Bad Good Bad: Special Edition Read online

  Eric: “Good morning Kim.”

  Kim: “Good morning Eric. Good morning guys.”

  Eric: “Ok, let’s get started. Kamal, do you have an update on the situation?”

  Kamal: “Yes, thank you Eric. All indicators are green for now. We have not seen any interruption or latency since the attack was stopped. We had a special hybrid team on the nightshift, watching the evolution over the last 12 hours. We can wait 3 more hours before we finally lower our guards, but we are confident that the vault is stabilized.”

  Clarence: “Good thing. The timing of this attack was pretty bad for Pro. We are in the middle of negotiating bunch of contracts with other leagues.”

  Eric: “Kim, Kevin, are you guys copying anything interesting from the vault? For one, it has been relatively quiet for me since the attack stopped.”

  Kevin: “Kim, you disconnected around 9:30 last night, right? I lost you at that point. I am slowly starting to sense your emotions again. Sorry about that. I don’t think I have control over this.”

  Kim: “I feel your presence too Kevin.”

  Eric: “Well, at least you won’t be bothered anymore by wild tuners.”

  Anima: “Kim, did you copy anything different from the vault since the attacks stopped?”

  Kim: “Yes. First, I was sensing a presence. And I copied a message last night when I was at the skate park, from the helper I believe.”

  Anima: “What was the message?”

  Kim: “Follow me. It feels like he wants to show me something. I tried to focus on the message, but it faded away.”

  Anima: “I am wondering what that could mean. Maybe it does mean something. His messages copied by Eric so far all appear to have been directly or indirectly related to real events.”

  Kamal: “We are still analyzing the logs, and studying the new bot. We will need a few more days to see if we can extract any useful information about how the new bot was used, and if it was responsible for shutting down the DDOS attack somehow.”

  Eric: “Kamal, make sure you monitor the situation very closely with both the Neocuris team and the New Forensics team. For the next few days we want 3 daily checkpoints between the 3 teams, 9, noon and 4.”

  Kamal: “I agree Eric. We have already extracted some pattern from the logs about the DDOS attack. It looks like 5 interfaces have been compromised. Their app instances are not active anymore. There was some masquerading attempt that tricked us initially. A lot of traffic was coming through those 5 interfaces. It does not seem to fit a humanlike pattern.”

  Kevin: “Maybe our helper was able to tune in into those 5 interfaces. And help the authorities pinpoint their location.”

  Eric: “We need to get to the bottom of this. Keep working with New Forensics and Neocuris on that.”

  Kevin: “Kamal, can I take a look at the logs again?”

  Kamal: “Yes, come with me. Eric, are we done with the meeting now?”

  Eric: “Yes. Let’s gather back in here at 11:30.”

  I go to my desk. I am looking at some of the self-study material that Bianca shared with me. I want to occupy my brain. I am trying to decide which track I want to focus on for the executive certification.

  I sense the presence again. I hear ‘Follow me’. That’s our helper again. Who is he? Why is he apparently trying to help us? Is he the same person who was part of the attack in January?

  Eric comes to my desk and drops a brown courier envelope before me. I pick it up, it is already opened. In it I find a picture of a little plastic box around a Styrofoam block, with 5 small encasings. In each one, a little black square. 5 chips.

  Eric: “We just got that, overnight shipping. They are probably the 5 chips that were leveraged to coordinate the last attack, the ones that the security teams tracked down in the logs. We checked, there were no stolen chips from clinics like we thought at first. No reported theft from any clinic. We have some protection around the chips, the onboarding protocol is very solid. Kamal says they were able to identify 5 patients that got those chips at about the same time from 3 different clinics, in February.”

  Kim: “Wow! So the chips were removed from the patients?”

  Eric: “Maybe. No heads in the packet. I am guessing that these were fake patients, that they were doing it for the money. A sophisticated attack, indeed.”

  Kim: “Who would want to put so much effort into an attack like this? Why?”

  Eric: “We don’t know yet. Ransomware, maybe. We need to mandate the security teams. We need to review our controls and probably add new ones.”

