BodyGuards III Cyber AssaultChapter 12
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"Impossible!" the others in the room could not know that this exposition came from certain knowledge, because they did not know of her mental link to her father's bodyguards, and Stephanie Winchell took a deep breath. "I happen to know, for certain, that neither Mei nor Wei has been anywhere near Hong Kong for more than five years. You, however, must not take my word for it. Verify this through investigation and get that phase done quickly so you can get on with figuring out who really did this, and what they have done or are doing with the data. What, exactly, did they get?"
"I understand your loyalty to your father's bodyguards, Madame President," the steel in Stephanie's gaze made the Donald Patterson, DCIS' attempt to be patronizing seem petty, "but the DNA doesn't lie. If they weren't there, how did one of their hairs get there?"
"That's what your investigation will determine." Stephanie replied impatiently. "Meanwhile, you can easily discover their whereabouts for the period in question, so finish that quickly and get on with the important part of the investigation - finding out who did it, and what they've done with the data. Now answer my question!"
"As you wish, Madame President." Patterson had irritated Stephanie to the point where she considered replacing him many times, but each time she came up against the fact that the bastard was so damned good at his job, and she put the nation's security high above her personal feelings. "Mostly, it was just financial analysis - interesting, but not terribly valuable to anyone else. There was one report, however, that included the names and legends of most of the NOC agents in the Middle East. NOC stands for 'Non-Official Cover', that is to say 'covert', Madame President. This is the portion that causes us the most concern."
"All right." Without falling into the trap of telling him that she had known what a NOC agent was for years, even before she became President, Stephanie shifted attention to the others in the room. "I want a plan that addresses this and similar potential breaches of security without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Unless it was a deliberate lapse on someone's part, however, we should be teaching, not firing, got that? I want that tomorrow. You're already working on the breach, so keep me updated on progress. If any of this data goes up for sale, I want to know who gets it before they do. Anything else?"
"It would speed things up if we could interview Mei and Wei..." The Director of the FBI said. Milt Walsh was still a little tentative in his position, especially with the example before him of the summary dismissal of his former boss, but was making all the right moves, and he had a solid background for his job - unlike the crony of a former President that he had replaced.
"They'll be waiting for you when you return to your office, Milt." She wanted to tell him to relax, that his predecessor was fired for incompetence, not for telling her things she didn't want to hear, but decided to see how how long it would take him to figure that out for himself...
"Keep me posted, Donald." The President once again fixed her gaze on the DCIS. "I don't give a rat's ass what you think of me, but I do insist that you do your job, and part of that job is reporting to the Office of the President, regardless of who sits in the chair. Do we understand each other?"
"Perfectly, Madame President." Grudgingly, Patterson had to admit that none of her predecessors would have handled this situation as sensibly. No recrimination, no political bullshit, no wasted rhetoric, and no useless orders to do what they were already doing. On impulse, he extended his hand and was surprised at the power of her grip, her eyes never wavering from his. A nod of cautious respect and he was gone, trailing the others behind.
To keep the phone records in order, Stephanie made the call to the DC branch of Gemini Security, even though she knew that Mei and Wei were already on their way to the FBI office.
Darren, as First Gentleman, it would be unseemly for you to go haring off around the world in search of whoever stole this data, she 'told' her husband and the others within their mental community, while verbally requesting that Gemini get a message to Mei and Wei to go to the FBI office, not to mention the fact that the Secret Service will be very pissed if you give them the slip again. If you two, Aunt Sun and Aunt Jun could get over to Hong Kong as soon as possible and see if you can get any more information about what's going on, I would appreciate it.
We're packing as we speak, Niece. The affection accompanying Sun's thought did nothing to soften the competent, businesslike air with which the Gemini girls tackled all such problems. You may have to nudge my sister once more, however, to get her out of your husband's bed!
