Cyber Countdown

by Terence Flynn

  Barbara invited James and JoAnn to ride with her to Philip’s funeral in one of the White House limousines. She was going as the president’s representative, since she knew both James and Philip well from their careers in the information technology industry.

  James liked Barbara. As former CEOs now working for the president, they were kindred spirits, and close friends. James put that friendship to good use whenever he needed to discuss an important issue with President Meredith.

  “I need to talk with the president, Barbara. Could you arrange it for tomorrow?”

  “Can you tell me what it’s about?”

  “I need a short leave of absence to address the issue of Philip’s successor. There are also some circumstances about his death that are rather strange. I believe both the president and you should be aware of them, if Shelly Brockner hasn’t already briefed you.”

  “This is news to me, James. I’m not aware of any strange circumstances surrounding Philip’s death, and I doubt that the president is, either. I can arrange the meeting, but I’d like you to brief me before we see the president so I’m prepared. Let’s discuss this further after the funeral.”

  “Sure, Barbara, we can talk at the reception at the Wu residence. Were you planning on going?”

  “Yes. I need to talk with my least-favorite billionaire and your partner in VSI, George Solomon.”

  “I could sell tickets for that match,” JoAnn said, as she smiled.

  “Oh, he isn’t that bad once you get to know him,” James said. “Just think of him as a big teddy bear.”

  “More like a hungry grizzly bear,” Barbara said, as she rolled her eyes.

  The funeral lasted more than ninety minutes, and James gave the eulogy at Ann Wu’s request. James emphasized what an intelligent, innovative, honest, and kind person Philip was, and how he was a great colleague and friend, and a wonderful husband and father. Many guests shed tears, but James was totally stoic. He wasn’t sure how much of what he said was true.

  As James and JoAnn were walking out of the church with Barbara, she waved to George Solomon, who completely ignored her. “Oh, that doesn’t look good,” mumbled Barbara under her breath. As they arrived at the Wu residence, Barbara rocketed out of her seat. “I’ll meet you inside, I need to talk to someone first,” she said, with a concerned look. Barbara made a beeline for George Solomon.

  “I wonder what that’s all about,” JoAnn said.

  “I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good based on Barbara’s body language,” James responded.

  “I heard that those two have a long history of bad body language. Is that true, James?”

  “You could say that. George can be difficult to deal with.”

  “How’d George become involved with VSI?”

  “President Meredith introduced him to Philip and me when he was still in the Maryland state legislature. George was interested in cybersecurity, and Maryland State Senator Meredith convinced him to invest in VSI when we really needed the money. It turned out to be one of the best investments George ever made.”

  “Philip seemed very respectful around George.”

  “As am I, but with Philip it was more than respect. In fact, he seemed almost afraid of George.”

  “Why would Philip be afraid of George?”

  “I don’t know. He never said.”

  “I heard that George and his foreign citizenship prevented VSI from selling its products to the federal government.”

  “Yeah, I heard that, too, but it isn’t true. Philip and I made that decision. It had nothing to do with George.”

  “So do you like George? I’ve seen you irritated after meeting with him.”

  “George isn’t someone I like to socialize with. You worked for him at his investment firm. You must know how he is.”

  “Yeah, egotistical, selfish, and self-centered.”

  “All true, but I’ve had only one major dispute with him.”

  “What was that, James?”

  “He requested that VSI hire a recent college graduate as a design engineer. The guy was smart and had good grades from a great school, but he clearly didn’t have the necessary experience we were looking for. At that time, VSI was very small. Hiring anyone who might be deadwood could be disastrous.”

  “How’d you get out of that, James?”

  “We didn’t. George offered to directly pay the salary out of his own pocket. Actually, it was one of the best deals we ever made. He became a brilliant engineer and is now the Chief Technology Officer at VSI. He’ll probably be here today, since he worked directly with Philip for years. His name’s Chris Hoffman. I’ll introduce you if I see him.”