  …

  I am back at the apartment. It is raining outside tonight. I am waiting for Toshiro to call me. I want to read the self-study book I got from Bianca. I want time to go faster. I want to occupy my brain. No more noise since the new bot apparently turned itself off. I can feel Kevin’s presence. It is kind of reassuring. Otherwise things are pretty quiet. Better now, what a relief for everybody.

  Chapter 14

  Morning. 7 am. I reach for my phone, and I switch myself back to active mode with the app.

  It is so quiet. Am I really back to active mode? Silence has replaced the noise. I don’t remember the noise being so bad back in December or January. It was starting to give me a migraine. Maybe that is what Eric was experiencing last fall, but at a higher level.

  Suddenly, I feel something different. I am starting to feel like something bad has happened.

  Kevin, what’s going on? I feel Kevin’s presence. He is active.

  I quickly shower. I run to the office. 7:50. Kamal and Kevin are already at work, studying some logs and alarms on Kamal’s monitor.

  Kim: “Something happened. I know it.”

  Kevin: “Yes. Kamal called me at 6 this morning. He got an early call from New Forensics in New York. Something happened in the vault.”

  Kamal: “We believe we are dealing with yet another new bot. But it does not appear to be of the same kind as the other previous 2. Eric and Anima are on their way.”

  Kevin: “Just when you think we are off the hook, here we go again.”

  I find myself in the break room. I need to grab something to eat. It is still quiet at the office. Daytime employees are slowly checking in. ‘Follow me’. I hear it very clearly. I can feel his presence for a moment, then it fades away again. I can also feel Kevin’s presence. I feel something else. A new presence. One of those wild tuners maybe? Who is tuning in into my brain? Whoever you are, you get out of my brain!

  Kevin and Anima join me in the break room.

  Kevin: “Here you are. Kim, something is wrong? I am sensing some bad vibes.”

  Kim: “Yes Kevin. I think a tuner got into my head. A different one. Not sure who that is.”

  Kevin: “How is this possible? The tuning in has been turned off when the 2nd bot shut itself down, right? Did you feel that presence before?”

  Kim: “No. I did not. It started this morning.”

  Kevin: “If you need to find me, I’ll be at Kamal’s desk.”

  Kim: “Thanks Kevin.”

  Kevin: “Maybe we should all switch ourselves back to local until we figure out what’s going on.”

  I sit with Anima around a high table in the break room.

  Anima: “You said you don’t feel the noise anymore?”

  Kim: “Correct. It’s gone. And I think the whole tuning thing is off now. It’s been off for a few days. But somebody got into my brain. I don’t like that feeling. I don’t know who that is. I am not feeling good.”

  Anima grabs my hand. She cares. She’s so sweet.

  Anima: “Kim, I think this is going too far. We need to make a decision this morning about you going to local mode or inactive mode altogether. I just talked to Eric and Kamal. We will meet in the conference room at 11 for a checkpoint.”

  …

  11 o’clock. We enter the conference room. Clarence, Kevin, Eric, Anima, Kamal and I sit down at the table.

  Anima: “Kim, how do you feel now?”

  Ki
m: “It is quiet. Very quiet. I sense the new presence but it is more like an echo. I sense Kevin, I sense our helper, I sense the new presence. But except for Kevin’s presence, the other two feel more like a distant echo. It feels like a distant echo, slowly fading.”

  Eric: “I think I know what you mean. I also sense a presence, but yes, it feels like an echo. Or maybe more like the echo of a far away train, you know when the weather is rainy and foggy, a low pressure system. It feels like it is actually moving away.”

  Anima: “Eric, I believe you and Kim are linked to our attacker turned helper. But there is somebody else that Kim is sensing, and she does not know who that is.”

  Kim: “I think I can stay active for now. It is somewhat tolerable. And with local mode, I can take breaks if I need to.”

  Anima: “Kim, don’t force this on yourself. If you don’t feel good anymore, I want you to disconnect. And I want you to reach out to me, day or night, if you need help.”

  Kim: “Thank you Anima. I think I am good for now.”

