Truth is Stanger than Fiction, but now Fiction is Turning into Truth

UPDATE: Stephen Wolfram launched the Wolfram/Alpha this past Saturday, May 16, 2009. Be sure to visit his site and try it.


When I finished my thriller, DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM (DEOS), two years ago I never imagined that some of it would come true!

With the reported release of the Wolfram/Alpha search engine this month (May 2009) by its creator Stephen Wolfram, a significant plot element of DEOS will come true.

Like the chip that I imagined in my novel, the Wolfram/Alpha program “draws on the knowledge on the internet, as well as private databases,” according to a May 3 report in London’s The Independent online edition.



“Instead of searching the web for info, Alpha is built around a vast repository of curated data from public and licensed sources. Alpha then organizes and computes this knowledge with the help of sophisticated Natural Language Processing algorithms. Users can ask Alpha any kind of question, which can be constructed just like a Google search (think: ‘hurricane bob’ or ‘carbon steel strength’),” explained a post on April 25 from the blog ReadWriteWeb.

The imaginary chip/program in my novel runs spiders all over the Internet recording and logging the location of specific information. When you ask the chip a question it locates the relevant information and uses algorithms to produce the most correct answer. Only this imaginary chip becomes sentient as it gains more knowledge and within two weeks of its launch has the IQ of a teenager in the novel.

Much of the technology I mention in my novel is based on existing or developing technology that I stretch a bit with literary license to create a dramatic plot and rich characters. Some of the plot elements are based on actual events and plausible scenarios that I uncovered in my research into the hacker culture and its players.

I wrote the book hoping to raise awareness of the real and looming threats in cyberspace. And now, some of those threats are coming to fruition.

One such event was the Conficker Worm attack in April which is also similar to a plot element in DEOS. (See my press release on the Conficker Worm.) The DEOS plot is about an Internet worm that takes over the US power grid and cell phone network, and it cannot be stopped. Does that sound like the Conficker Worm?

I just hope the rest of DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM never comes true.


(Get a FREE signed printed version of DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM! Download a free ebook version from Smashwords.com and let me know if you will review the novel. Post your review and I'll send you a signed printed version.)

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Dark End of the Spectrum predicted Conficker Worm

When I finished my novel, DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM, I had created a plot involving an Internet worm using botnets that takes over the US power grid and cell phone network. And the worm is unstoppable.

In addition to providing entertainment, I hoped it would raise awareness to the possible threats that confronted the Internet and US infrastructure such as utilities, communications, and transportation. I still hope the book will do that.

My idea for the plot was spawned after Hurricane Fran hit Wilmington, NC in 1996 and left us without power for three days. Then I realized how much we depend on electricity and take it for granted. Think about it - every appliance in your home is useless without electricity. Most people have experienced a blackout for only a few hours, but when it turns into days, it really hits home how critical electricity is in our everyday lives.

I then imagined that if hackers could control the power grid and where electricity is sent it could be a disaster and this is what helped me create Dark End of the Spectrum.

And now in the past few weeks, the Conficker Worm is The Dark End of the Spectrum coming true. The worm is unstoppable. It uses an army of botnets to infect computers and complete its mission(s) and it's purpose is to steal credit card numbers.

What if its creators programmed it to take over the power grid or cell phone network? Would the government and all the computer security organizations be able to stop it?

I predict that the Conficker Worm is just the tip of the iceberg and I see more harmful and more disastrous events happening with the Conficker Worm and its predescessors unless the government, organizations, and corporations heed the warnings of the security professionals and beef up their online security.

Want to know more. Take a look at my press release for more on my statement at PRLOG or download a copy of DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM.





Press Release
Raleigh Novelist and Hacker Researcher says worse to come by Conficker Worm and Other Cyber Threats

HTML Version
PDF Version

Sources for the press release:

CNN - http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/01/tech.viruses/index.html
The New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/04/01/technology/tech-us-security-virus.html?_r=1&hpw
The Wall Street Journal - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123914805204099085.html#articleTabs%3Darticlarticle/SB123914805204099085.html#articleTabs%3Darticl

Additional resources:

ZDNet - http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=3110&tag=nl.e550
ZDNet on the power grid infiltration - http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=16001&tag=nl.e539
Scientific American - http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=spies-hack-us-electricity-grid-2009-04-09

Hurricane Fran photo courtesy of Wikipedia

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