Modern coverage

  Ancient history

Bill has spent a career avoiding the press, due to his role as a behind-the-scenes consultant. The novel changes everything as Bill strives to attract press attention while not making news.

Wayne Norman interviews
Bill for an hour,
live and in-studio

The interview sizzled

7 July 2010, posted to a MITRE site, "Twenty Slides, Twenty Seconds –Pecha Kucha at MITRE"
The article covers a Pecha Kucha briefing session and quotes Bill as saying, “Nothing beats public humiliation as a learning experience; it drives you to do better."

June 2010, posted to a MITRE internal site on careers, "How To Be a Top Performer" Bill gives his top ten tips on how to perform at a higher level.

June 2010, posted to a MITRE internal site on careers, "The Value and Impact of Soft Skills"
Bill is interviewed on the soft skills that help advance careers.

November 2008, The MITRE Digest, "Building with Cyber-Steel to Protect Computer Networks"
Bill is quoted as saying, "Our infrastructure is made of cyber-straw. We need to be building it out of cyber steel."

22 June 2008, The New York Times, Steve, Lohr, “For a Good Retirement, Find Work. Good Luck”
The article, in Ideas & Trends, begins, “Bill Neugent, an engineer in McLean, Va., is doing his bit to ease the looming generational financial squeeze as the nation’s 75 million baby boomers begin to retire. He’s working longer.”

July 2006, The MITRE Digest, "Thwarting the Enemy Within: Addressing the Insider Espionage Challenge"
Bill is quoted as saying, "Insider threats might not hit us as often as hacker attacks, which show up every few seconds, but when they hit, they can be very dangerous.... The solution will never be something that you just plug in.... This area has attracted a lot of our best people, because it's just what MITRE people like doing—taking on something that is really hard and really important and making a difference.... "It's quintessential MITRE work."

9 February 2006, WASHINGTON INTERNET DAILY
Bill's keynote from the prior day at INPUT's IT Security and Cyberterrorism Conference was covered. He's quoted as saying "Future conflicts are going to be more cyber than they are kinetic."

30 November 2005, Kensington, MD.
Gail Werner interviewed Bill for Weburbs, a cable TV program on how the web is used both professionally and personally. Their lively discussion on Cyber Terrorism aired December 8th at 8:00 pm and December 13th at 9:00 pm on Montgomery Municipal Cable (Channel 16). The program was aired again in February 2006.

August 2005, SIGNAL Magazine, Jeff Hawk, "Detecting Anomalies"
Bill and Greg Stephens of MITRE were interviewed for an hour on anomaly detection, one facet of cyber intrusion detection. The interview was incorporated into this article, in which Bill is quoted many times. SIGNAL Magazine is produced by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA).

July/August 2005, MITRE Matters, Shari Dwyer, “Secrets of Dynamite Briefings Revealed”
An article features Bill as “MITRE’s unofficial briefing guru.” The article showcases “Show As You Tell; How To Give A briefing,” which Bill had presented to several standing-room-only audiences at MITRE. “’People were hoping there was a silver bullet, a greased slide down which they could coast to success,’ he says. There isn’t any magic—but that’s the good news, says Neugent. You don’t have to be born with the briefing gene; with a little work, almost anyone can succeed.”

1 March 2005, Federal Computer Week, Florence Olsen, "Security Through Layers"
In an article about wireless security, Florence Olsen quotes "Wireless expert Bill Neugent...said that the proliferation of wireless technologies such as radio frequency identification chips and nanoscale 'smart dust' will cause both privacy losses and productivity gains." This article is also featured in USA Today.

5 August 2004, WYPL TV 18
Heather Lawson of WYPL interviewed Bill for a half hour in-studio about No Outward Sign and cyberterrorism. The interview aired on the 6 August Book Talk show. WYPL is in Memphis, TN.

5 April, 2004, WFOB Radio
Gus Sierra interviewed Bill live for 30 minutes on the "Talk At 10" show. The station (1430 AM) is in Fostoria, OH.

