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Reference story:
Original air date:
10.3.07
- 1964: AT&T begins monitoring millions of phone calls to catch "phone freaks" who use "blue boxes," a device that simulates a telephone operator's dialing console and lets the user make free phone calls.
- 1971: Creeper virus detected on the U.S. military's ARPAnet, the forerunner of the Internet. Infected computers display the message: "I'm the Creeper, catch me if you can."
- 1972: John "Captain Crunch" Draper discovers that a plastic whistle from a cereal box reproduces a 2600-hertz tone that, in conjunction with a blue box, allows free calls and access to AT&T's network.
- 1979: Xerox researchers develop the first computer "worm," a small program designed to search a network for idle processors. The idea was to maximize computer efficiency; but it becomes the precursor to countless destructive computer viruses.
- 1982: An American teenager launches the first major virus outbreak with the "Elk Cloner" program, written on an Apple II computer to annoy his friends with bad poetry.
- 1983: Federal agents arrest a group of young hackers for breaking into government networks using dial-up modems.
- 1983: A University of Southern California engineering student coins the term "computer virus."
- 1986: A pair of Pakistani programmers release what is considered the first IBM PC compatible virus. Dubbed "The Brain" or "Pakistani Flu," it soon spread worldwide. Many more viruses soon follow.
- 1988: A young American programmer creates a "worm" that invades ARPANET, shutting down thousands of computers.
- 1997: Hackers shut down the air traffic communication system at a Massachusetts airport for six hours.
- 1998: The software regulating the flow of natural gas in Russian pipelines is taken over by hackers.
- 1998: Intruders are found snooping through computer systems at the Pentagon, NASA, and many other institutions. The trail leads back to computers in the former Soviet Union. The Russian government denies any involvement and the attack's instigators remain unknown.
- 1999: The "Melissa" virus infects thousands of computers, causing $80 million in damage. That same year, a rash of DDoS attacks hit American government sites after NATO bombs the Chinese Embassy in the former Yugoslavia.
- 2000: A big year for significant cyberattacks. The "I Love You" virus rapidly infects millions of computers, stealing passwords and usernames. Distributed denial-of-service attacks [DDOS] knock Amazon, Yahoo, Ebay and other major websites off-line. And in Australia, an irate ex-employee hacks into sewage system and releases thousands of gallons of untreated waste into nearby waterways.
- 2001: The Code Red Worm takes over more than 350,000 servers and uses them to launch a DDoS attack against the White House's website. The feds team up with technology companies to stymie the assault. That same year, the Nimda worm tears through the U.S. financial sector, affecting millions of computers and slowing the entire Internet.
- 2001: The Code Red Worm infects more than 350,000 servers and turns all machines against the White House website in a DDOS attack that may have shut down portions of the Internet if not for a design flaw in the virus's programming.
- 2003: The "Slammer" worm spreads through thousands of computers worldwide within hours, shutting down the Internet in parts of Asia, scrambling phone service in Finland and delaying airline flights and disrupting financial networks in the U.S., as well as briefly shutting down the safety monitoring system at a nuclear plant.
- 2006: The first cell phone worm is discovered.
- 2007: Hackers assault Estonia's online infrastructure, crippling government ministries, banks and media.
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10.24.07 6:10 PM PDT
deborah
I thought this was a cool segment. Dr. Gates is a little quirky, but not the typical egghead scientist. He is obviously skilled at bringing science to the masses. Thanks for the interview.
10.24.07 10:30 PM PDT
Zia Shields
What a fabulous segment. James Gates was so delightful in the way he spoke about himself and the science he was explaining. I was so enthralled as to come to this site tonight and send it on to two scientist physicist friends. Thank you. Looking forward to more.
10.24.07 11:05 PM PDT
Jerry
Yes, Gates was articulate and entertaining, and that was a good point he made about Heinrich Hertz. The theory of electromagnetism (Maxwell) has many practical applications, visible all around us nowadays, because it makes predictions.
But superstring theory does not seem to have made any testable predictions, and by its nature perhaps never will. Also it has not reached the status of a single, uniquely defined theory. For these reasons, some very technically competent people have questioned whether SST is really a physical theory, rather than a (not very deep) branch of pure mathematics.
See the recent books written (separately) by Lee Smolin (former string theorist) and Peter Woit (mathematician at Columbia U).
10.25.07 9:47 AM PDT
M RUSHING
Starship Dreamer
Particle Gleaner
Seeing Beyond the Glass Darkly
Speaking To Us All
Dr Gates Stands Tall
On Our Way to Cosmic Enlightenment
10.25.07 3:36 PM PDT
Lee O. Cherry
I tried to view the Jim Gates video, but was unsuccessful. What's up?
10.29.07 1:14 PM PDT
bob
this guy and his string theory buddys are going to destroy our universe
10.31.07 8:35 PM PDT
Randomsight
I think it would be great to watch Jim Gates and Brian Greene discuss M-Theory and where the 11 dimensions of time and space actually are and what their shapes are, not just SST. I believe this was Dr Greene's doctoral thesis.
11.26.07 1:23 PM PST
glird
You say,
<The bosons spin at a different rate from the fermions, and that explains the different behaviors that they have. >
In what way does a different rate of spin "explain" what keeps electrons and protons in their positions in an atom?
You say,
<an electron would sort of be like a little spinning basketball, and it would spin at a certain rate. >
That is the present theory, and it is incorrect.
An electron moves in an orbital path, which appears to be a "spin" only to huge outside observers. When you realize this, and study Planck's 1900 paper, it explains exact;y what a quantum of action physically is.
If interested, please contact me at glird@aol.com
12.13.07 6:10 PM PST
Patrick Nwokolo
I saw Dr. Gates, the first time ever, on this segment of Wired Science. He spoke with such clarity that I came away excited about science - again. I especially liked how he used the four equations (radio communications) to explain why not having an immediate application should not dissuade pursuit of matters we do not understand.
My thanks to Wired Science.
1.15.08 9:13 AM PST
Roderick Jones
Dr. Gates, I like your style. Would you please answer the following. If the mass of entire galaxy spin a given rate what would be it's projected magnetic force? If such a force were to intersect the big ball a plasma we call our sun at whch time will be ready to change its magnetic field in 2012. What is the probability that this could trigger a carona mass ejection (CME),and could it possibly
impact earth during the time of precession aroud 12/21/2012.
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