by H. L. Wegley
Certainly there was more to this incident than simply an unauthorized person accessing a classified drawing. Ram viewed and printed a classified, radar-antenna-assembly installation drawing for a National Aerospace bomber, making him appear guilty of espionage. And then Ram left for home.
Once there, he would likely never be found, or prosecuted. Ram’s profit from selling the classified document couldn’t be much. The drawing was classified, but it revealed no big secrets. However, because of Ram’s crime, BBT could lose their multi-million dollar contract with National Aerospace. It was a huge risk for so little gain.
The whole breach scenario was illogical, or stupid, unless Ram was an agent for someone other than his employer. If so, he had a more sinister motive than small-time espionage.
Lee glanced at the clock. It was nearly 6 p.m. and he was alone in the lab. He grabbed his flash drive with all his portable freeware tools on it and walked across the room to Ram’s National-Aerospace-issued laptop, still docked on Ram’s desk. He logged in as administrator. With great expectations, he inserted his flash drive.
National Aerospace computer policies prohibited installation of unauthorized software on company computers. Running portable versions of unauthorized programs from a flash drive obeyed the letter of the law, but certainly not the spirit. But solving the mystery was important to National Aerospace, and possibly, to national security.
His portable applications manager popped open on the screen, and from it, Lee opened a program enabling him to trace network communications. But in the tray he saw the VPN client’s icon appear. Employees used this client to login to National Aerospace’s virtual private network when they worked off-site. But evidently logging on to the laptop had started the VPN client.
Strange. That wasn’t how National Aerospace’s VPN client was configured to work. The employee had to initiate it explicitly and use a special key to gain access.
Ram, because he was a foreign national, was not given an account to use the VPN client. While Ram’s behavior was a little bit fishy, his computer’s behavior appeared malevolent.
Had Ram hacked the VPN client? If so, what “enhancements” had he added? Who was the VPN client actually communicating with? And what was it transmitting?
Lee looked at the ports in use. On several pairs of ports, the laptop was communicating with some machine outside the company—ports that shouldn’t be used for these purposes. This wasn’t standard company software. Furthermore, two of the remote-host IP addresses—located in Texas and Colorado—were in states where National Aerospace had no employees.
Ram, what are you up to?
Convinced some sort of malware was loaded onto the laptop, Lee ran a full-system virus scan. While the scan iterated through the files on the laptop, he rummaged through the system files looking for malware, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. When the virus scan came back clean, he had exhausted his analytical resources.
He was going to need some help.
He decided to call his old friend and mentor, Dr. Howard Martin, at the university. Howie worked well into the evening when doing research. He taught computer security courses and did a lot of contract research, most recently for the FBI, DHS, and NSA—the kind of folks Lee could use right now. He pressed Howie’s entry on his cell-phone.
“Hello, this is Dr. Martin.”
“Howie, this is Lee Brandt. I’ve got a computer-security issue over here. The problem is with a contractor’s company-issued laptop.”
“Is the contractor there with you?”
“No. He left the country a short time ago—in a big hurry. It’s all very suspicious.”
“So you need someone to help you check out his machine?”
“Yes. I need to locate a well-hidden Trojan virus that’s communicating through our firewalls, and I need to know who’s on the other end. And, Howie, I need the help tonight.”
“Can you come over to my office at the university?”
“Sure, I can be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Good. I’ll have someone who can help you.”
“Thanks. See you in a few minutes.”
Why did Howie want him to come to the U? Sometimes the man had undisclosed motives which didn’t become apparent until later. Lee needed a break, so he was glad to accommodate his professor.
Lee walked to the parking lot and hopped into his blue, ‘65 Mustang convertible, his baby. When the 289, with its racing cam, began its sweet, syncopated rumble, a grin spread across his face. He slipped the performance automatic transmission into gear and headed north towards the University District and hopefully towards Howie’s cyber-sleuth.
4
Jennifer Akihara stood in front of the corkboard mounted on the computer lab wall, poring over the large drawing pinned there. She’d drawn it to depict her highly abstracted, comprehensive view of Internet topology. Annotated with numerous mathematical expressions, the drawing looked like an incomprehensible hodgepodge to most people, but this tool enabled her to visualize new heuristics—complex rules of thumb applicable to certain classes of intractable problems. Using some of these heuristics, she had devised algorithms that isolated patterns of Internet communication. These algorithms could be tuned to recognize networks of terrorists, criminals, and other groups of interest to law enforcement, the military, and the intelligence community.
That’s why she received the job offer she held in her hand, the one from NSA, the latest of a seemingly endless stream of job offers from potential employers she’d been receiving since she was in high school.
This hadn’t been a particularly productive day, and Jennifer’s mind craved action, rather than the application of theory. She turned around when the lab door clicked open.
Howie gave her a goofy smile.
She recognized the look. He had something up his sleeve.
But Howie’s smile also reminded her of all he had done for her during her master’s program. The pain of her memories didn’t come as often now, but she wouldn’t have made it through the past two years after her father’s death without Howie subbing as her father. She owed him a great debt of gratitude for all he he’d done for her while she grieved.
