Chasm Waxing: A Startup, Cyber-Thriller

by BMichaelsAuthor

  “Three days ago, operatives of the Central Intelligence Agency illegally infiltrated our sovereign territory. They made an unlawful attempt to tap an Iraqi-Persian communications line. They sent heavily armed CIA agents to steal our information.

  “A joint special operations unit, consisting of Iraqis and Persians, coordinated our defensive response against these hostile invaders. Together, our forces thwarted the CIA’s espionage teams. Every CIA spy was apprehended or killed.

  “I will post videos of the surviving CIA agent’s interrogations. Their confessions of illegal activities should enrage all nations, not just Iraq. This unconscionable act is a violation of our national sovereignty. It will no longer be tolerated.

  “As many of you are aware, in a speech earlier today, General Javan served noticed that he was stepping up military patrols in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Today, I announce that Iraqi ships will work in conjunction with the Persians to protect our shipping lanes from American imperialism.

  “There are many admirable qualities of the American people. They work hard. They are entrepreneurial. They love freedom. They don’t want their government spying on them. Supposedly, the US government must obtain a warrant to legally tap American’s phone calls and Internet traffic.

  “Why does America feel—just because we are non-American—they are entitled to disrespect our borders and listen to every Iraqi phone call?

  “This is an abomination to me personally, and my government collectively. We will not tolerate the United States spying on Iraqis. The days of tapping our phone calls and monitoring our keystrokes are over. Should the US continue their cyber-attacks and espionage upon Iraq, Iraq will be forced to retaliate with methods of our choice, at a time of our choosing.

  “Finally, I would like to thank some nations that have significantly helped to rebuild and retool Iraq. All Iraqis owe a substantial debt of gratitude to the great nations of China, Russia, and Persia. These countries have sacrificed talent, blood, and treasure to assist the crescent moon to rise again across this great nation.”

  *

  The Goodson administration now shifted to full crises mode. The price of oil doubled after Rahmati and Javan’s speeches. The Iraqi Prime Minister and Iranian General hadn’t returned a single call from President Goodson in over three days. Goodson placed these calls to negotiate the release of the imprisoned CIA operatives.

  General Shields attended an all-hands meeting called by the President at 2:00 p.m., in the basement of the West Wing of the White House—the Situation Room.

  Satellite images were displayed on the six flat panel displays, at the opposite end of the President’s chair. POTUS sat at the head of the 13 seat conference table. The pictures showed Persian and Iraqi forces massing along the Persian Gulf, across from Saudi Arabia.

  A Persian fast boat had boarded a Norwegian tanker that was steaming through the Strait of Hormuz. And, the President was pressing the DCIA and General Shields, as to how Rahmati could have possibly known about the CIA’s fiber tapping operation.

  “Mr. President,” said General Shields, “I don’t know. But our leading theories haven’t changed. There’s either a very high-level mole, or Rahmati has cracked our encryption—possibly with a quantum computer. If indeed he’s hacked Saudi documents; that may tell us more. They use different root certificates for their public keys. This would be indicative of a more widespread problem with encryption—worldwide.”

  Each of the Joint Chiefs of Staff detailed how the armed forces were going about mobilization to protect Saudi Arabia from descending into chaos. “The key here is to protect Saudi oil fields from falling into Iraq or Persia’s hands,” said the President. “This has been the strategic linchpin of our Middle East policy since FDR.”

  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—CJCS—highlighted the significant naval assets in the area. “Mr. President, the 5th Fleet has our newest carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, already deployed in the Red Sea.

  “We can move her to the Persian Gulf, and send the 6th Fleet’s, Abraham Lincoln through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea. Right now, she’s in the Mediterranean. Then we can steam the George Washington as her replacement. She can be in the Mediterranean in seven days. She’s disembarking from her home port in Norfolk, right now. Three carrier groups is a boatload of firepower.”

  POTUS didn’t appreciate the pun.

  The Secretary of Defense—SECDEF—proceeded to brief recommended troop levels. He advised the President deploy 100,000 to 125,000 soldiers to protect the kingdom and defend the Saudi oil fields. The troops could all be in place in 60 to 90 days.

  The NSC Advisor briefed the situation in Turkey. “It appears that Kurdish activity along the border of Turkey, Iraq, and Syria has dramatically increased. I’d venture to guess, part of Rahmati’s oil deal with the Kurds is to support the Kurds as his proxy in a war against Turkey. That’s what the Quds Force would do. And of course Turkey’s stability was questionable to begin with.”

  General Shields shook his head in disbelief. “How is one man operating with such speed and clarity, while we can’t even collect a single rogue packet of his SIGINT? As you know, Mr. President, TAO has just implemented a new TOP SECRET operation to hack Iraqi and Persian cyber assets. They’ll leverage some of our best stockpiled zero-days. I’ll have CYBERCOM detail all of our offensive cyberwar options. I’ll get that report to you later this evening.”

  The DCIA added, “And Langley will speed up the investigation of the quantum computer thread.”