19 February, 2004,WEOL Radio
Larry Wright interviewed Bill on "The Other Side of Morning Drive" show. Regarding Bill's novel, Larry said, "It scared me." The station (930 AM) is in Elyria, OH.

13 February, 2004, KXLE Radio
Richard James interviewed Bill live for fifteen minutes on "The News Update." The station (1240 AM) is in Ellensburg, WA.

12 February 2004, KBSN Radio
Butch Bare interviewed Bill live for an hour on the "Public Affairs" show. The station (1470 AM) is in Moses Lake, WA.

23 January, 2003, KONA Radio
Dennis Shannon and Michael McDonnal interviewed Bill live on "The Morning Show with Dennis and Michael." The station (610 AM) is in Pasco, WA.

22 January 2004, KBUR News Radio
Steve Hexom interviewed Bill live for fifteen minutes on "The KBUR Morning Show." The station (1490 AM) is in Burlington, IA.

16 January 2004, WSLB Radio
Brandon Amo interviewed Bill in a twenty-minute taped session that aired the following Friday morning on his "Let's Talk" show. The station (1400 AM) is in Ogdensburg, NY.

14 January 2004, KPQ-560 Radio
Ken Johannasson interviewed Bill in a fifteen-minute taped session aired on 16 January on his "Two o'clock" show. The station (560 AM) is in Wenatchee, WA.

11 January 2004, The MetroWest Daily News and The Milford Daily News, Nancy Olesin, "Cybersecurity: the stuff of fiction and fact"
"Our computer systems are worth more up than down to our adversaries," Bill is quoted as saying. The story was based on a half-hour interview with Nancy. "Imagine the chaos that would ensue if terrorists took over major computer networks and were able to shut down Boston's electricity and water, police and fire departments, airport, subways, traffic control and every hospital in the city. It's a scenario Bill Neugent thinks about all the time. It's his job."

5 January 2004, KSCJ Radio
Bob Lawrence interviewed Bill live for twenty minutes about No Outward Sign and cybersecurity. The station (1360 AM) is an ABC Radio Network Affiliate in Sioux City, IA.

December 2003, MITRE, Alison Stern-Dunyak, "Bill Neugent: Security Storyteller" MITRE featured Bill in the Employee Spotlight section of the MITRE public web site. "When I look at our work program from the perspective of a novelist," he said, "I'm struck by the great stories waiting to be told."

8 December 2003, WFLA - Florida Radio Network
Alan McBride interviewed Bill on cyberterrorism and No Outward Sign. The interview will be broadcast regionally at a later date. WFLA is based in Maitland, FL. Bill did the interview in Disney World using his cell phone.

14 November 2003, KAST-AM 1370 Radio
Buz Kelly interviewed Bill live from KAST in Astoria, OR. Buz had read No Outward Sign, enjoyed it, and gave many hearty endorsements for the book during the twenty-minute interview.

14 November 2003, KRSN AM 1490 Radio
Bob Clark interviewed Bill live for twenty minutes. KRSN is in Los Alamos, NM, where Bill gave a major talk on 18 November at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

10 November 2003, WILI AM 1400
Bill was interviewed for an hour live and in-studio on the Wayne Norman show. WILI is in Willimantic, CT. A number of Bill's former high-school classmates heard the interview. See studio photos. Wayne wrote afterwards, "I really enjoyed our talk. I heard buzz about it for a week afterwards. I'm glad Bill is on OUR side!" His show is the longest continuously running morning radio show in Connecticut.

3 November 2003, WSRO AM 650 Radio
Adeline Stevens interviewed Bill for 45 minutes in a taped session that was broadcast on Veterans Day as part of The Adeline Chronicles. WSRO is based in Framingham, MA, and also is Channel 6 on CRNI.net and an affiliate of National Radio Network.

3 November 2003, WHYN radio
Brad Shephard, host of The Morning Show, interviewed Bill live about No Outward Sign and cyberterrorism. WHYN is based in Springfield, MA.