  Kamal: “We are still investigating, but it appears that this 3rd bot is different. Very different. We are not dealing with the same type at all. It appears to be more sophisticated. Kim, no tuning in anymore?”

  Kim: “No. I don’t think it is on at all.”

  Kevin: “It looks like an upgrade. The 2nd bot probably has a feature to allow it to grab an upgrade from the outside. We are not sure yet about the exact path. Or a completely new bot was introduced. Maybe we overlooked something. We did not spot anything in the limited code that we decompiled so far that could have allowed for something like that to happen. The security teams are working in concert. They are performing a thorough analysis.”

  Kamal: “Maybe there was yet another separate bot, hiding and sleeping in the vault. Our helper maybe was able to activate it remotely. Maybe a trigger was activated to download a new bot into the vault. We have to consider all possibilities right now.”

  …

  I am back at the apartment, but I am not alone. I am with Anima, we are fixing dinner together. She insisted that I am not alone tonight.

  My phone rings. It’s Toshiro.

  Toshiro: “Hey Kim, I have some good news for you. I will be in Portland tomorrow for a couple of days. They will be installing our new custom gas stove in the restaurant. We will be closed for a couple of days.”

  Kim: “Super! Toshiro, I can’t wait to be with you again. I need you with me.”

  Toshiro: “I will arrive tomorrow for lunch. Maybe you can take the afternoon off?”

  Kim: “Yes, sure, I will talk to Eric. He should be okay with that.”

  Kim: “I am not alone tonight. Anima from the office is with me. We are cooking indian together. Vegan Turmeric soup. I need to let you go now. Maybe we can talk later?”

  Toshiro: “Sure. I love you honey.”

  Kim: “I love you too, Toshiro. Talk to you soon.”

  …

  I am going to bed. Anima insisted to stay over. We arranged the bed couch for her. Her presence is reassuring. I am so happy that Toshiro will be here with me tomorrow.

  Chapter 15

  Late afternoon. I am wearing Toshiro’s t-shirt. Toshiro is sitting in bed behind me. He is combing my hair. I am his little princess again. We are alone in this fairy world.

  Toshiro: “What’s this?”

  He is not combing anymore. He is looking at the small red line hidden under my hair. My heart is racing. I don’t know where to start.

  Toshiro: “What’s this? Do you have a chip? I did not know you were a patient.”

  Kim: “Toshiro, I am not a patient. I wanted to tell you. I don’t know where to start.”

  I am trying to gather my thoughts. Maybe I am making this a bigger problem than it should be in the first place. I don’t have to empty my full bag in one fell swoop.

  Kim: “When I joined Eric last fall, we came up with this plan for me to test the chip. The best way to test it is to wear it. Eric and I we both have the chip. Kevin has one too. He became a patient after a car accident. Severe concussion.”

  Toshiro: “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

  Kim: “To be honest, I was afraid of your reaction. I am so happy to have you back in my life. I was going to tell you at one point. I was just looking for the right moment.”

  Toshiro starts to comb my hair again, but I can tell he is distracted now. I will let him deal with the situation, but one step at a time. I don’t want to scare him away. I need him.

  Chapter 16

  I hug Toshiro. I wave at him as he jumps into the taxi, on his way to the airport. I will miss him so much.

  I start to walk to the office, under my umbrella. 8:30 am. I switch my app to active mode. I have been on local mode almost all the time for the last couple of days.

  I walk around a small puddle. Then I am sensing a presence. That’s Kevin. I know.

  I can see the office now. I am sensing another presence. The signal is getting stronger. This is not the helper.

  I am starting to visualize something. A number. I can almost touch it. 7-4-9-0-2-7-8.

  Kim: “Who are you? Who are you?”

  “I am the sum. I am one.”

  I am scared. What does this mean? Somebody is playing with my brain. I flick the app back to local mode in a panic.

  I shake my umbrella before I enter the office, to get rid of some of the water. Anima is waiting for me. And Kevin, who is looking at me, worried. We have a 9 o’clock meeting.

  Kevin: “Kim, are you okay?”

  Kim: “I don’t know.”