  As they walked in, JoAnn went over to talk with some of the politicians she recognized, while James went immediately to Ann Wu and expressed his sympathies.

  “How are you, Ann?”

  “I’m okay. I have to be for my son’s sake. He thinks I’ll fall apart without Philip. Sometimes I think so, too.”

  “I think you’ll do fine. You’re a lot stronger than Jim realizes.”

  “I hope so. Are you going to take back the VSI CEO position?”

  “No, I plan to finish out the president’s first term. I promised him that when I took the job.”

  “Who do you think will become the new CEO, James?”

  “I think we have several options, including Theresa Killian, Christopher Hoffman, and Tom Allen.”

  “I hope it isn’t Theresa. Philip thought she was a great engineer and had a talent for product development, but he never trusted her business judgment. She thought VSI needed to move their products into the government sector to increase sales and innovation.”

  “I wasn’t aware of that. That could be a problem. Anyway, you’ll have some say in who the next CEO will be since you inherited Philip’s stock and his vote.”

  “Actually, Philip asked that I provide a voting proxy for all his shares to you if anything should happen to him. It’s even in the will. I do have one favor to ask.”

  James was totally shocked by her news about the proxy but tried not to show it.

  “What’s the favor?”

  “Jim is graduating from Georgetown Law School, and I was wondering if VSI could find him a job with their intellectual property division.”

  “I’m sure we can, Ann. It would be a real catch for VSI to have a patent attorney who’s the son of one of its founders. Jim also worked for us as an engineering intern and knows the technology.”

  “Yes, I know, and he really loved engineering; but his father insisted that he not go into the same field that he was in. Philip was concerned that Jim would be compared to him, and he didn’t need that burden.”

  James saw JoAnn looking for him, so he waved to her. She joined him and he introduced her to Ann.

  “Ann, I’d like you to meet Senator JoAnn Young, a close friend of mine.”

  “You have my sincere condolences, Mrs. Wu. I met your husband on several occasions, and he was as nice as he was brilliant.”

  “Thank you, JoAnn. Philip said you weren’t only smart but gorgeous, and I can see he was right. James deserves someone who’s very special.”

  “Thank you. I’m very lucky to have met James.”

  “Okay, let’s not go there,” James said. “I’m not a saint, as both of you well know.”

  “Maybe not,” Ann said, “but you’re listed as one of the most eligible bachelors in the DC area. Not only tall and attractive, said the article in the Washingtonian, but also brilliant, rich, and a decorated former naval officer. You really need to settle down and have kids of your own.”

  “Thanks, Ann. You sound like my mother. I do plan to do that, maybe sooner than later,” James said, as he looked at JoAnn, who was blushing.

  “Jim will be here later with his fiancée. Maybe you could talk with him then.”

  “I’d enjoy that,” James said, as he noticed Barbara walking toward them.

  “Mrs. Wu, I’d like to offer my condolences to you for
your loss on behalf of the president and myself,” Barbara said. “The president wanted me to tell you that the entire country is poorer for his loss.”

  “Thank you, Barbara. And, please thank the president for me.”

  “I will, but if you don’t mind, I need to talk with James for a moment.”

  Barbara grabbed James’s arm and forcefully led him to a more private area of the room.

  “James, I need to meet with the president immediately on an important issue. I’ll arrange our meeting with the president for ten tomorrow morning. Does that work for you?”

  “Yes, thank you, Barbara.”

  “Oh, do you have transportation? I’m taking the limo back.”

  “That’s not a problem. JoAnn and I can catch a taxi.”

  James returned to Mrs. Wu and JoAnn as they watched Barbara sprint out the front door. JoAnn shook her head and laughed. “Wow, she looked like her hair was on fire, James.”

  “Yes, she did, and that isn’t normal behavior for Barbara. She’s known for always being very calm and collected. Something must be happening, and it probably isn’t good.”

