Tim Washburn - Cyber Attack

“I know you did. Hopefully this is almost over.”

“Thirty-nine inmates dead, Captain,” Lieutenant Fred Parker shouts.

Butler does the math in his head. If the count is right they’ve whittled the number of remaining inmates down to somewhere around thirty. At this pace, there’s a good chance they’ll be able to leave this godforsaken place before daylight. His thoughts are interrupted by a radio call from Sergeant Vasquez.

Butler clicks the transmit button. “Butler here. Go, Vasquez.”

“Sir,” Vasquez says, “we have a hostage situation at the infirmary.”

Butler mutters a string of curse words. “Roger, on my way.” He looks at Darnell. “Most of the prison staff is at the school with the other prisoners.”

Darnell shakes her head. “Uh-uh. I’m going with you.”

“Works for me.” Butler turns to his men. “Freddy, with me. For everyone else, Sergeant Gibbs is now in command. We’re almost home, men. We still have around thirty prisoners to find. I’m betting a good number of those inmates are inside the infirmary, but be careful as you clear the rest of the prison. Good work, men.”

As the men move out by squads, Butler glances at Darnell and says, “You better grab some more ammo for that scattergun of yours.”

Fort George C. Meade, Fort Meade, Maryland

Hank Goodnight is working the phones as Natalie, Paige, and the crew continue to work on unraveling the malware. Natalie has the NSA scouring for any scrap of information, but Hank is taking it a step further by contacting his sources at a little-known agency inside the Justice Department called the National Security Analysis Center (NSAC). Started shortly after 9/11, the agency was originally tasked with keeping tabs on foreign nationals. But the agency’s role has expanded over the years and they now have access to over 130 databases and over two billion records. Of those records, half are unique to the agency and can’t be found in other government databases. Able to access every intelligence database in the U.S. government, the agency also has access to law enforcement data and can access many commercial companies that collect data on American residents. In comparison, the NSA is limited to intercepting only domestic electronic communications while the NSAC has no such limits. It’s Big Bother personified.

It doesn’t feel like an inside job to Hank, but he’s covering all the bases. It would be much faster and easier if he had a name, however, for now, he’s having them search for any mention of the ongoing cyber attack and he’s having them compile backgrounds on known hackers both inside and outside the United States. That last part of his request will likely be a bust because most hackers never reveal their true identities and he’ll end up with a bunch of screen names with little attribution. But it feels good to be doing something.

Hank leans back in the chair and runs a hand across his face, feeling the stubble. It’s been a long, long day. He pushes wearily to his feet. “I think I’m going to find somewhere to stretch out for a bit.”

Paige looks up from her computer. “Oh, is this the sleeping part you were talking about?”

Hank shrugs. “I suppose. You’re a big girl and I figure you’ll sleep when you want to sleep.”

“I’m too wound up anyway,” Paige says.

“Hank, there’s a couch in my office,” Natalie says.

“Which is where?” Hank asks, looking around.

Natalie points to a door on the other side of the room. “Thanks, Nat. I promise not to slobber.”

Natalie smiles. “And no farting, either.”

“That, I can’t promise,” Hank says. “Anyplace to get a cold beer around here?”

“Check the small fridge in my office. I think there’s a few cans in there.”

“They let you drink on the job?” Hank asks.

“We work some long hours. It’s not encouraged but it’s also not discouraged. So until they say no, I’ll have a beer or some wine when I’m working late.”

“Want me to bring you and Paige a glass of wine?”

Natalie looks at Paige. “Want some chardonnay?”

Paige shakes her head. “If I drink a glass of wine, I’ll crash and burn.”

“I’ll pass, too. Thanks for asking, though.”

“Hey, it’s your wine. I was just going to be the delivery boy.”

“And a cute one at that,” Natalie says, giving Hank a wink. She clucks her tongue three times and says, “Oh, think about the fun we could have had, Hank Goodnight.”

Thinking it’s best to leave that alone for now, Hank waves and heads for Natalie’s office. Inside, he kicks off his boots, kills the light, and stretches out on the couch. It’s about a foot too short for Hank’s long frame, leaving his feet dangling off the edge. He stares at the moonlight slashing across the ceiling, wondering about Natalie. They’d done some fooling around, but nothing that involved shedding clothes. They were close, though, and it probably would have happened on that next date until Hank screwed that up. It’s been a long while since he’s had a relationship and he wonders if Natalie is currently attached.

But just as soon as he thinks that, his thoughts drift from Natalie to Paige. Both women are extremely intelligent and both are easy on the eyes. Both are curious and both are strong willed. Paige seems a little more refined and Hank doesn’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Although he’s a small-town boy from Ada, Oklahoma, Hank has seen a lot of the world yet he remains somewhat culturally stunted. He hates opera and can barely tolerate the symphony. But he loves college football and Jason Aldean. He sighs and rolls over to his side, trying to turn off the spigot of thoughts crowding into his brain.

Paige felt a little uncomfortable during that exchange between Natalie and Hank and she spends a moment contemplating why. She’s known Hank for all of one day. One extremely long day, yes, but all she knows about him is he has a grandmother he calls Nana and he’s from a small town in Oklahoma. Then her mind flashes on that incident in Manhattan. Maybe she knows more about him than she originally thought. Hank had been calm and collected and it’s obvious he has a strong moral foundation, evidenced by his actions in the looted restaurant. But then Paige wonders if he went too far. Was there another way that didn’t involve the killing of two people? Not that those two men didn’t deserve it for what they were doing to that young, innocent girl, but Hank made the conscious decision to be judge, jury, and executioner without, apparently, a second thought.

“Earth to Paige,” Natalie says.

Paige startles and looks at Natalie. “Sorry. I guess I drifted off to la-la land.”

Natalie smiles. “Was Hank there?”

Paige blushes. “What’s the story between you two?”

“There’s not one. We went out a few times and that’s about it.”

“Still interested?”

“No, I’ve moved in another direction.”

Paige doesn’t know what that means and she allows the conversation to die as the two return to dissecting the malware. Whoever created it knew what they were doing. It’s a sophisticated piece of software and as they drill down deeper, they’re beginning to find what the targets are. Hank is correct. Most of the payloads are designed to gain control of various industrial control systems. What’s stunning is that the software is able to infiltrate a large number of different control systems, meaning that whoever created it spent years adding to its capabilities.

How the malware initially penetrated these various computer networks remains a mystery for now. It could have been an infected flash drive, a spear phishing campaign, an infected e-mail attachment, or a host of other methods the hackers use to gain access to a computer network. The answers will eventually come, but it will take a good amount of detective work to interview employees and to study the various companies’ past history of software changes, updates, or additions. It’s a long, tedious task that could drag on for months.