Page 83 of Decoding Emma
“It sounds like any one of those three has the talent to hack the network, but your outprocessing regulations mandate that their access would’ve been shut down even before security had them off the campus.”
“And it was.Timestamps from IT and Security documented the cred lockout and time removed from campus to the second,” Ben confirmed.
“And to confirm, Hugo’s skill level was assessed as excellent.”I turned to Asher.“Good enough to hack in?”
Asher didn’t hesitate.“Yes.But the intrusion was carried out using legit credentials.The profile we can’t match up yet—”
“We’re tracking that down,” Ben noted.“I did pin down when the profile was created.Asher, Tim, Will, and I are the only employees authorized to create user profiles and set permissions.”Ben raised his hand.“I know what you’re thinking.No we didn’t create the profile.Yes, I have a list of people who were working at the time, but between this building and campus B across the street, there were close to four hundred people active, and that’s just on the domestic side.”
“So right now, it looks like this: First: Someone has created a dummy profile, for lack of a better term.Second: All three ex-employees have the skills necessary to mess around the network once inside.In addition, they have the skills to build a ghostware program, right?”I alternately pinned Asher and Ben.Both confirmed with a nod.“Third: The intrusion alarm traced to a local ISP, meaning whoever was in at that time is local.So we’re back to point one.Who created the user; who unlocked the door?”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Asher
“We’re going to find that out today.”Before I could say anything more, John spoke up.
“Miles, I want all of the information we have on Riser, Moore, and especially Wayne.I’ve been in touch with a private investigation firm.Before they’re done, we will know everything about those guys right down to what kind of cereal they eat.”
Miles was typing before John finished speaking.“I just dropped the files directly into your box.”
“Thank you.”He turned to Ben, then me.“Asher, damage assessment?”
“As of now, minimal if any.”
“It looks like all the intruder has done is jump around subnets, specifically HR, R&D, and Tri-O-Tech, the one specifically set up for the streamline project.We did confirm that the intrusion alarm triggered because of the way the intruder was doing quick in-and-outs.There were several over less than thirty minutes.That’s one of the parameters we’ve set for suspicious behavior.”
“Taking into account I’m no tech expert, I assume all of this is documented.”
“Absolutely, John.We’re going after all the information we can collect before we turn this over to the cyberspooks.Caveat here: We’re going to try and use the access log info to find the origin, but to get the most current addresses from the origin’s ISP”—Asher nodded in Nick’s direction—“will require warrants.The ISP won’t release directly to us.”
“If there’s nothing else…” John stood.
Everyone rose and headed for the doors.I held back and tapped Emma’s hand, then motioned to John as he was passing us.“John, if we could have a couple of minutes…”
“Sure.”
Will was the last to leave and nodded to Emma.“See you downstairs?”
“I won’t be long.I have some more information.Would you please let Ben and Tim know?”
“Consider it done.”Will touched his forehead in a two finger salute in my direction.“Later, boss.”
I waited until I heard the latch.Emma stood next to me, closed laptop clutched to her chest.Her armor.
“Okay, Asher, you have me.What d’you need?”
“Not need so much as more to fill you in.”
“Do we need to sit?”
I shook my head.“Emma brought up the possibility of disgruntled FI employees.We’re on that, and we’re checking into current IT personnel.I wanted to let you know that we’re going to explore another possibility.”I glanced at Emma.She spoke before I could continue.
“I’m going to get right to the point.In the context of the current issue, Asher asked me today if there was anyone who might have a grudge against me.I know you’re aware that John Palmer is my father.I don’t call attention to it, but it does come to light occasionally.As such, I cannot discount the fact that there are people who might want to cause him problems and wouldn’t hesitate to attempt to do so by causing me problems.There are also those who believe what success I’ve achieved in my career is due to my father’s influence.It would be naïve, even foolish to ignore these possibilities, and I wanted to make you aware of them even though I’m having a problem understanding what any of that would have to do with Fantasies, Inc.or why they would try to harm me through your company.”
“I see.I will make the investigator aware of this information and, if necessary, pursue it accordingly.Is there anything else?”
Emma was clearly uncomfortable, and John must have recognized it, because he worked what the rest of us called his woo-woo.Hands in pockets, stance casual and loose.Voice a bit lower, tone what some would describe as smooth.I’d seen him use this technique many times, and it never failed to put the person facing him at ease.By the time he said the last word, Emma had moved the laptop and now held it under her arm, the other arm at her side, shoulders relaxed, and her hand so close to mine, I could feel the radiated warmth.
