Chasm Waxing: A Startup, Cyber-Thriller

by BMichaelsAuthor

  “I certainly can’t tell the President about the Ark,” barked Shields.

  “I know. I’m just trying to manage your expectations. eM is producing statistical representations based on mathematical models as to the cause of the Swarmbot’s compromise.”

  “He means,” said Becca, “all we can give you are probabilities.”

  Josh continued, “Not all of the predictions are mutually exclusive. But for the sake of simplicity, let’s just say they are.

  “eM lists an outright hack at a 15% probability. This prediction incorporates her search of the Deep Web and examination of zero-day vulnerabilities.

  “She also thinks there’s a 15% chance that a hacker somehow exfiltrated the AES encryption keys. This was Becca’s original line of inquiry. From there, the predictions are more dire.

  “eM guesses a 25% chance that the information was leaked by a high-level mole or moles, with access to the Swarmbot program. If the moles exist, they are probably members of the IC, with superuser privileges. This would mean that Becca, all of the Swarmbot team, and eM have overlooked an exploit—that the hacker recognized—in the technical documentation.

  “Her most disconcerting statistical prediction is the one to which she assigns the single highest probability—a 35% chance. That’s the possibility that Rahmati has created a quantum computer that he's employing to break our encryption.”

  Shields got more agitated than when he’d heard it the first time. “I just can’t see how that’s possible. I thought only public key encryption was susceptible to cracking by a quantum computer?”

  Becca replied, “Maybe he’s developed other algorithms, in addition to Shor’s algorithm.”

  “I think eM weights a quantum computer as most probable, because we came across some interesting facts in the archived files Lin had delivered,” said Josh.

  “While the main action in Iran-Contra involved American weapons shipped to Iran, by way of Israel; valuable technical information was also included in the deal. Incidentally, I can’t believe that Bush didn’t get indicted for Iran-Contra. The then Vice President was involved up to his elbows!”

  Shields laughed. “If he got away with Operation 40 and J. Edgar Hoover’s letter linking him with the Big Event in Dallas, Iran-Contra was never going to touch him. He pardoned most everybody when he became President. So, what sort of technical information?”

  “Back then, it was cutting edge. We sent the latest US research on computing. This included information on Intel 386 processors, supercomputers, and quantum computation. All of this data went directly to Abdullah Rahmati. By then, he was a high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Guards.

  “After the Iran-Iraq war, Abdullah Rahmati retired from the Revolutionary Guards and started Iran’s computer industry. I found little on Abdullah after that. But, it’s possible his company has been researching quantum computing since then. He looks to have substantial ties to Russian and Chinese academics.”

  For the first time, Josh saw an apprehensive expression sweep over General Shields. It scared Josh.

  “Damn, that’s a nightmare scenario,” said Shields. “No one was supposed to beat us to a quantum computer. It’s not like we haven’t considered this development. We just thought everyone was behind us. All we possess are prototypes. We’re not even close to a fully operational quantum computer. And, we were always just concerned about public key encryption. Cracking AES was deemed impossible—even by a quantum computer. By the way, that doesn’t add up to 100%, does it?”

  “No,” replied Josh, “eM has a catchall. She guesses that there is a 10% chance that there’s some unknown cause for the Swarmbot’s hack, like a backdoor in the chips or sensors.”

  General Shields sighed out all the breath from his lungs. “There’s no end to the damage that Muhammad Rahmati could do to our national security with a quantum computer that can crack public key and AES encryption. He’d essentially have the full resources of the US DoD and IC at his fingertips. He’d also have visibility into every single financial transaction in the world.

  “POTUS loves this guy. He thinks he’s the new savior of the Middle East. He follows his Twitter and Snapchat accounts on his phone. He subscribes to his A-Tube channel. I’ve got to find some way to make the President worry about Rahmati, preferably without talking about the Swarmbots.

  “Keep up this line of inquiry. If he does have a quantum computer, I need eM to figure out its location. I’ll try to get you more information on Persia, especially right before and after the Iran-Iraq war. And, I’ll get you everything else we have on Abdullah and his conglomerate.”

  *

  General Shields entered the Oval Office and greeted President Goodson. The DCIA, Roscoe Tanner, was already seated on the couch in the sitting area.

  The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, known more informally as the NSC Advisor, sat on the other couch, looking at the DCIA. The presidential seal was visible on the circular blue rug.

  As they rose to greet General Shields, DIRNSA recognized an unexpected visitor. The Vice President, Alexander Cain, sat in a wing-backed chair, at the far end of the sitting area. He directly faced POTUS’ Oval Office desk. VPOTUS was a former governor of California. As a one-time Texas Senator, President Goodson selected Cain to appeal to the most moderate members of his party.

  “General Shields, I asked Vice President Cain to join our meeting. Later this afternoon, we have to attend a lunch engagement. I thought his knowledge of the Middle East would be helpful.”

  “Outstanding,” replied Shields, as he shook Cain’s limp hand.

  Shields and Cain crossed each other’s paths occasionally during Goodson’s first term. They respected one another, although Shields thought Cain to be a soft liberal, and Cain pegged Shields as a digital cowboy.