There was laughter in Jun's mind as she joined in. Oh stop, sister! I'll be ready before you are. Meanwhile, Darren, you and Mei and Wei need to get online and see if you can track this hacker. Remember what we showed you about signatures. This is not the first place this person's broken into, nor will it be the last, so spread your net and see what you can catch.
You realize that, talented as this person is, Darren answered, he or she probably got into the CIA files by accident. Probably didn't even realize what he got.
How can you say that, Darren? Stephanie came back. No one breaks into a system as secure as that without knowing what they're doing!
I didn't say they didn't know what they were doing, Darren responded, only that they didn't know who they were doing it to. The data they took was pretty much random files. It's sheer luck that they got away with a file full of NOC agent names and legends. It would seem more reasonable to assume that if they had broken into the CIA computers on purpose, they would have planned better and gotten more sensitive files first.
You may be right, Darren, Stephanie replied, but even a lucky amateur could decide to sell the data, once he realizes what he's got, and if someone who does know what that data means gets hold of the file, or even gets wind that this person has it, one enormous pile of shit will hit a humongous fan, so let's see if we can get to it first.
All right, Steph. I'll hot up the VR set and maybe you guys can guide me a bit while I search for this monkey.
Okay. Stephanie answered, picking up the CIA report from her desk. Here are the relevant IP addresses for the initial breach, the stolen data, and the waystations used to transfer the data.
All five of them memorized the numbers as Stephanie scanned the document. Darren donned the helmet and gloves that Gemini/Winchell Security Systems ("When it absolutely, positively has to get there and stay there...") used to manipulate vast, fast moving amounts of data. The software had been created in collaboration between Hastings Corp. and G/WSS, with G/WSS as the sole consumer of the product. Its primary purpose was to map the abstract entities of the data world into images with which the user was familiar in such a way as to make the understanding and manipulation of the data intuitive for the user. Part of that 'user friendliness' included supplying real-world metaphors for active and passive electronic entities that allowed the user to act upon them appropriately without necessarily knowing what they represented. Despite the advanced features, though, Darren had been lost within the 3D constructs until he had discovered the configuration page.
As he tapped forefinger and thumb together to activate the system, biometric sensors in both gloves and in the helmet read the prints on all ten fingers, scanned both retinas, and sampled the miniscule amounts of perspiration at his scalp. Satisfied that the set was, indeed, occupied by an authorized user, it came alive, retrieving his personalized configuration. Darren suddenly found himself crouched behind a sandy hummock bearing a tuft of dry, desert grass, reading a map that was laid out before him. The G-girls had chided him a bit for usind the Iraqi desert metaphor for these simulations, but could not fault the result. He was trained and experienced in tracking enemies through desert terrain, and by configuring the simulation to present a familiar landscape, had dramatically improved his ability to function in the virtual environment. Besides, being back in the desert kept him on his toes. Hastings' CTO, Bob, had obliged him with some very realistic graphics from the Iraqi desert and towns, including scenes from Baghdad.
Of course, there were imperfections in the metaphor. Things that pre-existed the time of a simulation, but were unknown to the VR software simply appeared as the software became aware of them. In addition, 'people' - that is, communication and active program elements that were specific to a real life person, appeared as indistinct figures, without faces or other distinguishing characteristics until the user or the software saw fit to supply them. In addition, such 'people' tended to travel well-defined routes, usually from building to building, and the active subject of the VR was constrained in a similar manner, since they could travel only where an electronic pathway existed. Even broadcast signals such as Wi-Fi and satellite up- and down-links traveled point-to-point unless the VR detected a 'tap' of some sort that intercepted copies of the data. In such cases, it was up to the user to determine which path was more interesting. Oh, yes, and instead of map coordinates, one designated specific locations using IP addresses.
These differences and others made the surreal world of the VR a little strange, but were much easier for someone like Darren to deal with than the abstractions of data packets, virtual networks, viruses, spyware, etc.