  I start to cry. Both Anima and Kevin circle me with a hug. Kevin knows I am offline, he does not hesitate to hug me. I gather myself back together. We start to walk towards the conference room.

  Kim: “I just got contacted. I am scared. I am in local mode now.”

  Anima: “Are you going to be okay? Stay on local mode for now. I want you to stay away from the vault.”

  We walk into the room. Eric, Clarence and Kamal are waiting for us.

  Eric: “Kim, are you okay?”

  Kim: “7-4-9-0-2-7-8”

  Eric: “What is it?”

  Kim: “I don’t know. The new presence communicated that number to me. I can still feel it inside. The signal was very strong.”

  Kevin is holding his employee pass card up, with the line extended from his belt clip. He is pointing at the number below his picture on the card.

  Kevin: “7-digit. This could be an employee number. A contractor, judging by the leading 3 digits, 749.”

  Kamal flips open his laptop screen and starts to type. He is on Instant Messaging.

  Kamal: “HR. Neocuris. I am trying to see if this number correlates to an employee number.”

  Anima: “What else did you copy from the presence?”

  I am shaking now. I clinch my fists.

  Kim: “I am the sum. I am one.”

  Everybody pauses in the conference room. Clarence is about to ask something, but she changes her mind. She backs out of it.

  Anima turns around and look at Kamal. Kamal moves his eyes up from above his vertical laptop display. They look at each other for a split second, then Kamal looks back down at his display, and starts to type again.

  Eric: What does this all mean? Anima? Kamal?”

  Kamal is typing again. Then he stops. He takes his hands off his laptop keyboard. He put his back against the chair, his arms crossed, thinking, staring at his screen.

  Clarence: “What’s going on with you guys?”

  Kamal: “We found him.”

  Eric: “We found who?”

  Kamal is still looking at his screen. He leans forward again, he starts typing. He stops and waits, with his fingers resting on the keyboard.

  Everybody is staring at Kamal now. Kamal is exchanging a quick look with Anima. He quickly goes back to looking at his screen. Nobody is talking. The wait is agonizing.

  Kamal: “Okay, we got him. Surgeon. He is registered as an active con
tractor. With 3 different clinics.”

  Kevin: “Kamal, are we talking about the same 3 clinics.”

  Kamal turns to look at Kevin. He pauses.

  Kamal: “Positive.”

  Kevin: “Was anything reported about this contractor by New Forensics or Neocuris security?”

  Kamal: “Negative.”

  Anima is staring at Kamal. Everybody else is kind of looking at both Anima and Kamal in turn. We are all trying to make sense of the situation.

  Anima: “Kamal, do you think the new bot is behind this?”

  Kamal: “Positive.”

  Eric: “What is it?”

  Kamal is typing again.

  Kamal: “Neocuris Security is considering the decision to report this information to the authorities.”

  Eric: “Kamal? Anima? What is it?”

  Anima: “We don’t believe it is a regular tuner. It was able to connect to Kim without the tuning in feature being available. And Kim does not believe it is our supposed helper.”

  Kamal: “This new bot has already compromised servers beyond the vault.”

  Kevin: “This new bot, it is some kind of smart control. It is trying to protect the vault. Right?”

  Anima: “Probably smarter than you think Kevin. And more advanced. Kim says she copied a stronger, cleaner signal. In a relatively short period of time if we assume that this is a new bot.”

  Anima: “The first bot behaved in a somewhat passive way, like the white pages. This one seems to be more active.”

  I am shocked. I cannot speak. The new tuner, are they saying it is not human?

  Everybody realizes now that I am shaken. I am just staring into the void. Anima reaches and she takes my hand.

  Anima: “Kim, I want you to stay away from this thing. Stay in local mode. Kevin, Eric, you report anything unusual and be ready to disconnect when you need to.”

  Eric: “Kamal, Kevin, can we shut that new bot down? How long do we need to finally clean up the vault of all of those bots?”

  Kamal: “I don’t know that we can shut it down in a timely fashion. Not yet. It’s gone off our radar screens. We don’t know how many servers are compromised.”