  “Mr. President,” said the General, “I’ve come in person to reiterate a very troubling issue regarding the Prime Minister of Iraq, Muhammad Rahmati. Of course, we’ve all been abuzz about Rahmati. He’s achieved a level of popularity—among Arabs and Persians, Sunnis and Shias, and worldwide—that no one ever even imagined.

  “We’ve talked about the many positive developments in Iraq. Rahmati has become the unifying leader we hoped would rise after Saddam fell in 2003. He’s nearly wiped out the Caliphate in Iraq. He’s done significant damage to them in Syria. He’s dealt fairly with the Kurds and Sunnis. Of course, he’s a major ally of Persia, but this does fit nicely with our strategy of Persian rapprochement that we kicked-off with the nuclear deal. Rahmati is the most popular leader in the region. The closest thing to him in recent memory is Nasser, in the 1960s.”

  POTUS knew Shields well. He expected, maybe just one more platitude, and then the other shoe would drop.

  “However,” continued Shields, “as the chief signal collector for the United States of America, I can tell you that the NSA is completely in the dark regarding Iraq. And, we know less about Persia then after the Revolution toppled the Shah.”

  “Our SIGINT on Rahmati and his inner circle is less than negligible. He’s a ghost. We’ve never intercepted any communications between Babylon and Tehran, even though we’ve got pictures of Rahmati and General Javan meeting regularly. His operational security in Babylon is impeccable.

  “He appears to be assembling a robust, cyber-operations division, located with him at his new Babylonian headquarters. We assume that they’re working in close coordination with Tehran. Recently, we discovered that these cyber-forces have hijacked some US systems—in ways we can’t yet explain.

  “Thinking beyond just SIGINT; Rahmati seems to anticipate our every move. In my opinion, he has access to some of our most classified information. Rahmati may have spies operating at the highest levels in the US or the UK. Mr. President, our analysts think it’s very likely that Muhammad Rahmati or General Javan have cracked our military encryption.”

  President Goodson looked perturbed. “Bernie, all during my first term, you were on my ass to do m
ore about the Caliphate. As you know, that was a tricky situation. We had to thread the needle with Syria. But, the Russians and the Persians stopped the Caliphate from overthrowing the Syrian government and drove them east, into the Syrian Desert.

  “Rahmati destabilized the mullahs in Persia. Then, he did more dirty work for us in Iraq. Heck, even the Europeans had to pony up cash and air power. Now, the Caliphate is nullified. And it’s only negligibly impacted our $25-plus trillion national debt. Muhammad Rahmati has done the hard work for us. He’s a godsend.” Goodson looked to his Vice President.

  General Shields felt a tag-team was in play.

  Cain said, “Look, we all can admit that his popularity and tight relationship with Persia is somewhat disconcerting. But, between Rahmati and Javan, we’ve got two leaders in the region that are showing statesman-like interest in their countries. Failed states are a breeding ground for extremists. Both of them are pouring money into rebuilding and modernizing their infrastructures. They’re not stealing the oil money; they’re sharing it with their people.

  “Granted, I don’t like that Javan is essentially a dictator, but as the people’s level of income rises, the strongmen will be forced to become more progressive. The most important thing is that both of them are extremely pragmatic.

  “They’re not religious fanatics. Rahmati is even-handed in his policies toward all Iraqis. Economic growth is going to give their young people opportunities to become productive citizens. For the first time in over 50 years, there’s hope for the Middle East. And it doesn’t involve America. We can pivot our attention to more strategically important regions of the world—like Asia.”

  “Mr. Vice President,” said the General. “I concur with everything you’ve articulated. I’m not saying we can’t admire Rahmati. I am saying that the NSA is collecting no valuable SIGINT on Muhammad Rahmati. We went from knowing more about the state of affairs in Iraq than Iraqis—to knowing almost nothing.” Shields looked to the DCIA. He had brought his own tag-team.

  DCIA Tanner added, “Mr. President, I want to highlight General Shields’ main point. Something is very wrong. The Company has lost almost every asset inside Persia and Iraq. Some of these assets passed us secrets about Saddam and the first Ayatollah. They’d been assets for 40 years.

  “We have no explanation. My analysts agree with the NSA. We have a critical intelligence problem. Any assets that we have in the region can’t be trusted. Our HUMINT in Persia and Iraq is zero.”

  “What options do you propose?” asked the NSC advisor.

  “First, I’d suggest we loosen the spigot on cash payouts for intel,” responded the DCIA. “We need new assets in Persia and Iraq, to replace the ones we’ve lost. Secondly, General Shields and I have planned a multi-pronged mission to tap the newly laid fiber between Babylon and Persia. Hopefully, that will increase both our HUMINT and SIGINT.”

  Tapping fiber optic cables was not as easy as attaching alligator clips to intercept calls on old telephone lines; but, the NSA was an expert at collecting SIGINT from fiber. Fiber optic cables worked by shooting pulses of light coded to represent digital 1’s and 0’s. Up to 40% of the signal could be lost, without anyone noticing. The NSA fiber optic taps, deployed by the CIA, would the photons, copy them, and then forward the information to the NSA.

