Mark Pryor - Cyberian Affair

Vyper poked a finger in Niko’s ribs. “Check this out. One of those Phoenix computers is probing the power grid in southern California. I don’t like—”

A loud warbling sound interrupted Vyper. She pounded her fingers on the keyboard, paused, and pounded them again.

Niko watched without interrupting. This was the second time in two days she’d bumped into a hacker on a dark web router. Vyper had to act fast—wiping out evidence of her session before anyone could follow her through the network.

Her fingers stopped, and she looked up. “Someone is trying to track me. Maybe trying to track Prixster.”

For the past week, Niko had sent a lot of data to Homeland, but the information flowed only one way. The guidance they received was, “Stay out of Phoenix and Nassau. It’s not your job.” Same thing with California. The Russians were trying to break into the electrical grid, and Homeland told Niko to stay out of it.

Vyper sat on the couch next to him. “I just planted another bug in the Rockefeller Petroleum engineering network in Texas. I discovered an admin logged into the system—from the Russian site in Phoenix. I killed his session, but he will probably return.”

“Damn.” Niko shook his head. “I told Homeland about this. Rockefeller users, including admins, are logging in from unsecured remote sites. If someone steals a password, they can log in from anywhere”

“Nothing we can do about it.” She slid closer to him and glanced at his laptop. “What have you learned about the pipeline equipment? Have you found anything that would respond to the Russian probe?”

“Homeland hasn’t told us shit. I’ve been reading some of Rockefeller’s engineering docs. I found a flow computer that might be the target. It controls and monitors the flow of oil.”

They looked through the specifications together, studying how the system worked. Anyone who modified the program could disrupt the movement of fuel and trick the monitoring system into reporting normal operation.

Vyper selected the source code of Groper. “I will add a probe to my program. We will see where all these flow computers are.”

“I’ll tell Homeland.” Niko made a call on the bat phone, explained what they found and promised to send details in an email.

He was about to hang up when the man from Homeland said, “We followed up with Rockefeller on their lax security. They promised to enforce rules on admin signons. If they’re not on Rockefeller’s internal network, they’re required to use the company’s secure remote connection.”

Being cooperative ? They must want something . “That’s great. Just a few minutes ago, someone from the Phoenix site—”

The voice on the phone interrupted. “We need your help. It’s urgent. Have you seen the news about the power outage in Los Angeles?”

Niko searched the news. “Not really, just looking at it now. Seems serious.”

“It’s a cyber-attack on Valley Electric. We isolated their network from the rest of the grid. Our folks are still working on bringing them back on line.”

Niko put the phone on speaker. “Vyper, Homeland needs you to restore power in LA. It was a cyber-attack—sounds like it might be related to the intrusion we reported last week. The one they told us to stay out of.”

Vyper tapped away at her keyboard, then looked up. “I cannot access Valley Electric. Has anyone set up generators and satellite communication?”

“One moment,” said a voice on the speaker phone. “I’m connecting you directly to our incident response team.”

Niko turned on network news, where the anchor desk reported on the developing situation, speaking to on-site reporters via satellite phone. No video was available because emergency operations officials had commandeered all power generators in the area, including those from news organizations.

Vyper worked with the emergency team to establish a connection to the power distribution network and identify the systems that were affected by the attack.

“I wouldn’t want to be in LA,” said Niko. “Traffic snarls and accidents, mob scenes at banks and gas stations, looting, riots. Hospitals are running with limited power on backup systems. It’s threatening patients’ lives. Officials are reporting shootings… some deaths. It’ll be dark soon—officials ordered an immediate curfew.”

By nightfall, Vyper had identified the cause and devised a plan. The power company had to isolate the major parts of the network so Vyper could repair each segment one at a time. They kept the malicious software isolated from the newly-repaired sections.

Each time Vyper cleared one segment, Valley Electric restored power to another section of the city. Within a few hours, the system was back to full capacity. The city was in shambles. Emergency crews would get no rest tonight.

It was after midnight in Virginia when Vyper closed her laptop. “I am exhausted. This is the first time I have had to fix a problem while people were suffering… dying. The Russians have never attacked our country like this before.”

Niko gave her a hug. “This tit-for-tat. Moscow blames us for the attack on their Metro, so they attack the power company in LA. Could be the start of a full-scale cyberwar. And our country has the most to lose.” He kissed her. “You need some sleep. Let’s go to bed.”

They fell asleep almost immediately.

Whoop… Whoop… Whoop

Niko opened his eyes and glanced at the clock—2:15.

Whoop… Whoop… Whoop

Intruders ! Probably not the FBI .

Niko jumped out of bed and picked up his phone. On the screen, a night vision video showed the bright-green images of two men on the left side of the driveway and one on the right. He touched a drop-down menu and selected “Dog.”

The sound of three barking canines broke the silence outside. The figures on the screen stopped, raised their weapons, and turned to a defensive position.

Vyper stood on the other side of the bed, stepped into her slippers, pulled on a nightshirt, and picked up her phone.

“Follow me!” Niko snatched a shirt and pair of shorts from the chair next to the bed, picked up the bat phone and his gun, and ran to the computer room, Vyper right behind him.

He held Vyper’s hand. “Stand behind the door. It’s bulletproof.” He slammed it shut. “Call Homeland.”

On the inside of the computer room door, a large video monitor showed the three green figures moving toward the house. Niko touched the screen and selected more menu options. A loud alarm screamed outside the house.

The video switched to full color as floodlights illuminated the lawn outside. Two spotlights scanned the yard randomly. Three men dressed completely in black, carrying assault rifles and a battering ram, suddenly stopped and tore the goggles off their faces. They sprinted to the outer edge of the lawn.

“They had night vision goggles,” said Niko. “The light must have been blinding. Looks like they’re wearing body armor.”

Vyper yelled into the phone. “Homeland, this is Harris. Armed men are attacking my home. Send help now.” She ended the call and touched an icon on her phone. “Data purge and computer shutdown started.”

The lights blinked. Vyper glanced at her phone. “They cut power. We are on batteries.”

Niko slipped into his shorts and pulled the shirt over his head. “It’s okay. I connected the security system so it runs on emergency power.”

Outside, two men spread out, ten yards to either side of the third, then all three sprinted toward the house. As the first man came within ten feet of the door, two strobe lights flashed intense beams at his face, stopping him abruptly. The other men came from the sides and ran up to the door.