  Chapter 40 – Blackout

  1:35 p.m. (EDT), Monday, May 31, 2021 – Columbia, MD

  SWARM Op Center, Sixth-Floor SCIF, Defense Innovations Accelerator

  General Shields and Lin Liu watched ElectricMind’s presentation on the video wall in the SWARM Op Center. Three and one-half months had passed since Rahmati commandeered the Swarmbots in Jerusalem. The SWARM program had been grounded since then.

  But the General kept the center staffed. Everybody liked the energy and entrepreneurial environment of the room. Shields’ most trusted digital hackers filled the op center. TAO provided skilled intelligence gatherers. Offensive cyber-warriors came from CYBERCOM.

  May 2021 had been the most difficult month in General Shields’ professional career.

  Rahmati’s .ISLAM social media properties, backed by a powerful Islamic search engine, released a steady barrage of incredibly embarrassing information. Rahmati also established a satellite TV station, called Crescent TV. It spread favorable media coverage. He patterned the station after Al Jazeera and RT, formerly known as Russia Today. Crescent TV maintained studios in Babylon, Tehran, and Washington DC.

  Rahmati’s A-Tube-like website, CrescenTube, released footage of the CIA’s clandestine operation to tap Iraqi-Persian fiber. This was followed by the video interrogations of the incarcerated CIA agents.

  The attack and confessions especially struck a chord in Persia. Iranians had a long history of antipathy for the CIA. In 1953, the CIA led a coup—known as Operation AJAX—to overthrow Iran’s legitimately elected representative, Mohammad Mosaddig. The US reinstalled the Shah to replace Prime Minister Mosaddig.

  Rahmati also launched a WikiLeaks-type site. He released secret political communiques that vividly portrayed the US playing a balance of power strategy in the Middle East, pitting Sunnis against Shias. While diplomatic insiders always knew of the policy; it was troubling for the general populace to see the emails and hand-written documents.

  The biggest bombshells came from disclosures related to Saudi Arabia. The extent of Saudi corruption stunned the world. Most galling were the transfers of state oil money directly into the personal accounts of Saudi government officials.

  And, American’s were shocked at the staggering dollar figures the flowed from Saudi Arabia into the coffers of US politicians, influential Americans, and prominent US institutions. Many Americans asked what exactly was being sold for all this money.

  Rahmati also releas
ed documents detailing the extent to which Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Gulf states supported the Caliphate, Al Qaeda, and the Muslim Brotherhood. The revelations galvanized the people of Iraq, Syria, and Persia. Americans were equally stunned. The extent of the Saudi revelations led eM to increase the likelihood that Rahmati was leveraging a quantum computer to 39%.

  In response to the leaks, once again, massive protests spread across the Middle East. Now, the biggest demonstrations occurred in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi’s client state, the tiny island of Bahrain, also participated in the dissident movement. Given the US base there, the situation was extremely worrisome to the US.

  The House of Saud cracked down hard. However, they came under increasing international condemnation, especially from the UN Secretary General. The authoritarian regime in Egypt was also under fire from students and members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Palestinians even marched against their government.

  “I want to make sure we watch the Rahmati address at two o’clock,” said General Shields.

  “No problem,” replied Josh. “We’ll be done by then.”

  Josh continued the briefing. “eM’s been ingesting the Persian geospatial information on JWICS. She guesses that the quantum computer is located in one of the many buildings owned by the Rahmati Technology Conglomerate. Obviously, that’s not too surprising.”

  “I’ve hacked into the Persian property records database in Tehran,” said Becca. “With the help of your Farsi speaking analysts, we’ve found 12 sites that are owned by the conglomerate. Based on all the parameters we think a quantum computer would need to operate, eM predicts that these four structures are the most likely spot for a quantum computer—if it exists.” Becca displayed a map of Tehran, with the four probable sites highlighted.

  “That’s good work,” said General Shields. “Can’t we just hack those building’s computers in and look for signs of the quantum computer? Once we find it, we can just take it out.”

  “We’ve penetrated some of them,” replied Becca, “but, it’s not been very helpful. So far, there’s been nothing that even hints at the existence of a quantum computer, let alone its location.”

  Shields carefully studied Becca’s map of Tehran. “Well, CYBERCOM has certainly prepared the battlefield in Persia. If POTUS doesn’t want to kinetically bomb those structures, there are other options to take those locations down. We’ve got backdoors into their power grid.”

  It was now 2:00. All eyes turned to the Crescent TV feed in the middle of the video wall. Muhammad Rahmati stepped to a marble podium in Babylon. After a typical Muslim greeting, Rahmati began.

  “Our holy writings talk about a time in which everything hidden will be revealed. The revelations I’ve posted regarding the deceitful actions of the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United States are one fulfillment of this prophecy.

  “Once again, I call upon Saudi Arabia to return the holy lands of Mecca and Medina. And, I promise that Iraq, along with our great ally Persia, stand ready to protect any Muslim in harm’s way. This includes citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or any other Gulf State—including Bahrain.

  “As I stated in my speech on the evening of May 14, cyber-intrusions into the state of Iraq will not be tolerated. I will be releasing information in the next 10 minutes to the CrescentLeaks.ISLAM site. These documents, and accompanying analytics, will detail the number and extent to which the US continues to actively engage in spying and cyber-aggression against the nation of Iraq.

