“What do you need?” Jeremiah barked into the phone. “I have given your team enough time, money, and other resources. We need to move quickly. They cannot postpone the launch of Project.”
“Network congestion has been a problem in the eastern United States, and—”
Jeremiah cut the caller off. “I don’t care what you need to do; just make it happen. I have some of the best minds in the business, so leverage them and get it done. Leviathan must be online by the fourth.” Jeremiah hung up.
Melissa walked in. “Dad, our guest needs to speak with you.”
Before Jeremiah could respond, Gregor walked past Melissa.
“What is it?” Jeremiah asked in a cold voice. He was not in the mood for this.
“Do you have assets at EIA?”
“Yes—one of my data warehouses is there,” Jeremiah said.
“I was viewing your security operations center alerts and noticed this. Your staff is doing a subpar job, I might add, because they didn’t bring it to your attention.”
Gregor handed Jeremiah a tablet.
“What is thi—? If these readings are correct, then we are in trouble.”
Gregor nodded. “Black Iris has launched a major DDOS attack, and they have taken down CloudShield.”
“Impossible! CloudShield has several redundant systems that should route DOS and DDOS traffic to black hole sites,” Jeremiah said.
“CloudShield works with the internet service providers (ISPs), and has access to the internet backbone, which uses border gateway protocol (BGP) routers. Think of BGPs like a traffic control system for part of a region connecting to the internet. ISPs have their own serialization, called autonomous system (AS) numbers. If an attacker can reroute that traffic, then it can be attacked,” Gregor said. “EIA is large enough to have its own set of AS numbers. If those get hijacked, then it can be rerouted.”
Jeremiah raised his eyebrows, and Gregor took this as a sign to continue.
“We can use this to our advantage. If we gain control of the facility, even for a short time, we can infect the infrastructure, launch our own attacks, and better defend ourselves.”
“Interesting. If I’m understanding correctly, we would need to break into the CloudShield facility to protect ourselves.”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Exactly, and while I’m there, I can implant our own backdoors,” Gregor said.
“What are the risks?”
“There is a small chance of detection, but with all the internet disruption on the Web this week, no one will likely notice. Most internet companies operate on a skeleton crew during the holidays. Many of them will probably be half drunk from all the eggnog. I know I would be,” Gregor said.
“I accept the risk. Let’s do it, then.”
Easy for you to say. I’m taking all the risk, Gregor thought.
“Do you have everything you need to infiltrate the facility?” Jeremiah asked.
“It’s risky bringing in the radio frequency scanners I need. I will need to source them on-site,” Gregor replied.
“Anything else?”
“I need a van, or some other inconspicuous vehicle,” Gregor said.
“Okay, I will take care it.”
“Better be going—it’s a long flight.”
Eight hours later
Gregor landed in Newport. The pilot directed the airplane to the private airport terminal. An agent directed him to the customs area.
“What is your purpose for entering the United States?” the agent asked, taking Gregor’s passport.
“Personal. I’m here to visit my uncle, James,” Gregor said, smiling.
The agent held up the passport, and then looked at Gregor.
This is taking too long! Gregor complained internally.
“What is your name?”
“My name is Anton Bond,” Gregor said.
“Welcome to the United States, Mr. Bond.” The agent handed “Anton’s” passport back.
“Thank you, and happy holidays,” Gregor said.
Gregor stepped out into the cold night air and turned on his phone. A message awaited on his secure app: Van waiting in car park behind customs building. The message was signed “JM.”
Gregor walked to the appointed place. The van he saw there was several years old, but in good shape. He got into the driver’s seat. Not wanting to draw any attention, Gregor drove the van to a motel to complete his preparations.
After a quick check of various local online classified boards specializing in modified radio scanner equipment, he decided on an older—but more reliable—Radio-frequency identification (RFID) cloner. The older models could be modified to get a better signal range. He spotted the perfect cloner to suit his needs. The ad read: Looking to clone some Radio IDs? Then you have come to the right place, friend. Call crazy Lenny for a good deal, 555-1246. Cash only, and no fuzz!
That looks promising, Gregor thought as he dialed the number.
“Hey, you looking for Lenny?” a man answered.
“Yes. Do you have the Mark H4 model?” Gregor asked.
“Sure we do. Meet at Fourth and Mills in Newport in one hour.” The line severed.
Gregor looked at the Maps app. It was at least a thirty-minute drive.
Due to slippery roads, there was unexpected traffic, but Gregor got there five minutes before the meeting time. He examined the corner as he drove past. He parked the van a few blocks away on a side street, and then got out and waited at the corner. He noticed that they had chosen an exposed meeting spot.
I’m being watched.
Less than a minute later, a weasel of a man emerged from the safety of the shadows between two buildings.
“You asked for the Mark H4. You bring the cash?” the man asked.
Gregor took out a wad of hundred-dollar bills and gave the man five of them. He was handed a plastic bag printed with a dancing donut. He inventoried the equipment, and the man was gone before Gregor looked up.
Gregor spent the rest of the evening making modifications to the scanner module.