  “Mr. President,” said Shields, “I would be remiss if I did not tell you the most disturbing possibility. Rahmati’s father, Abdullah, built his vast fortune by working in the Revolutionary Guards and selling technology in Persia. We’ve uncovered evidence that he was interested in quantum computers, as far back as the early 80s. It’s possible that the Rahmatis have built or acquired a quantum computer.”

  Shields then detailed the dire ramifications of that possibility, highlighting the crack of public-key and AES encryption.

  “If Rahmati has access to a quantum computer of sufficient muscle, his geopolitical power would be on-par with the United States. He could use all of our systems against us. Destroying that computer, before he uses it against us, would be of utmost priority. It would be just as important as discovering nuclear capability in Persia. And of course, he’d selectively share US secrets with the Chinese and Russians.”

  Chapter 39 – Discovered

  1:25 a.m., Tuesday, May 11, 2021 – Deserts of Iraq & Persia

  DIRNSA’s Residence, 4526 Butler Street

  “All the operatives are either dead or captured,” said a heartbroken DCIA. “It’s our single greatest loss of life at CIA since Afghanistan…since the seven officers died in the 2009 suicide bombing. The Iraqi and Persian forces that attacked were elite, special operations units. They knew when we were coming, where we were going, and what we were doing. They overwhelmed us.”

  “Roscoe, I’m so sorry,” said General Shields. “If it wasn’t obvious before, it’s obvious now. Rahmati is reading our mail.”

  Three CIA teams had spread out at intervals of roughly 200 miles along the Babylon-Baghdad-Tehran railway. The evening was completely moonless. It was a perfect night for an operation. The CIA operatives’ mission was to install taps clandestinely on the fiber optic lines.

  A small defensive force supported each CIA contingent. There were three teams for purposes of redundancy. One tap was sufficient to enable the US to completely monitor the broadband communications backbone between Babylon and Tehran.

  *

  On Friday, May 14, Prime Minister Muhammad Rahmati delivered a nationally televised speech.

  “My fellow citizens, today I announce that the state of Iraq has retaken the city of Mosul. We have also extirpated Daesh from Fallujah. Daesh no longer controls any populous city in Iraq.

  “We’ll continue to pursue Daesh in their remaining outposts in Iraq. We’ll also increase our cooperation with Syrian forces to remove Daesh. In addition, I can announce that Iraq is in firm possession of all our nation’s oil fields.

  “Therefore, today, I pronounce the death of Daesh and its illegitimate, self-proclaimed Caliphate. It will be left to our Islamic scholars and religious leaders to determine when an authentic Caliphate arises.

  “Quite frankly, the battle with Daesh took way too long. Over the last decade, there were too many fits and starts. At the end of the day, Iraq accomplished what only Iraqis could do. We’ve eliminated Daesh—ourselves.

  “Nobody is as committed to their Iraqi homeland, as Iraqi citizens. No doubt, there will be setbacks here and there, but Daesh will never again rule an Iraqi town or city while I’m Prime Minister. I make that guarantee to you.

  “When I stepped into this office, the safety of all Iraqis was my key priority. This was followed closely by rebuilding our war-torn country. All Iraqis must have adequate water, food, housing, schools, modern medical facilities, and of course, dependable electricity. Today, we are doing all of this—and more.

  “Our wireless networks are being upgraded to 5G capacity. We’re working to deliver high-speed fiber access to every village, town, and city in Iraq. My fellow citizens, make no mistake—Iraq will be an economic powerhouse that competes in the world market. These are the bright spots that make us all proud to be Iraqi.

  “However, there are also some difficult things I am compelled to discuss with you—unpleasant things. While we have many reliable allies and faithful friends in the region, there are a few countries that have acted in a manner that runs counter to our national interests.

  “Over the coming days, I will release evidence on social media sites housed on our new .ISLAM domain. This information details crimes against the people of Iraq. The most egregious actions committed against Iraqi citizens have been performed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

  “The documents I’ll release; prove—beyond a shadow of a doubt—that Saudi Arabia substantially funded, trained, and equipped Daesh. They did the same with other Wahhabi-Jihadists, including Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. This funding continues to this day.

  “Also, I have emails and documents from the highest levels of the
Saudi government. They show, in excruciating detail, unimagined levels of corruption. I predict that the citizens of Saudi Arabia will not stand for this level of outright thievery.

  “The Persians did not stand for it. Neither shall Saudi citizens. Rest assured, Iraq and our allies will do everything in our power to protect like-minded Saudis. Islam is a religion of honesty and compassion. We’re to take care of the poor. God did not create Muslims to steal from the poor to become rich. This is an anathema to Allah and His Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him.

  “Every citizen of the world can examine this information for themselves. The entire planet deserves to see this corruption. The Islamic holy sites of Mecca and Medina belong to honest, hard-working Muslims—not corrupt royalty and their sycophants. The Kaaba, which dates back to the days of Adam and Eve, is central to Muslims around the world.

  “I regret to inform you that the United States of America is the second nation. While the US has done good things for Iraq in the past, America has sought to retain and extend its monstrously intrusive surveillance system against Iraq and Persia.