November 2003, Information Security, Erik Sherman, "Bargain-hunting companies look off shore for programming, but at what cost?"
An article about off-shore software development quotes Bill as saying, "It's an issue that worries the big vendors, companies like Microsoft, IBM and Sun, because they all have some of their development done in places like China, and China has written the most about how to attack the U.S."

29 September 2003, Datamation eZine, Sharon Gaudin, "Author: Hackers, Industry Locked in 'Arms Race'"
An interview with Bill included his provocative statement, "Thanks to hackers, we're better protected against organized crime and foreign nation states that want to harm us." The article also appeared on eSecurityplanet.com.

4 September 2003, Portsmouth Herald, "Kudos to N.H. for elderly driver laws"
A letter to the editor resulted in a plug to Bill's "Senior Momentum" Sound Bite. Bill had been visiting Portsmouth, New Hampshire at the time.

September 2003, Web Hosting Monthly, Dennis McCafferty, "Radical and Terrorist Sites: Knowing When to Draw the Line"
Dennis's excellent article ended with a quote from Bill: "Formerly the FBI listened to suspected terrorists until they had enough information to build a criminal case. As a result, sometimes we waited too long. What we've learned as a nation is we can't afford to wait."

22 August 2003, WZID - FM, Mike Morin Drive Time Show
Mike Morin and Nancy Robbins interviewed Bill on cybersecurity, worms and viruses, and Bill's novel. Mike later wrote to Bill: "You were so interesting, we replayed the piece a few days later in a different hour. I'd like to put you in my Rolodex as an expert in this area." The show is based in Manchester, NH.

15 August 2003, TaleCatcher™ Press Release, "Blastered and Blacked Out; Reality Mirrors Fiction in New Novel, No Outward Sign" 
Bill's third nationwide press release went out through PR Newswire, reminding people that the Blaster worm and the Northeast power outage emulated events in his novel.

6 August 2003, FOX 28 WSJV TV, live interview, Steve Duval, Wake Up Co-host.
Bill's first TV interview was aired live and broadcast to 300,000 homes in the South Bend/Elkhart area of Indiana and Michigan. The interview previewed Bill's novel and his speech on cyberterrorism on Indiana University South Bend. Read about Bill's experience Live On Television!

6 August 2003, Pilot News, Stacey Creasey
The Plymouth, Indiana-based paper published an interview Stacey Creasey conducted with Bill about cyberterrorism.

1 August 2003, AFIO E-BULLETIN BOARD NOTICES (EBBN #08), "AFIO Member Publishes First Novel."
The Association of Former Intelligence Officers noted Bill's novel. "Member Bill Neugent's debut novel shows the event so many are expecting — a cyberterrorist attack on
America. In the novel, the nation's survival depends on Jason Singleton, vigilante hacker, who becomes the target of both the terrorists and the FBI. The book features a potent mix of intriguing characters and fills a unique niche, having been written by one of the country's top cybersecurity insiders and set within a context that highlights serious national issues."

18 June 2003, The News & Observer of Raleigh, Christina Dyrness, "Universities try to hone cybersecurity niche"
Christina's article lead off with a two-paragraph advertisement for Bill's book. The article was further distributed by InfoSec News distribution list (isn@c4i.org), which added a link to the book on Amazon.com.

3 June 2003, TaleCatcher™ Press Release, "New Book Hides Key To Treasure"
The second nationwide press release went out through PR Newswire and generated hundreds of hits on the Treasure Hunt page at TaleCatcher.com. Oddly enough, most of the hits came from Japan. The release found its way into many publications, such as a pointer in the 9 - 13 June issue (under A CALL FOR ENTRIES) of the Working Writers Newsletter and a 3 June 2003 entry in Brandywine Books.

19 May 2003, Federal Computer Week, Judi Hasson, DHS center to focus on security research
Bill is quoted regarding an effort by the Department of Homeland Security to keep track of new techniques for fighting terrorism.