  James saw the VSI senior management standing together in a group by the bar.

  “Will you excuse us, Ann? I’d like to introduce the senator to some former colleagues.”

  As they approached, James noticed that the group seemed to stiffen and stop talking. He walked directly toward Chris Hoffman, since James had known him the longest.

  “Hi, everyone. I’d like to introduce you to Senator JoAnn Young. JoAnn, this is Theresa Killian, the VSI Vice President for Product Development and Support, Christopher Hoffman, the VSI Chief Technology Officer, and Tom Allen, the VSI Director of R&D.”

  They all smiled and returned his salutation, but James could still sense their nervousness.

  “Relax, everyone. This is a sad and stressful situation, to be sure, but I’m certain all of us and VSI will survive this terrible incident. This is a day for mourning our loss, but I plan to have a meeting at headquarters tomorrow to discuss our future plans together. Is everyone okay with that?”

  Theresa, the newest and most gregarious member of the management team, responded first.

  “We’ll all be there, James. We’re just all stunned by Philip’s death.”

  Tom, the youngest and probably the most brilliant member of the team, said, “It doesn’t seem like VSI anymore with the both of you gone, boss.”

  “I’m not gone, Tom. I’ll be back, maybe sooner than you think.”

  Both Theresa and Tom smiled, while Chris seemed totally detached, as if he wasn’t there.

  From across the room James saw Ann talking with a young couple, so he and JoAnn walked over to join them. As James got closer, he realized that the young man was Jim Wu, Philip’s son.

  “Jim, how are you? I haven’t seen you since your graduation from engineering school at Johns Hopkins. You look great.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Jordan,” Jim said, as he reached out his hand.

  Instead James gave him a hug. “You don’t have to shake my hand, Jim. You’re my godson, or have you forgotten?”

  “No, sir, I haven’t, especially since I was named after you.”

  “Who’s this beautiful young lady, Jim?”

  “I’m sorry, this is my fiancée, Margaret. She’s also a law student at Georgetown.”

  “Yes, I heard that you plan to go into patent law. VSI could certainly use an in-house patent attorney who’s familiar with our technology. Please come see us before you take any other offers.”

  “Thank you, I’ll certainly do that,” Jim said, with a huge smile on his face.

  “JoAnn and I have to leave now, Ann. I have an early meeting tomorrow with the president that I have to prepare for. Can you recommend a taxi service I can call?”

  “I won’t hear of it, James. You can take my car. It’s in the driveway. I hardly ever use it.”

  “Thanks. I’ll have someone from VSI return it tomorrow.”

  JoAnn and James left after waving goodbye to everyone they knew on the way out.

  “Your place or mine?” James asked.

  “Let’s go to your place this time. My place is such a mess.”

  “How’d that happen?”

  “I had a messy house guest the other night.”

  “I know. I’m a typical bachelor, not yet housebroken.”

  James drove to his condominium in Crystal City, and they took the elevator to the fourteenth floor. He had bought the three-bedroom condo a year ago from a former senator who had lost his re-election bid. It was much closer to DC than his home in Maryland.

  James got out of his suit and changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, while JoAnn put on some clothes she kept in the closet of one of the guest bedrooms.

  “Do you want to go out for dinner or eat in, James?”

  “How about we just keep it simple and order takeout? That way we don’t have the hassle of cleaning up. We can just relax and talk.”

  “Fine with me, but one of these days I want to try out that fancy kitchen of yours.”

  “That would be great, since I never have time to use it.”

  James ordered pizza, and they enjoyed it with a bottle of wine that he knew JoAnn liked.

  “Did you enjoy your reunion with your former VSI management team?” JoAnn asked.

  “I have mixed feelings. I enjoyed seeing them again, but I believe they expect me to come back and take over the CEO position now that Philip is gone.”

  “Is that what you’re going to do?”

