BABEL MINUTE ZERO
 
 
 
 

« The one book you need to read this year […] Sometimes fiction tells reality better than non-fiction, and Babel is one of these times.”

 

Bruno Giussani, Huffington Post (US)

 _______________________________________________________ 

"מבריק באופן מבריק ממש"

ועדת המידרוג, מוסף הארץ

"Brilliant, in a brilliant way "

Haaretz (Tel Aviv)- Week End Edition

 

------------------------------------------------------- 

 

« Un extraordinaire thriller politique […]. Remarquablement scénarisé, Babel minute zéro se lit comme on regarde les meilleures des séries TV (À la Maison-Blanche, 24 heures chrono) : avec avidité et jouissance. »

Franck Nouchi - Le Monde

 

“An extraordinary political thriller […]. Remarkably well scripted, one reads Babel Minute Zero like one watches the best TV series (The West Wing, 24): with eagerness and intense pleasure.”

Franck Nouchi, Le Monde

 

מותחן פוליטי יוצא מן הכלל (...) מתוסרט באופן ראוי לציון, בבל שעת אפס נקרא כפי שנצפות סדרות הטלויזיה הטובות ביותר (בבית הלבן, 24 שעות): בתאוה ובהנאה"

פראנק נושי - לה מונד

 

________________________________________________________ 

 

SELECTION "BOOKS OF THE MONTH" לאשהח

(La Isha/ 26.07.2010 - Leading Female Magazine - Israel)

 

"an extra-ordinary political thriller which one reads fluently while wondering. The reader develops a strong sense that despite the fact that the plot is fictitious, it loyally describes a reality hidden from us [...]"

 

------------------------------------------------------- 

 

« Espérons que ce livre écrit d’une facon si magistrale ne se transforme pas en prophétie ! »

Avi Pazner, porter parole du gouvernement israélien, ancien ambassadeur d’Israel en France et en Italie

 

« Let’s hope that this novel, so brillantly written, doesnt transform itself into a prophecy ! »

Avi Pazner

יש לקוות שהספר הזה, שנכתב בהצטיינות, לא יהפך לנבואה!"י

 אבי פזנר, דובר ממשלת ישראל, לשעבר שגריר ישראל בצרפת ובאיטליה

________________________________________________________

 

HAARETZ (ISRAEL)- WEEKEND EDITION - Article on Cyber War & "Babel Minute Zero" (Aug. 2010)

 

MAKOR RISHON (ISRAEL) - Article on Cyber War & "Babel Minute Zero" (Sept.2010)

 

ISRAELI TV - CHANNEL ONE - "ROIM OLAM" (Sat. 28, Aug. 2010 - 8 pm show) -  Cyber War & "Babel Minute Zero" (at 41'00)

 

________________________________________________________

 

« Electrisant thriller politique […] Babel Minute Zéro est si plausible, si effrayant qu’il se dévore en temps réel. Babel Minute Zéro aurait-il quelque chose de visionnaire ?... »

Olivier Delcroix, Le Figaro

 

“An electrifying political thriller […]. Babel Minute Zero is so plausible and so terrifying that you devour it in real time. Would there be something visionary with Babel Minute Zero?... “

Oliver Delcroix, Le Figaro

 

מותחן פוליטי מחשמל(...) בבל שעת אפס הוא כה סביר, כה מפחיד, עד שהוא נבלע בזמן אמת. הייתכן שבבל שעת אפס הוא ספר נבואי?..."י

אוליבייה דה לה קרואה, לה פיגרו

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

 « Impressionnant premier roman […] Le récit est haletant, la tension n’y retombe jamais. […] Un écrivain qui, sur le terrain du thriller, joue, dès ses débuts, à 32 ans, dans la cour des grands. »

Pierre Maury, Le Soir (Bruxelles)

 

« An impressive first novel. The story telling is breathless, tension never relapses. A novelist who is playing, right from the start, among the greatest on the fields of the thriller novel. »

Pierre Maury, Le Soir (Bruxelles)

 

רומאן ראשון מרשים(...) העלילה עוצרת נשימה, המתח נשמר לאורך כל הספר(...) סופר, שכבר בגיל 32, משחק במגרשם של הגדולים ביותר בתחום ספרי המתח

