have waited to see the United States
and its people suffer as my people did during those terrible
days in August. The United States gave our people no warn-
ing, and tens of thousands of innocent women and children
died without purpose. This criminal sin is one which the
United States and its people will have to live with for all
eternity.
Yet, out of compassion for the millions of innocent bystand-
ers who are helplessly trapped by their government's indif-
ference to human life, I will give the American people a
warning: Without your computers your future is dim, and your
present becomes the past.
When I was told about the attack plans on the United States,
I admit that I was a willing but skeptical buyer. I found
it hard to believe, indeed incredible, that the greatest
military power on Earth was so foolish. I learned that
there were no defenses for the computers that run your
country. How unfortunate for you.
It was shown me how to execute the plans which invade the
very bastions of Western Imperialism; and I have succeeded
admirably. You will not recover for years, as we did not
after your hideous attack upon our land.
By the time you read this, I will be dead and happy. My
creations will have taken hold, and unshakeable from their
roots, will spread chaos and distrust. This is the world's
first computer war and I have waged it and I will win it.
Retaliate! Retaliate, if you wish, if you can; but you will
not, you cannot. Who do you attack? My country? They had
nothing to do with it. My company? I will be dead and
there is no double jeopardy in death.
You have nothing to say, and nothing to do in response. As
we did not after your fire-bombs landed. We could say
nothing.
Helplessness is a terrible feeling. It is one of loneli-
ness, solitude in a personal hell which your people shall
suffer as they learn to live without the luxuries of tech-
nology. You will pay for your ancestor's mistakes.
To the memory and honor of my family.
Taki Homosoto
* * * * *
Scott Mason called Tyrone Duncan immediately.
"I know," said Tyrone, sounding out of breath. "We're on it. Pierre's getting additional protection. It turns out that Mr. Homosoto isn't as pure as the driven snow like he pretends to be."
"How do you mean?" Scott asked.
"Off the record."
"Background." The negotiation on press terms was complete.
"All right, but be careful. It seems that since the 1940's Mr. Homosoto has been performing some very lucrative services for our friends at the Pentagon. He has some influential friends in Congress and uses an assortment of lobbying firms to promote his interests."
"What's so unusual about that?" Asked Scott.
"Nothing, until you see that certain Congressmen got very wealthy when OSO Industries built plants in their districts. Heavy PAC contributions, blind distribution of small contributing funds. It also appears that he regularly entertained high Pentagon offi- cials in the finest fashion. Paris, Tokyo, Rio, Macao. Influ- ence pedaling and bribery. We have traced a path from Tokyo to the Pentagon that has resulted in OSO subsidiaries receiving large non-classified government contracts. Take dGraph for example. That's a de facto standard for all agencies."
"I never thought about
that. Everyone in the government uses it."
"Just like the private sector. I'm on my way to have a little talk with your Mr. Foster. I don't believe in coincidences."
"Good, where?" Asked Scott excitedly.
"Whoah! Wait a minute. This is official now, and I can't have a civilian . . ."
"Bullshit!" Scott yelled into the phone. "Don't you get GI on me. I gave him to you. Remember? Besides, I know him. And I might have something else."
"What's that?"
"What if I told you that the Freedom League is part of it? And that it's being run by foreign nationals."
"So what?" asked Tyrone.
"How far did you check into the van driver's background? Wasn't he Arab?" Scott offered tidbits that he thought relevant.
"Yeah . . ."
"When are you meeting Foster?"
Tyrone thought carefully about Scott's words. "Listen, I have to get a warrant anyway. It'll probably take till tomorrow." Tyrone paused for the subtle offer to sink in to Scott. "He's listed. Gotta go."
One hell of a guy, thought Scott. If it ever got out that Tyrone worked with the media like this, he would be immediately retired, if not possibly prosecuted. But nobody else was doing anything, and Scott had given them Foster on a silver platter. He would save the Freedom League story for the moment.
* * * * *
The Motorola STU-III secure phone rang on the credenza behind Marvin Jacobs desk. He had been Director of the National Securi- ty Agency, DIRNSA, since 1984, installed in that position because he gave the distinct impression that he didn't care about any- thing except satisfying his mentor; in this case Vice President Bush.
The STU-III phone added funny electronic effects to the voices that spoke over it; all in the interest of national security.
"Hello?" Jacobs asked.
"Homosoto is dead."
"I heard," Jacobs said. "It sounded clean."
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