“I just found out there’s someone who desperately needs your help. Right now, if you have the time.”
“Who, Howie?”
“National Aerospace. There was an apparent security breach involving a foreign contractor and his company-issued laptop.”
“I thought you said someone…you know…a person, needed my help.” Jennifer mulled it over. National Aerospace was a government contractor. This could turn out to be something serious. “Can you tell me a little more about it?”
“A laptop is communicating out through the National Aerospace firewall and they suspect there’s some malevolent software on it. But we’ll know more soon. Lee Brandt, one of my former students, will be here shortly to brief us.”
“I’ll help if I can. We certainly don’t want National Aerospace falling victim to hackers.”
“Good. Thanks. Lee is a good guy and you’re the best person to help him with…” Howie’s words continued as the door closed behind him, but the hum of air conditioning and computing equipment drowned them.
Howie knew about her trouble with obsessive men. He knew why she preferred to hide among the computer nerds and geeks. They respected her for her skills, not for how good they thought she looked.
Lee is a good guy?
Was Howie trying to set up his “adopted” daughter with a suitable young man?
Hopefully not. She wasn’t ready for that. Merely associating with one had lead to danger. That’s why she kept the Smith & Wesson .38 Special in her purse.
That was also why she became an expert marksman…with one notch already on her gun.
****
When Lee walked into Howie’s office, he stifled a laugh at the incongruity between the clean, dust-free office, with every book on the shelves in its place, while two dozen foot-high stacks of jou
rnals, articles, and research notes lay distributed irregularly across the floor. But that was Howie. A study in paradoxes. He was a brilliant computer scientist, yet he tried to play the father role for every grad student in his charge.
“Grab a chair, Lee. We have the best person in America to help you with your…uh…problem. Absolutely brilliant.” Howie’s eyes lit like neon lights.
“Great. Is it anyone I know?”
“No, Lee, I don’t think you know her.”
Her?
Lee’s defenses leapt to high alert—DEFCON 2. He was primed and ready to go to war. The last time he worked with a younger female student she was more interested in a romantic relationship than accomplishing the goals of the team-based master’s project. He’d barely managed a satisfactory grade on the project, and the rejected woman still hated him.
Now he knew why Howie wanted him here in person. This would be a hard sell and Howie would likely opt for fifteen minutes of accolades for his latest protégé before the personal introduction.
Lee braced himself for what was coming, and then decided to try a different tack. Charge and take the offensive. “Tell me about her, Howie. Is she mature, professional? What has she worked on, lately? How about a clearance?” He fired his questions like bullets from an automatic weapon.
When he paused to reload, Howie cut in. “Whoa, settle down, Lee. Her name is Jennifer Akihara. She just finished her master’s program in Computing Security and she’s doing research while she waits to start her Ph.D. program.”
“So what research is she working on?”
“I’m not authorized to tell you the specifics of her work, but Jennifer has developed network traffic-analysis algorithms, including data mining for suspicious activity on the Internet. Her current work is for the FBI, but she has also worked for NSA. In fact, NSA has a standing job offer for Jennifer whenever she decides she’s through being a student. She’s the best I’ve got and you won’t find anyone better.”
Maybe only one in a thousand graduate students could even attempt such work. Perhaps one in a million grad students possessed an intellect capable of performing it. He took a quick stab at the math. The answer he came up with blew his mind.
“That’s impressive. I accept your offer.” He heard himself say the words, but Lee still had reservations about allowing a young, immature, female grad student have any involvement in critical issues affecting his work, the well-being of National Aerospace, and possibly his job. This time he might be risking a lot more than a poor grade on his transcript.
Howie cleared his throat. “There’s one thing you should keep in mind when working with Jennifer.”
Here it comes—Lee Brandt’s worst-case scenario—the reason I should have turned Howie down on this offer. He tried to sound nonchalant. “What’s that?”
“Don’t ever lie to her, Lee. Don’t even let it appear that you’re trying to deceive her.”
Maybe he was being overly paranoid. “I don’t intend to lie to her, Howie. But why the warning?”
“Lee, just don’t do it, or believe me, you’ll be sorry.”
The warning was puzzling, but why should he worry? He didn’t practice lying and deceit. “Thanks for the tip. How soon can we get started?”
“I’ll be right back. She’s down the hall in our computer…” Still talking when he walked away, Howie’s words trailed off as he scurried down the hall.
****
Jennifer stood in the computer lab reflecting on her appearance. She was short, slender, small, and often mistaken for a teenager despite her intelligence and maturity. Being mistaken for a much younger person really aggravated her. No. Aggravation was a euphemism. She generally flew into a raging tirade.
When some men saw a young, attractive, and rather small woman, they assumed she was naïve and vulnerable. That assumption brought outright evil in the worst of men.
