"R.J. Huneke Talks Spies, Espionage & Political Thrillers On Russ's Rockin' Rollercoaster Wed. 2/3/21 8pm EST Live" was originally published on rjhuneke.com.
 
R.J. Huneke Talks Spies, Espionage & Political Thrillers On Russ's Rockin' Rollercoaster Wed. 2/3/21 @ 8pm EST Live with host Russ Colchamiro and writers David Mack & James McCrone.

We will span the genres of spy-dom! 

Register for free and tune in live for Russ’s Rockin' Rollercoaster video podcast at 8 pm EST, February 3, 2021, where I will speak to fellow writers about the intrinsic ways espionage, political thrillers, and yes, cyberwar, can coalesce into fictitious works that are read and watched on-screen.
 
This is an hour you do not want to miss!
 
Examining the most compelling elements that make up espionage and political thrillers across the genres, we will hit on the sheer dramatic tension of it all, the action-set pieces and even science fiction that is spawned from all of this, like my book Cyberwar and many of David, James, and Russ’s works.
 
And there will be a live Q&A to keep us on our toes!
 
This is going to be a lot of fun, folks.
 
Date:
Wednesday, Feb 3, 2021
 
Time:
8 pm EST


Register Now... FREE!
 
As an aside, I wanted to speak to my Eager Readers on my upcoming announcements, musings, writings, and the like, including Cyberwar Series NEWS!
 
I have another podcast appearance coming up in the next month or so, more on that soon, and as I am finishing a very special stand-alone (as I see it now, at least) novel that I think will be mind-blowing, times are exciting!
 
That is not the sequel to Cyberwar.
 
And the working title of the novel is too much fun to spoil the surpise right now.
 
But it will be a cross-genre work of fiction like nothing I have ever done, or imagined and I am immensely proud of it, as I have been working on it for about as long as my daughter has been alive.
 
And the two mean the world to me.
 
Back to Cyberwar: I have promised you a sequel and it is written and over 100,000 words currently (4-500 pages), but it still needs further editing to make it viable.
 
And what is more, the technology and the world I foresaw in Cyberwar as being six months, or six years, or 60 years away, is far closer to the months mark than I would have ever imagined.
 
I have some really interesting tech that is based on hard science and little pieces of the tech have popped up in the news over the past few years and it makes for a wild ride in our reality and in the book’s world.
 
As I close the final pages of the new novel I am writing, I will work to finish honing down the next book in the Cyberwar Series and really hope to then get this thing finally into the wild in the next year or two at the latest.
 
The graphic novel prequel to Cyberwar, Spy Woman Spy, was delayed by Covid, but will be seeing the light of day in the coming months as well.
 
And lastly, my project for fiction reviews and fine press reviews, The Forgotten Fiction is up and running with the bulls; if you have not checked it out, please check out the new and classic reviews and enjoy here, folks: https://theforgottenfiction.com/.
 
Be safe and take care of one another,
 
~RJH

Cyber Security 411: Online Privacy Guide for Journalists 2019 from vpnMentor, is a must-read, and its knowledge base effectively aids reporters and laypeople alike, especially in the wake of ‘Collection #1’, one of, if not the, largest security breach on record.

‘Vigilance!’

You do not need J.K. Rowling’s “Mad-Eye” Moody to reinforce the point.

Paranoia is in the air around us (not just talking about POTUS here), and there is good reason when it comes to security for one’s self.

Well over 600,000 cyber attacks have crossed the global airwaves in the past 22 hours alone [see them in real time with FireEye Cyber Threat Map: https://www.fireeye.com/cyber-map/threat-map.html].

Even those working in cyber security can use a resource that easily conveys the importance and specifics of the craft to the public in a way they can absorb.

First we will touch on the need for journalists to have these hammers, nails, and gloves in their tool belt.

But all of these things should be utilized, or at the least be kept in mind, by anyone whose name and email are subject to being scraped and used to spread malicious materials to friends, family, colleagues, and contacts alike.

So aside from the cyberwar and its attacks that have erupted more than 454 times a second today, there is another disturbing war going on.

And this makes the protection of journalists and their sources all the more paramount.

In the United States there has been a progressive up scaling in the war against whistleblowers since the Clinton Administration, if not earlier.

You would think in the wake of Nixon it would be different.


Without whistleblowers and insightful journalism citizens would not have any idea as to what heinous acts a member or members of the government are committing against the folks they are sworn to serve.