  “No. I made a commitment to the president as Federal CIO, and I intend to keep it. Cybersecurity is a major theme of his administration, and he needs my help with the foreign cyber-attack legislation.”

  “I’m glad you’re not leaving, but who will run VSI?”

  “There are at least three people in the company who have the experience and capability to step in and run the day-to-day operations. You met them earlier, and as of today I have majority voting status to select who I want.”

  “When did that happen?”

  “Ann told me earlier that she’s giving me a permanent proxy to vote her husband’s shares. She also told me that of the three candidates I suggested to take over as CEO, Theresa Killian wouldn’t be a good choice.”

  “Why?”

  “Ann believes Theresa would try to expand the VSI market into the federal government sector, which would be a bad move.”

  “Why is that, James?”

  “We’d have to submit the VSI products that we wish to sell to the feds for testing so they can be validated or certified for government use. Commercial security products are required to go through a validation under test requirements defined in a standard called the Common Criteria. The alternative would be certification testing by NSA or the Defense Information Systems Agency.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “The required testing would reveal some elements of our products that we wouldn’t want known and that aren’t described in any of our documentation or patents. They’re essentially VSI trade secrets. Since they aren’t in our patents, we have no protection if another company discovers them and steals the technology.”

  “Isn’t it against the law for the government to reveal such proprietary information?”

  “Yes, but the feds contract with commercial companies and labs to do most of the testing. We couldn’t be certain that the technology wouldn’t be discovered and stolen by the lab or one of their employees. Philip and I referred to the trade secrets as VSI’s ‘secret sauce.’ Other than me, only Tom, Chris, and Theresa have any knowledge of those secrets. Only Philip and I know all the technical details, seeing as we developed the technology.”

  JoAnn knew that she wasn’t a technologist and she had no desire to know VSI trade secrets, but she was curious about the technology and why it was so successful and highly regarded.

  “Could you give a simplified layman’s explanation about the technology without describing
the secret sauce?”

  “Sure, it’s not all that complex if we don’t get into the technical details. VSI sells boundary protection systems such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems for the protection of corporate information technology systems that use virtual machine technology. A boundary protection system looks at incoming or outgoing data traffic for an information system or network. It determines if there’s any suspicious data or anomalies that should be blocked from getting in or any protected data that shouldn’t be allowed out.”

  “I understand everything you said except what virtual machine technology is.”

  “A virtual machine, or VM, is essentially a software program that performs the operations of physical data-processing systems such as servers and personal computers or hardware systems used to control network traffic, such as network switches and routers. VM technology became popular in the last decade because it’s very efficient and reduces costs. It allows designers to create operational networks and component systems quickly and cheaply via software that runs within a physical data-processing system. The data-processing system can be a server, personal computer, a laptop, or even a tablet.”

  “So, you’re programming a virtual information system within a physical computer and calling it a virtual machine, correct?”

  “Yes, except we aren’t really programming it. The VMs that we need can be created from a commercially available software application that will create what you want when you specify the requirements. Designers can create an entire virtual data-processing enterprise that emulates the operation of a physical data-processing enterprise much more quickly and at a lower cost.”

  “Okay, I understand that, but where does VSI fit in all of this?”

  James smiled. “Here’s where it gets a little complex, but I’ll keep it as simple as possible.”

  “Thank you. Keep in mind that I majored in business, not engineering.”

  “I’ll try. Virtual systems need to be secured against many of the same threats as physical systems. They also have an additional feature that physical systems don’t have called the hypervisor, which is the basis of all VM technology. Just as software applications, such as Microsoft Word, depend on the operating system software such as Windows to operate within a computer, the operating systems within a VM depend on the hypervisor. The hypervisor is their connection to the physical hardware processing system or computer on which everything operates. It connects with and controls all the VM operating systems. Because it’s connected to all the VMs, any vulnerability in the hypervisor could allow attacks on all the connected VMs and their operating systems and applications, which could be disastrous.”