17 April 2003, The Telegraph, Calcutta, India, Subimal Bhattacharjee, "We've Just Had A Cyber War"
"According to Bill Neugent, who has recently written a book on the US-Iraq cyber war, instead of cultivating its cyber-war readiness, Saddam Hussein's forces would have limited their cyber-technical prowess to spying and restricting the average Iraqis' use of the internet." An interesting comment, except for the detail that it didn't come from Bill.

7 April 2003, Government Computer News, William Jackson, Cyber Eye: Consider thanking hackers for security
Bill is quoted as saying, "we wouldn’t be nearly as secure as we are if it weren’t for hackers coming at us."

2 April 2003, Joe King’s weekly PC Radio Show from WBAI New York
Bill appeared as a featured guest. Read the show’s summary or Bill’s report on the interview.

April 2003, National Society of Professional Engineers, "Cybersecurity Engineer Writes Best-Seller"
The column "Professional Engineers in Private Practice" featured Bill's novel.

6 March 2003, Salon.com, Brian McWilliams, “Unleashing the dogs of cyber-war on Iraq!”
Bill’s novel and perspective on the topic were included on page three of the story.

4 March 2003, Cyber Criminals Most Wanted,
No Outward Sign was one of three books listed as suggested reading.

28 February 2003, TaleCatcher™ Press Release, "Novel Describes Iraqi Cyberattack"
Bill issued his first nationwide press release through PR Newswire, which distributed the story to thousands of media outlets. In the release, Bill answered the question of whether the novel's computer theme would deter non-technical readers. "My favorite reader is a gentleman from North Carolina, eighty-six years old. He loved the novel, read it in one sitting, but afterwards he asked his daughter, 'What is this word, cyber?'" The release found its way into many publications, such as VA Newswire.

25 February 2002, The Maui Writers Conference, Maui Writers Attendee Forum - Success Stories
Bill’s book was cited among examples of “publishing successes by past Conference, Retreat and Manuscript Marketplace participants.”

24 February 2003, Federal Computer Week, Dan Caterinicchia, "Novel explores U.S.-Iraq cyberwar"
This feature article kicked off a buying surge that placed Bill’s book in the amazon.com top 500. Bill was quoted as saying, “With cyberterrorism, there’s not the fear and intimidation like with the sniper…. It’s not that gut-wrenching. It’s more hollow, like reading the business section and looking at the stock market.” The article was further distributed by InfoSec News distribution list (isn@c4i.org), which added a link to the book on Amazon.com. Resulting sales set the "all-time record for any book mentioned" on the list.

4 June 1999, Government Security Summit, Edith Holmes, "The Technological Future"
Edith Holmes, President and Publisher of Federal Computer Week, quoted Bill as saying, “It’s unreasonable to think that leading edge products will be standards. Even PKI is silly putty taking form… Most security technologies are still in their terrible twos, and none have reached puberty.” Check out the National Association of Counties (NACO) and search on "The Technological Future" for a link to Edith Holmes' slides.

16 March 1998, Federal Computer Week, Bob Brewin and Heather Harreld, “DOD pushes ahead with PKI pilot”
Bill was interviewed by Heather Harreld for a story on the Defense Information Systems Agency's digital signature pilot program.

2 March 1998, Cipher, Jeremey Epstein, NSA Network Security Framework Forum (NSFF)
Jeremey Epstein quoted a presentation Bill gave on 2 March 1988, “Bill Neugent (MITRE) gave a very entertaining speech, with nuggets like: ‘If you like the features, who cares about assurance; if you don't like the features, who cares about assurance?’ and ‘MLS: A good idea carried too far, or a bad idea carried too far?’ … [He said] we need to avoid overconfidence and stupidity (which is difficult, since we're not sure what it is that constitutes stupidity). He concluded by noting that we have to find solutions: ‘winning the war trumps saving the systems, unless losing the systems means losing the war.’”

Department Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Prof. Dr. Ir. Bart Preneel, Favorite Quotes
Bill’s famous quote has for a decade been enshrined at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Belgium: "The protection provided by encryption is based on the fact that most people would rather eat liver than do mathematics."