Using the IP address of the hapless CIA analyst as a starting point, he entered the 'coordinates' into his 'map' and the landscape shifted suddenly. It was nighttime, now, and while his virtual HUD indicated the 'target' in green - a small hovel on the edge of a nearby village, a quick check of the time display showed that he had also been shifted backward in virtual time to the night of the original break-in. Insect sounds reached his ears, normal for a desert night, then a shuffling sound reached his ears, and he detected a dark figure stealing up to the hut and slipping inside.
Darren waited. Unlike real desert warfare, there was nothing he could do to prevent what was happening in that hut, since it had already occurred. Nor could he accost the perpetrator directly. His purpose here was to track the thief back to it's origin, if possible, and for that, he must wait. He didn't bother concealing himself. He would be invisible to the thief since he hadn't actually been there when the break-in occurred.
Scant moments later, the shadowy figure again slipped out of the hut and scuttled across the sand on a barely visible path. Darren followed, still not worried about concealment, but keeping alert for booby traps, which, if set on the night in question might still be active, and would only appear if activated by his programmatic presence. A brisk jog across the desert, and the figure entered another, larger building on the edge of a town - a server, no doubt. Quickly, Darren searched for other doors to the 'building', rounding the corner just in time to see his quarry slip out onto a crowded walkway. Darren kept his attention on the thief but continually scanned the faceless crowd, watching for anything out of the ordinary.
This was one part of virtuality that he had had particular difficulty adjusting to: the fact that traps left in the past could act in the present, but the G-girls had drilled him incessantly on that, and now, it was second nature to him.
Suddenly, the figure changed course and boarded a bus paused at a bus stop. Darren boarded three people behind her.
Yes, for some reason the simulation had given this thief a petite female body, but the face was still indistinct. He wasn't sure just what she had done in the real world to cause the simulation to put her on the bus, but it must have been unusual. Most travelers in this world tended to move from one structure to another, or exit a structure and board a vehicle immediately, getting off at another structure. This walking partway and then boarding a bus was something he hadn't seen before.
As the bus came to a halt in front of another, larger building, Darren followed his quarry off the bus, noting as he did, that a small dog followed him off the bus. Great! Now he would have to deal with the dog before he did anything else. It was a friendly little mutt, but its head came off bloodlessly with one swipe of his Ka-bar. Its owner would probably deduce that someone had tracked her when the watchdog didn't report in, but at least the mutt wouldn't be able to follow him home and report where he came from. The G/WSS computers were pretty secure, but no sense taking chances.
Darren looked up from his task just in time to see the girl disappear into the imposing structure before him, having slipped in through a hole in the fence that promptly closed after her. He again made a circuit of the building, watching for his quarry to exit, but it wasn't until the second time around that he saw her - perched on the back of a motorbike as it sped out of an underground garage, the driver seemingly unaware of her presence. Using the controls in the HUD he slowed the simulation so that he could keep pace and still watch for booby traps and sentinels. It would have been just as easy to increase his own speed without slowing the simulation, but that would have made it harder to notice any traps.
At a junction in the middle of nowhere, the motorbike took a turn, and the girl leaped off in slow motion, again without the driver seeming to notice. Without hesitation, the thief ducked behind a rock at the side of the road, and came out riding another motorcycle, going in the direction opposite the other bike. Realizing that this must have been prearranged, Darren did his best to conceal his virtual body and waited. Sure enough, a vicious looking canine snout soon poked out from behind the rock that had concealed the bike. From the opposite side of the same rock, a venomous cobra appeared. Two shots from his sidearm took care of these threats, but apparently awakened a lion. The fury with which the simulated beast attacked could only mean that the VR software thought it a real danger to his virtual presence. While not harmful to his physical presence, the destruction of his simulacrum would require a system reboot to get him back on track, so he unslung his assault weapon, emptied a clip into the charging beast, and followed up with a grenade from the weapon's launcher. Each of these virtual weapons mapped to bits of software designed to foil particular kinds of attack, and he was pleased to see the blown up bits of the intruder's attackers being collected by packrat-like constructs that represented the simulation's collection of the remaining program fragments for later study.
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