cover image Information Warfare: Chaos on the Electronic Superhighway

Information Warfare: Chaos on the Electronic Superhighway

Winn Schwartau. Thunder's Mouth Press, $22.95 (432pp) ISBN 978-1-56025-080-7

Hackers who break into companies' computers, steal or scramble data and plant ``viruses'' are only the most publicized threat to electronic security, according to this shocking and eye-opening report. It shows that the computer systems and information highways of U.S. businesses, government and the military are surprisingly vulnerable to theft, data manipulation and sabotage by ``information warriors'' such as corporate employees, business competitors, organized crime, drug cartels, terrorists, law enforcement officials, insurance companies and others. Schwartau, an information security specialist, tells of electromagnetic eavesdroppers who use a modified TV set to pick up computer screens' emissions; HERF (high-energy radio frequency) guns that can zap an entire computer network; and microchip manufacturers who insert cloned or counterfeit chips so that complex equipment will eventually crash. He outlines a national information policy (which he was asked to present to the Clinton administration), a blueprint to safeguard electronic privacy. Schwartau closes with a practical chapter for individuals or companies seeking to ward off snoops and electronic troublemakers. (May)