Acts such as illegally tapping a political competitor, like Tricky Dick did, must come to light.

And so for anyone who is one of the 772,904,991 unique email addresses recently posted to a popular hacking forum [wired.com], securing the ways in which we choose passwords, store passwords, access communications and encrypt them have to become and remain priority.

Government agencies and black hat hackers can in some way trace all of our digital communication means, via email, call, text, legally or illegally.

The only way to successfully attain some semblance of privacy for yourself and/or your sources is to continue to learn about the new ways in which to protect and employing security methods proven to at least hold the dogs at bay for a period of time.

You can read and download vpnMentor’s eBook PDF-version of the Online Privacy Guide for Journalists 2019 here.

It is an excellent resource spelling out instructions, reliable choices to look into, citing research, and most of all explaining in laymen’s terms how to employ the techniques and tools.

The last of three big points made in their introduction is this: ‘Acting cautiously both in the digital and real world . . . needs to be done to ensure that a journalist’s sources and data are secure and well.’

Another series of great sources and insights can be found on the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s Guides & Training page here.

Though it does not have the name “Equifax” attached to it, I am still shocked at the lack of mainstream news coverage for ‘Collection #1’ where 772,904,991 unique email addresses along with more than 21 million unique passwords were uncovered in a popular hacker space.

On have i been pwned, security researcher Troy Hunt’s project, the newly revealed mass, 87 gigabytes worth, of leaked data tops the list of the largest cyber security breaches in history.

If you are not familiar with the site, you can instantly check to see if you have an email account that has been compromised in a data breach of some kind on record.

Those using the same password for multiple sites can find their emails all over numerous areas that have been identified so far using this search tool and you can subscribe your emails to learn if any breach implicates your credentials.

Are your passwords remotely strong enough?

Well the Online Privacy Guide for Journalists 2019 points out that certain combinations can be cracked quite easily while others offer mathematical difficulties culminating in years or centuries for a machine to potentially break.

The Haystack is really cool.

The Gibson Research Corporation’s password strength calculator is a tool dubbed the Haystack and with it you can see that:

A password like “F53r2GZlYT97uWB0DDQGZn3j2e”, from a random password generator, seems very strong, and indeed it is, taking 1.29 hundred billion trillion centuries to exhaust all the combinations even when the software is making one hundred trillion guesses per second. [https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/online-privacy-journalists/]

But that is not to say that even a password like that, when not made randomly, often relies on some kind of pattern or human characteristic that is somewhat publicized in our 1984 world, a repeated number or sports team, perhaps (Mr. Robot fans), can make the code cracking very possible.

I have been told from a cyber security source I trust that a hacker needs only time and patience to learn any target and infiltrate it.

Do not make it easy for them.
 
“Cyber Security 411: Online Privacy Guide For Journalists 2019” was written by R.J. Huneke.

4 Days To CYBERWAR Comic @ NY COMIC CON 2018 BOOTH 1061: RJ Huneke, Elizabeth Yoo, Fred Harper and more folks will be at the Rune Works Booth #1061 with SPY WOMAN SPY, loads of art, free swag, and more at the Javits Center!

Eager readers, I could not be more excited for 2018's New York Comic Con.

I am beyond STOKED!

Alongside my good friend and amazing artist Elizabeth Yoo, the very first preview issue of the CYBERWAR World prequel graphic novel series SPY WOMAN SPY will be available in extremely limited quantities. We will do our best to have these books out every day of the con and I am hopeful that the art is going to set the world on fire!

This comic book features Xera Finn and Fae Yu from CYBERWAR.

SPY WOMAN SPY takes place in the near future, in the CUSA, where the two disillusioned foreign agents, friends, and lovers struggle to cope with breaking ties to their past. As their birthplace, Wangluo, demands more and more heinous acts of allegiance from Xera and Fae in the Cold Cyberwar, a horrible act of government-sanctioned child trafficking is uncovered rattling the two spies to their core. Betraying orders will be costly!

SPY WOMAN SPY written by (me) R.J. Huneke, and art by Elizabeth Yoo, will be premiering the first preview book of SPY WOMAN SPY Issue #0 at the 2018 NY Comic Con.

It has been five years since my car accident, and I am not yet at 100% (getting close), but my creative drive has never been stronger.

Many new projects (children’s book series anyone?) and art are coming very soon, and though I have struggled to work I have by no means been idle.