She wished to be taller, stronger, and to look normal. Maybe slightly on the nice side of normal. Were those three wishes or one wish with three parts? Her normally sharp mind seemed a little fuzzy this evening. But so was mathematics, especially at its outermost edges. Fuzzy, philosophical, and fully fascinating. If she could only see a little further out—
She jumped when a hand touched her shoulder. “Oh…Howie—”
“I didn’t mean to startle you. Lee is in my office. Let’s go hear about the problem at National Aerospace.”
She stared at him, deliberately exaggerating the frown on her forehead. “Can I trust him, Howie?”
Howie hesitated.
She glared at him. “You know what I mean. Can I really trust him?”
“I would trust him with my life, Jennifer. In fact…I would even trust him with yours.”
She studied his eyes, looking for any darting, twitching, or—gotcha. No eye contact.
His eyes were focused on her chin.
“You’ve never, ever played matchmaker with me. That’s not what this is all about, is it?”
“I just told Lee you were the best person I know to help him. That’s what this is all about.” Howie nudged her towards the lab door. He also sidestepped her question.
****
Lee tried to prepare for some young, geeky woman who hated liars. He decided to remain seated when she entered. He didn’t want to offend the female geek.
When Jennifer Akihara entered the room, some involuntary reflex lifted him to his feet in the presence of the petite, stunning beauty. Long black hair. Large, almond-shaped brown eyes that threatened to suck him in like a black hole from which he could never escape. Her face was far too perfect to be real. There was more—a whole lot more. Things that any red-blooded man couldn’t help but notice.
Lee had never seen anyone like Jennifer Akihara in his life. Recovering from his initial shock, the left side of Lee’s brain pushed the panic button.
She’s beautiful. Too beautiful. You need to run now!
The right side of his brain shortened the reply.
She’s beautiful.
Howie, standing behind Jennifer, was grinning from ear to ear as he watched Lee’s complete loss of composure. “Lee, this is Jennifer Akihara. Jennifer, meet Lee Brandt, one of the real systems guys at National Aerospace. By the way, Lee is also a meteorologist.”
“Mr. Brandt, Dr. Martin says you’ve been having some stormy weather in your department.” Like Mona Lisa, she wore an enigmatic smile.
Based upon his previous bad experience, that smile on that beautiful face had trouble written all over it. But if Jennifer lived up to even half of her billing, Lee needed her help. “As a matter of fact, I was struck by lightning just before I left work.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“Not to me, personally. But it was troubling. I need someone who can help me unravel who’s doing what, where, when, and with whom over the Internet. There’s suspicious software running on a National Aerospace laptop as we speak.”
She stared into his eyes. “What you need, Mr. Brandt, happens to be my specialty.”
Those eyes—so intense—he was losing focus again. “Uh…there’s also malware, probably a Trojan, involved. I can’t find the doggone thing.”
“Malware research was my specialty before I moved into Internet communications analysis and forensics.”
With her intelligence and looks, is there anything that’s not her specialty? She could make winning beauty pageants her specialty, if she wanted to.
Even his left brain agreed with that assessment.
When his gaze refocused, she stood waiting for him to return from his mental excursion. It took some time because he had never seen such a beautiful female, and Jennifer Akihara was indisputably female.
Lee tried to fortify his defenses with logic from the left side of his brain.
Beautiful means she’s probably conceited and arrogant. Her initial effects will wear off.
The right side of his brain had a different assessment.
Fat chance!
“So a
re you in grad school?”
“Technically no. I finished my master’s in Computing Security last fall. I’m doing contract research, working with Howie, until I start my Ph.D. program this fall.” Her Mona-Lisa smile returned. “Mr. Brandt, I’m sure I can help you.”
The subject was…uh…the classified data. It took his brain a few seconds to catch up. “There’s some urgency because classified information was compromised.”
Come on, man. You know that’s not the issue here.
Despite Howie’s warning, Lee realized he stood on the threshold of deception before the work with Jennifer even began. He guessed she didn’t have a security clearance. If things started going south, he would use the clearance as an excuse to send her back to Howie, though her role wouldn’t require access to any restricted data. The consequences of deception Howie warned him about…he might have to live with them.
“That’s not a problem. I have a Top Secret SCI clearance. It was required for the work I performed for NSA.”
SCI…so she had one of those compartmentalized clearances above Top Secret. So high above that even some of the clearance designations were classified.
Lee was out of excuses. And he was impressed with her qualifications. He was impressed with everything about Ms. Akihara.
Come on, man. You really need to get beyond this mind-numbing reaction to her.
Maybe Howie was right, and Jennifer’s involvement would work out fine. Nevertheless, he continued questioning her background. “Top secret and higher clearances aren’t given away freely. How did you, as a college student, get NSA to run the clearance for you?”
“Mr. Brandt, it has been my experience that you don’t get NSA to run anything. They read a research paper I wrote and came to me because they wanted the two forensic data-analysis algorithms I developed. They planned to use one to analyze web logs while the other analyzed raw network traffic. My algorithms enable them to do the analyses and subsequent correlation of data much faster, and with far less complete data, than the standard techniques.”