Tim Washburn - Cyber Attack

“I don’t know, Paul. That’s every dime we have to our name.”

“Know how much we made on the CD last year? Four thousand measly fucking dollars. Hell, that doesn’t even cover what we lost to inflation.”

“Maybe we should call Paulie.”

“Paulie’s the one who suggested we put it in the market. And according to that guy that’s worth a gazillion dollars out in Nebraska, we could maybe earn ten percent just by investing into one of those index funds.”

Irene throws up her hands. “What the hell do you know about index funds, Paul?”

“I know they pay a good return. What do you want to do? Put the money under the damn mattress?”

Irene hangs her head. “I don’t know , Paul. We lose this we’re going to the poorhouse.”

“We’re not going to lose it. Jesus Christ, millions of people are in the stock market.”

“At our age?”

“Hell, yes. It’s the only way to make any money.”

They sit in silence for a few moments, the only sound the whirring of the cooling fan on the old computer. Irene gets up, toddles into the kitchen, and returns with a glass of water. “Have you been tracking this fund’s returns?”

“Every day. But I’ve got my eye on a couple of funds. Don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket.”

“How are they performing?”

“They’re up. Hell, the whole market’s up.”

Irene throws her hands up again. “Whatever.”

“Oh hell, no,” Paul says sharply, “We’re not playing that game. This has to be a mutual decision or I’d never hear the end of it.”

Irene thinks it over for another minute. “You sure you don’t want to put it back in a CD?”

“Hell, no. Didn’t I just tell you what we made on it last year?” Paul peers over the computer screen, giving Irene a hard look.

“And you’re sure the money’ll be safe?”

“Hell, Irene, there ain’t no guarantees in life. But millions of people do it every day with nary a second thought.”

Irene takes a sip of water, thinking. “Does that mean you’ll take me on that cruise?”

“When we start making some money, I’ll take you on two cruises.”

“Oh, stop, Paul. I’ll be lucky to get you on one. Is the money already in the brokerage account?”

“Yep. Put in there last week. A few computer clicks and we can start packing for that cruise.”

“And I can buy a couple of new outfits for the trip?”

Without even a second thought, Paul says, “Sure.”

“Okay, Paul. Invest the money.”

Unfortunately for the Betkowskis, Paul picks the exact wrong day, the exact wrong hour, the exact wrong minute to make the trade.

He finishes placing the buy order and switches over to his e-mail account to check for a confirmation. He waits. And waits. And waits some more. “That’s strange.”

“What?” Irene asks, a hint of panic in her voice.

“Paulie says the trades happen almost as quick as the order is placed, but I haven’t gotten a confirmation e-mail yet.”

The Betkowskis’ wait stretches on for several minutes with Paul clicking the get new mail button every few seconds.

“Anything?” Irene asks.

“Don’t you think I’d say somethin’ if I’d gotten an e-mail?”

“Don’t be short with me, Paul. Check the account.”

Paul mouses the cursor over to the web page, logs out, and logs back in. “The money’s not there. They must be in the process of making the trade.”

“Paul, you better call them.”

Paul scrolls down the page to the CONTACT US section and pulls out his cell phone, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. He punches in the number and navigates through about ten menu options before being placed on hold.

Irene sits, wringing her hands. “I told you, Paul.”

Paul glances over. “Don’t start, Irene. I’m sure it’s just a mix-up.”

After five minutes on hold, a live human comes on the line and Paul explains the situation. He can hear the woman clicking away on a keyboard. She returns to the line, and Paul hears only the first part of her explanation before the phone slips from his hand.

“What is it, Paul?”

All the blood has drained from Paul’s face when he looks up at his wife. “They have no record of the account.”

—BREAKING NEWS—Power out in nation’s capital. More details to follow…

—BREAKING NEWS—Problems at Colorado River dam.

Details are sketchy at the moment but early reports suggest the floodgates at the Glen Canyon Dam are stuck in the open position. Experts are concerned about the effects on Glen Canyon’s downstream cousin, Hoover Dam. More details to follow…

—BREAKING NEWS—Nuclear power plant on verge of meltdown. Emergency workers widen evacuation zone. Experts fear the worst. Potentially worst U.S. nuclear power plant disaster since 1979’s Three Mile Island.

Residents around the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Maryland are being ordered to evacuate as a cloud of deadly radiation continues to escape from one of the plant’s reactors. At the moment the cause is unknown. As the story continues to unfold there is some speculation that the water pumps used to pump cool water to the reactor may have failed. More details to follow…

—BREAKING NEWS—All air travel halted after a series of deadly accidents. Possible engine failure may be to blame. Death toll could be staggering, according to one airline executive.

Investigators are scrambling to find the cause for several deadly airline crashes that have occurred across the United States. All flights have been grounded until further notice. Preliminary reports say all the aircraft involved are Boeing 737s. Early indications suggest it may have something to do with the planes’ engines. We have not yet confirmed the precise number of crashes or the number of people involved. One airline executive says the death toll could be staggering. More details to follow…

McLean

“Find anything?” Hank asks.

“Still looking,” Paige replies. Each had chosen a power company in the D.C. area and it had taken Paige five minutes to break through the firewall and enter the company’s computer network. Hank was a little slower. It took him nine minutes to hack the system of another power provider. Both are using software developed by a consortium of programmers at the FBI and NSA.

“I’m perusing some company e-mails to see if they had any indications or warning signs they were being hacked,” Paige says, “but I’m not seeing anything. Someone wasn’t doing their job because the hackers would have been lurking around on their network for months if not years.”

“You’re probably right. I wonder what else they’ve hacked. So far, they’ve targeted a dam, a flight control computer, and a portion of the power grid. The big question is, what’s next?”

Paige continues scrolling through the company’s e-mails. She stops and clicks on one from earlier in the day. It’s an e-mail from a field engineer to the CEO of the company. She quickly reads through the contents. “Want some more bad news, Hank?”

“I think that’s all we’re going to be hearing for a while. Shoot.”

“According to one of this company’s engineers, portions of the D.C. power grid could be off-line for months. Not days. Months. Apparently the hackers did a number on some of the larger transformers.”

“I’m not surprised. Does it say what method the hackers used? Was it an attack on the SCADA system or maybe a specific programmable logic controller?” Hank takes a moment to text Mercer the new information about the D.C. power grid.