You will be happy to know that I am currently pitching the follow-up to my novel CYBERWAR, and I apologize for leaving you hanging at the end of my first novel, but from what I gather as I speak to fans of the book series, the next chapter will be something special.

It will be longer for one thing. And there will be many answers and more questions examining the entire world and Cyberverse as the Cyberwar is fully unleashed.

That’s right!

Now I will be signing books at NYCC 2018, but more on that later.

I am thankful to have some great friends who happen to make amazing art and are going to be on-hand with me at Rune Works # 1061.

The incredibly talented illustrator Fred Harper will be there – badass Hulk prints in tow – and he will be doing commissions throughout the Con as well as painting and possibly even taking a musical turn on his infamous cowbell.

My longtime friend (and now) bookmate artist Elizabeth Yoo has been producing amazing cover art for novels and movie productions of late, and she is innovative (I do not use the word lightly).

Her work is truly resonates deeply on many levels, and I am ecstatic that she is producing a deeply noir-esque and never-before-seen take on the comic book art form as a co-creator and the artist of SPY WOMAN SPY.

I could not have imagined anyone who grasps the feel of the world of Cyber more than Elizabeth.

And her art, from the Joker to Batman and Catowoman sharing a milkshake will blow you away.

Along with Fred's prints, original art, and commissions, Elizabeth will have limited edition prints, as well as a host of other goodies on sale at NY Comic Con.

Liz’s amazing “Joker” piece and “Pyscho” piece will be on a heavy-duty tote, for example, and the Mr. Romero’s Joker lips will be hand-colored by Ms. Yoo at the table! They are $10 a piece or $5 with any other purchase!

There will be magnets and Comic Con-only discounts to Liz’s art prints!

And yes, the author R.J. Huneke, yours truly, will have a limited number of copies of his book CYBERWAR and will be signing them.

Now I recently uncovered a box while moving, so I will have a VERY LIMITED amount of the sold out hardcover in tow, and I have paperbacks left as well!

Please check in at the booth for signing schedules for all of the artists, including author RJ Huneke (me).

And be sure to talk to my friend Charles D. Chenet; Charles' Dare2Draw non-profit has brought comic books, published artists and aspiring artists together for education, amazing lessons, and fun exploration of the craft.

From their site Dare2Draw.org: The Dare2Draw is a non-profit mentoring and networking platform for all comic book and creator artists, an opportunity to connect with each other, face-to-face, encouraging good health and business practices for cartoonists. Established artists and arts organizations meet in a supportive setting, putting the art back in sequential art.

And, as always, there will be free candy, bookmarks, Joker playing cards, and fun swag galore!

On behalf of the Rune Works / Cyberwar Series team, I’ll see you there, at NY Comic Con, in just 4 DAYS!  ~RJ Huneke

Here we are and in the heart of May the Second Annual Local Author Fair will be taking place at the Port Jefferson Free Library on May 14, and R.J. Huneke will be there!

And there will be books!

Lots of books!

Come down for a rare meet and greet with local New York and Long Island authors, as they speak on their latest works of literature on Saturday May 14, 2016 at 2pm EST sharp.

R.J. Huneke will have a table on the main floor, so look for his huge CYBERWAR banner and the tumblers of binary.

Authors will be speaking, hand shaking, answering queries from intriguing and wonderful readers’ brains and last, but not least, signing the works.

R.J. Huneke was present at the launch of the 2016 Suffolk County Poetry Review last Saturday, and he read his piece “Careless Eyes” that was published in the issue (read about that here or on his web site at rjhuneke.com.

It is rumored that Mr. Huneke is very close to finishing his next novel in the variety of science fiction and/or noir and/or spy thriller genres.

If you like a page-turner, great characters, and an intensely entertaining story backed by great research, Cyberwar can offer all of that and more.

If you want to hear more about his next book, or perhaps a secret reading of its opening (SHH!) attend the fair!

Hear all about it from the author himself – I am sure he will be happy to sign a copy for any Eager Reader in attendance.

In case you were wondering about his book that is out now:

When hackers seize the world governments everything changed for all of humanity. A new sense of hope arrived in the streets and young people everywhere embraced the new world order. However, what appeared to be a new found freedom soon turned out to be a new tyranny far worse than anything they imagined.

William Waltz formed part of the new elite that guarded the regime, that is, until the regime turned on him.

Read more about Cyberwar here.