Читать книгу Cyber Mayday and the Day After - Daniel Lohrmann - Страница 6

We worried for decades about WMDs – weapons of mass destruction. Now it is time to worry about a new kind of WMDs – weapons of mass disruption.

–John Mariotti

Tuesday, May 1, 2035

Something was not right.

As Julie stood by the front door of her parents' home in Park Ridge, Illinois, her A-ride (slang for autonomous transportation) was nowhere in sight. She was going to be late for work. “My new boss is going to be furious,” she inwardly panicked.

This was the one day a month that she actually was required to be downtown for a team meeting, and her 7:15 a.m. FastUber pickup (with nonstop express service to the Chicago Loop) was nowhere to be found. And FastUbers are never late.

“Miranda – where is my ride? What's going on? Where are all the cars?”

Strange, no response from her automated assistant, which usually answered her questions before she even finished her sentences. Julie momentarily thought about her grandmother as she peered angrily at the small speaker over her glasses. She briefly smiled when she thought about how she nicknamed her personal assistant Miranda, in memory of her grandmother.

“Now I'm pissed! I even paid extra for express today.” As Julie noticed that both the children across the street and Mr. Stevens next door were also waiting for their rides, she realized something else must be happening. A new emotion overcame her – fear.

Julie went back in the house and shouted at the wall. “NEWS!”

A holographic image of CNN lit up the room, showing two reporters standing under a chyron reading: “BREAKING NEWS.” An artificial intelligence voice announced: “Widespread impact is simultaneously hitting global airports, Wall Street firms, international banks, the London Underground, Australian ports, and thousands of educational learning centers.”

Julie posed her question to the hologram: “Do you believe this may be a nation-state attack?”

A reporter standing in front of New York's One World Trade Center responded: “That's certainly a likely possibility. Mass transit has stopped, banks are down, some cities are experiencing power outages, hospitals are on emergency generators, school technology is down, universities have canceled classes, and, most shocking of all – trading floors from London to New York to Chicago are now closed.

“Hold on a moment, please, we are receiving word that the president of the United States has just declared a Nationwide Cyber Emergency, under the authority of the Cyber Disruption Act of 2028.”