 פייר מורי, לה סוואר
 
    The Author: Guy-Philippe Goldstein
 

Guy Philippe Goldstein: Cyberwar and its dangers


GP Goldstein - CyberWarfare Conference - Tel Aviv University 9/6/2011


  • Blog-notes

  • About Stuxnet (follow up)
    A few lasting comments on Stuxnet - more in the way of sharing links at this stage:
    - Some contrarian views (an information war in the information war?..): http://nanojv.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/scandale-stuxnet-analyse-jeffrey-carr-555/ [sorry in French, BUT reference to an article from Jeffrey Carr]

    Finally, the point of view on the state of doctrine by Joseph Nye (a view I wholeheartedly support): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/opinion/28iht-ednye28.html?scp=2&sq=nye&st=cse
    Posted Feb 28, 2011 3:50 AM by Guy Philippe Goldstein
  • About Stuxnet
    Stuxnet marks a definite departure in terms of the evolution of cyberwarfare. It is the second well-recorded attack against a mission-critical/SCADA IT system not connected to the Internet. The first one was the attack against CentCom, also supposedly by USB key, leaked in "60 minutes" in 2009 and confirmed by Pentagon #2 in the September 2010 issue of Foreign Affairs. However, while the attack against Centcom is still debated (was it a deliberate attempt at Centcom, and what systems - or just a serendiptious infection?) - the attack against the Siemens SCADA software and its Programmable Logic Controllers; its 4 zero-day exploits against Windows; its acquired "legit" digital certificates from 2 Taiwanese firms Realtek and JMicron Technologies: all that makes it quite a different, advanced beast - and a well documented one since at least June-July. Not to mention a possible denial of service attack against SCADA-related forum !
     
    Without going into the technical forensics - see Microsoft, Kapersky lab and all any other documentation - a couple of elements have emerged, that readers of "Babel" will immediately identify - since there are present in the novel:
     
    1. Attribution is extremely difficult (impossible?)
     
    2. To mask attribution even further, the malware attacks several different countries
     
    3. ... but obviously there are risks of things going out of control. As of this day, 6 million computers may have been infected in China. Was it really the purpose of Stuxnet?....
     
    ....Not to mention that the modus operandi of Stuxnet, now discovered, will probably trigger a mini-arm race in the following weeks and months at least between amateur hackers and security authorities.
     
    Obviously the most critical point is #1: attribution. Let's say first that Stuxnet is already weakened, because it's been discovered. As for any humint spying network, this marks either a failure from the spies & saboteurs - or an attempted move to end on a final manipulation to save some other hidden assets. To that respect, when the malware was discovered is very interesting: alert was raised in June 2010 by a Byelorussian firm, VirusBlokAda, probably because  the Realtek digital certificate expired on June 2010. So makers of the malware had set up a time limit to their software.
     
    Now to the public comments: since Iran has been one the lead targeted country, Israel must be behind it. The clues: either a code marking the assassination of Persian Jew in 1979; or a code that contains Myrtus and Guava [ from a recovered Stuxnet file path: b:\myrtus\src\objfre_w2k_x86\i386\guava.pdb] . From that, some in the New York Times have made a (very extravagant) relationship between Myrtle - Haddassah - Esther from Pourim. One could also make the point that it may be the signature of a particular brillant malware maker from Cornwall, since the "Myrtus ugni Myrtaceae Chilean Guava" is a sort of cranberry that can be grown in Cornwall. Or that it means plain nothing.
     
    All I can say, is kudos to the Israelis if they have been able to identify 4 Windows exploits and steal 2 digital certificates from Taiwan from their spying networks. But then why the utter stupidity of the above (supposedly) clues? I guess of course, anyone can see in the Code Bible whatever they want to see - especially if they are being helped.
     
    On the other end, the US would be quite satisfied if Israel could pass publicly for the "Bad Guy" in this operation. It would still leave the possibility of US-Iran negociations. It wouldnt mind to the Israelis, who would maintain an aura of deterrent superiority in the region. And it would reduce the risks of high-stakes tension if indeed Russia or China would end up being too much infected - better then the culprit being Israel than the US.
     
     
    Posted Feb 28, 2011 3:53 AM by Guy Philippe Goldstein
Showing posts 1 - 2 of 3. View more »

 

 

 

Sign in  |  Recent Site Activity  |  Terms  |  Report Abuse  |  Print page  |  Powered by Google Sites