We recently connected with Winn Schwartau and have shared our conversation below.

Winn, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

The Shower Visions That Began it All: 1988 and 2021 Repeat

It was a dark and stormy night.

Actually, it was a dreary and chilly day as I headed to take a hot early morning shower sometime after noon.

At that time I was consulting with Hughes on a global multi-level security project for the UK’s Ministry of Defence, and I was focused on evaluating threats to meet customer needs and how to employ appropriate countermeasures. Back in the late 80s, the security FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) of the day focused on spies, computer viruses and worms, and a wee bit of multi-level operating systems.

As I relished the hot water cascading over me, I fell into something of an eidetic somnambulistic state and I began to visualize, for no conscious reason, viruses as offensive weapons. What would happen if several viruses were released at once, by self-similar or a variety of actors? What if the bad guys deployed hundreds of viruses and malicious code at the same time? What if viruses were secretly inserted into legitimate software packages and programmed for their payloads to detonate at some future date? Remember that virus detection was a nascent business, at best, in the late ‘80s.
My brain then mixed in additional – what we call today – threat vectors. Cooperative trusted/untrusted insiders. Concentrated external attacks on remote access points. Active and passive interception of data transmission, wired or wireless. The exploitation of Van Eck radiation phenomenon and induced EMI for both local tactical and grander strategic goals. The synergetic agglomeration of these myriad hostile acts created in my mind the potential for a massive undefendable attack. And when I added in synchronously coordinated kinetic events to create overload and confusion, the results in my mind were even more alarming.
Then the shower went cold. Grabbing a towel, I dashed off for pen and paper to document what had become a fading vision (dream), and thankfully I got enough bullet points written down to begin my initial foray into information warfare, versus information security, which I argue have essentially since become one and the same.
What I did not know at the time was that the phrase “Information Warfare” was actually ‘code’ for some highly classified non-kinetic military projects. Silly me. I also did not know how seductive its allure would be to me.
Thirty-five years later, it happened again.
Almost in exactly the same way, which trust me, did not go unnoticed.
Only this time, it’s Metawar.

Today, our cognitive infrastructure is under attack, and humanity needs cybersecurity professionals more than ever. Reality is only a keystroke away. Metawar is the art and science of manipulating your reality. It is the battle for control over one’s belief systems, identity, and sense of reality outside one’s conscious awareness. Reason and emotion are incompatible operating systems. Big Tech is digitally terraforming the planet’s future cognitive infrastructure, Web 3.0, with little concern for the downsides. The metaverse is an evolving, immersive storytelling environment designed to be the most powerful and addictive reality distortion machine ever conceived. It will also predict and anticipate your every desire and every move! On the global stage, metawar represents the sixth domain of warfare. They who control the technology control the narrative.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I grew up and analogue engineer. Became a rock n roll engineer and producer (Led Z, Chicago, Paul Simon, Bb Marley ++++++)

F’d around with computers. Burnt out on touring and studios. Computer stuff then Western Digital asked for some help on project. Been in security ever since.

After 41 years, I now only Write (look at my Amazon author page), https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000APTF56
Speak, look at www.winnschwartau.com and do some very private consulting.

My predictions of tech have been scarily spot on for decades. And now with Metawar, I worry even more.

I am a provocative, entertaining speaker; tell stories; compelling; immersive.

Ego fest over

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Currently: The existential threat to personal identity. A long time ago, on June 27, 1991, I testified before the US Congress and was asked, “Mr. Schwartau: Why would the bad guys ever want to use the internet?” Today, our cognitive infrastructure is under attack, and humanity needs cybersecurity professionals more than ever. Reality is only a keystroke away.

How do we build a national cognitive defense? How do we defend against reality distortion, disinformation, and information overload?
Have you read the book? :)

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Pivoting is a life skill that can be grand or minute.

If you learn to pivot on the small things, you can avoid the need for HUGE pivots.

SImple rule.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.winnschwartau.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winnschwartau/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/winnschwartau/
• Twitter: @winnschwartau

Image Credits

All mine. :)