  “In addition, I will be releasing details from a TOP SECRET project, recently started by the NSA and CIA, to step up cyber-monitoring and foreign spy infiltration of our country. This espionage program began after we thwarted the CIA’s illegal incursion into our nation. The Americans have crossed my red line. Consequences are forthcoming.”

  The once buzzing SWARM Op Center was now deadly silent. Rahmati’s words hung in the air like a thick fog.

  “Dammit!” yelled the General. “We can’t keep one single secret. Do we have to return to typewriters? Think of this guy’s bravado—he’s threatening the world’s only superpower and Saudi Arabia—at the same time.

  “There’s a significant Shia population in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, they’re concentrated near the major Saudi oil fields. Although Bahrain is an independent country, it’s really just an extension of Saudi Arabia. It’s critical to the US, because we use our base there to project power in the Middle East. He’s declaring war on Saudi Arabia, and telling them he’s coming for their oil. And we’re going to be stuck in the middle of a Saudi civil war, defending an unpopular monarchy.”

  “What do you think he intends to do about our hacking?” asked Becca.

  The General replied, “I don’t’ know. I don’t expect him to be over-aggressive. It would be suicide to fight the US and Saudi Arabia at the same time.”

  “Why do you think he’s not announced anything about the Ark?” whispered Josh.

  “I don’t know. I imagine he’ll reveal it at some future date, when it better suits him. He’s shown himself to be a brilliant warrior, promoter, and now; a very adept statesman.”

  “We all know he’s a murderer. Why don’t we just tell the world? Then, we can release the footage of Rahmati from the Swarmbots,” said Becca.

  Josh answered the question for the General. “We’d have to explain how we obtained the video, and where it was taken. We don’t want to draw undue attention to the Jerusalem property. The construction crew sealed the entrance to the tunnel, and they’re laying low right now.”

  Becca rolled her eyes in frustration. “Then, we’ve got to upgrade the encryption on the Swarmbots. We need intel. If we can find Rahmati, we should take him out.” She was surprised at the words that just came from her mouth.

  General Shields’ laugh filled the room. “Look at our new Swarmbot champion. Becca, I told you the world was shades of gray. I agree with your sentiments. From here on out, I’ll read you into any program you want.

  “By the way, the Fort is working around the clock to perfect their quantum-resistant algorithms. Since Rahmati’s last speech, troops have been mobilizing for deployment to Saudi Arabia. The Persian Gulf is a powder keg. We need secure comms.”

  A breaking alert came from the CNN feed streaming on another portion of the video wall.

  “We’re receiving numerous reports that the entire state of Texas is experiencing a power blackout. We’ll try to get you more details shortly.” The news anchor was visibly disturbed. “It’s not clear if the blackout is related to Muhammad Rahmati’s pledge of retribution for cyber-attacks upon Iraq.”

  *

  20 minutes later, General Shields was in NSOC.

  “It’s a total blackout of the Texas grid. But the Western and Eastern Interconnections are fully operational,” said the duty officer. Three separate, but connected networks, comprised the US electric grid. “All of Texas is dark. This includes Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. DHS is reporting that the Port of Houston’s backup systems have either failed or been taken off-line.

  “DHS is also receiving a steady stream of complaints from energy companies. All the reports are essentially the same. A significant number of domestic oil and gas rigs have been incapacitated. All the affected platforms make use of horizontal drilling techniques, otherwise known as fracking.”

  The Department of Homeland Security was the lead agency in charge of protecting US critical infrastructure. Because it owned none of the critical infrastructure, the agency had little real-time visibility into energy companies’ networks.

  “We’ve got to get ahead of events,” said Shields, infuriated. “I’m sick of constantly reacting. Every Texan’s commute home will be a nightmare. We have 48 hours before this becomes a Hurricane Katrina-like situation, with riots and looting. When people’s food in their refrigerators starts to spoil, all hell will break loose.”

  An NSOC analyst directed General Shields’ attention to the Fox Business channel. The S&P 500
Index was down 11%. Gold was spiking. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $159 a barrel. This would send gas to over $5, by next week.

  The anchor issued rapid-fire updates.

  “We’re receiving numerous reports that Russian troops have driven further into Ukraine, besieging its capital of Kiev.”

  “Japanese news agencies are reporting that China has moved an armada of ships into the disputed Senkaku Islands.”

  “For God’s sake,” blurted the General. “This is a concerted effort by Russia, China, Iraq, and Persia. Any one of those nations could be behind a cyber-attack on our energy infrastructure.” Shields’ next thought turned the damage those nations could do to DoD networks. He rushed to NTOC.

  *

  General Shields huddled in a conference room behind the electronically fogged windows of NTOC Ops Room A. NTOC stood for the NSA Threat Operations Center, pronounced, ‘N-Tock.’ NTOC provided 24/7 monitoring of US national security networks. It functioned similarly to the computer incident response team at DHS. But NTOC monitored DoD and IC networks, and maintained deep hooks into NSA’s vast SIGINT infrastructure.