Zero Day
A Jeff Aiken Novel
-
-
4.2 • 193 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
An airliner's controls abruptly fail mid-flight over the Atlantic. An oil tanker runs aground in Japan when its navigational system suddenly stops dead. Hospitals everywhere have to abandon their computer databases when patients die after being administered incorrect dosages of their medicine. In the Midwest, a nuclear power plant nearly becomes the next Chernobyl when its cooling systems malfunction.
At first, these random computer failures seem like unrelated events. But Jeff Aiken, a former government analyst who quit in disgust after witnessing the gross errors that led up to 9/11, thinks otherwise. Jeff fears a more serious attack targeting the United States computer infrastructure is already under way. And as other menacing computer malfunctions pop up around the world, some with deadly results, he realizes that there isn't much time if he hopes to prevent an international catastrophe.
Written by a global authority on cyber security, Zero Day presents a chilling "what if" scenario that, in a world completely reliant on technology, is more than possible today---it's a cataclysmic disaster just waiting to happen.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Microsoft computer guru Russinovich's first novel, a cautionary tale about the imminence of the great cyber attack to wipe out the Internet, works pretty well as a thriller, though it takes a while to boot up and for the bodies to begin to fall. Arab terrorists, with the collusion of Osama bin Laden, are behind the attack, which is supposed to destroy Western civilization. A New York City law firm enlists cyber expert Jeff Aiken to track down a virus that has knocked out the company's computer network. While working on this problem, Jeff uncovers the larger threat. With the help of "stunningly attractive" Daryl Haugen, an old friend who becomes his love interest, Jeff attempts to warn the authorities, but to little avail. The author effectively employs the usual genre types government traitors, amoral hackers, professional assassins but his main characters spend too much time at the keyboard to build up much heat. Bill Gates provides a blurb.
Customer Reviews
Great techno-thriller from early 2000s
This book is partly a great insight into how cybersecurity experts worked, or used to work in the early 2000s and the book itself is a great memory lane into that time. Another part is a great thriller with deeply developed characters, everyone gets their own backstory and you learn why they do what they do.
The scenarios are probable and likely happened or will happen somewhere in the world. Recommended read!
Unfortunately very crude
Opening chapter details adult behavior. Second chapter is filled with expletives. Too bad, since the plot was great. Had to delete the sample because of all the crude language and situations.
Zero Day
Having worked as a systems consultant for k15 years now, and before that, working in defensive missle systems, this was LAN amazing piece of work. It kept my attention from the first chapter, and was hard to put down.
Being that it is a work of fiction, I sincerely hope people will not underestimate the message.