“No, no, everything was perfect, Amir. Thank you very much.”
“Oh, I understand. ‘No worries.’ It’s American saying. Slang, yes?”
“Right, yes. An American idiom. No worries means everything is well. Sit down, Amir, please.”
Amir sat down opposite Jake. “All very good, JK. Registration in order. We have time for good breakfast. Then take you to meet KHC host. Name Cipher—just one name. Like famous American singers. Beyoncé. Usher. Cher. I like American music. Cipher famous too. Famous in hacker world. I introduce you to Cipher. He make everything good for you.”
“Great,” Jake said.
“Yes. No worries,” Amir said. “Now we eat baursaki and porridge. Famous Kazakh breakfast. Baursaki like American doughnut. Porridge like American porridge. Okay?”
“Sounds good to me, Amir.” Jake thought it would be nice to eat in silence, but that probably wasn’t going to happen. It didn’t.
NO BILL CAME AT the end of the meal. Jake thought it might be charged to his room, but neither the waitress nor the hostess ever asked Jake for his name or room number. Maybe Amir took care of it. Why?
Amir led Jake first to an escalator, and then to an express elevator. The elevator opened into a large auditorium. “Come, please, JK.” Amir led Jake to a reserved seat in the first row with a sign on it labeled “JK.” “This your seat, but please to first follow me.”
Jake followed Amir up a few steps onto the large podium. They approached a man in jeans and a tee shirt. Amir spoke rapidly with the man in a language Jake could not understand, but he heard Amir say “JK.”
The man turned to Jake and extended a closed fist. They bumped knuckles lightly. The man asked Jake, in English, if he spoke Paruski, “Russian.” When Jake hesitated, the man said “Not a problem, we’ll speak English.” The man quickly examined Jake, appearing to look right through him. “My name’s Cipher. Why are you here, JK?”
When Jake hesitated again, Cipher said, “We’re about to get started. Perhaps we can speak later.”
CIPHER WELCOMED THE KHC participants. “Greetings, all. If you haven’t yet registered, please do so at the first break and pick up your welcome packets, including the schedule of events for the next four days. We’re jam packed. As you might imagine, our focus this year will be on just how vulnerable the 2020 U.S. election facilities are likely to be. And if you don’t already realize it, the U.S. election facilities are certainly far more vulnerable than many Americans think. They would do well to be here focusing on the subject with you. But for those who aren’t, that’s their loss. So let’s get the show started! Please join me in welcoming our first speaker, Mr. Lars Nilsen. Lars does his thing in Copenhagen. You’ll find his bio is in the registration materials, but for most of you, Lars hardly needs any introduction.
NILSEN WAS TRANSPORTED ONTO the dais by two assistants. To say Nilsen was in a wheelchair was an oversimplification. More precisely, it was a combination wheelchair and a gurney poised between horizontal and vertical positions, much closer to vertical. It was on wheels and silently motorized, able to move forward and back, and rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. There was a lot of equipment strapped into place below the gurney, various cables running here and there. In front of Nilsen, whose body and limbs were also strapped into place, there were two tubes that ran from his mouth into the bowels of the gurney—a larger one that assisted his breathing, and a smaller one that seemed to connect to a keyboard positioned in front of him.
Without warning, in karaoke fashion, simultaneously on a large screen facing the audience from behind Nilsen, and on a laptop-sized screen attached to the keyboard in front of him, appeared the words:
GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. IF I WERE MADONNA, OR EVA PERON, I MIGHT SING “DON’T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA”, BUT I’M NOT, AS YOU CAN SEE, SO I WON’T. I’M ALSO NOT A VERY GOOD “STAND-UP” COMEDIAN. GET IT, STAND-UP. HAHA. BUT I DO THE BEST I CAN WITH MY PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS.
The reaction of the audience was mixed. Some were quiet, some turned and looked at one another, a slight murmur noticeable, some laughed at Nilsen’s self-deprecating attempt at humor.
PLEASE BE AT EASE SO WE CAN FOCUS ON THE REASON I’M HERE, AND NOT ON THE SIGHT BEFORE YOU. LET ME JUST SAY, I’VE BEEN IN THIS STATE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW, IT’S NOT GOING TO IMPROVE, BUT SO FAR, IT’S NOT GETTING WORSE EITHER. AT LEAST NOT AS LONG AS WE DON’T HAVE A POWER OUTAGE THAT PREVENTS THESE MACHINES FROM CONTINUING TO BREATHE FOR ME. JUST KIDDING. THESE MACHINES HAVE THEIR OWN POWER SUPPLY. I HAVE ACCEPTED MY CONDITION, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN I’M NOT CAREFUL.
I ALSO HASTEN TO SET YOUR MINDS AT EASE THAT I AM NOT IN PAIN, AND I HAVE LONG SINCE STOPPED DWELLING ON MY PHYSICAL SHORTCOMINGS. AS SHOULD YOU. I CHOOSE TO CONCENTRATE ON MY MIND. YOU SHOULD PLEASE DO THE SAME.
HOPEFULLY, WE CAN NOW CONCENTRATE ON WHAT I AM HERE TO SHARE WITH YOU, AND WHAT I MEAN TO SAY TO EACH OF YOU, SO TO SPEAK. THAT WILL BE THE LAST OF MY JOKES. MAYBE. IT’S INTERESTING HOW MUCH DIFFICULTY I HAVE USING LANGUAGE THAT DOESN’T IMPLY SPEECH OR MOTION. THERE MAY BE SOME DEEP SEATED PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND THAT. I DON’T KNOW. PLEASE JUST HUMOR ME. LAUGH WITH OR AT ME, IF YOU’D LIKE. WHICHEVER YOU PREFER. I’M HONESTLY FINE WITH IT EITHER WAY.
SPEAKING OF SAYING—SEE, THERE I GO AGAIN—I COULD JUST HAVE PREPARED MY REMARKS IN WRITING AND DIALED THEM IN. BUT THEN I WOULD HAVE NO REAL PURPOSE TO BE HERE TODAY. I PREFER TO USE MY TECHNOLOGY TO SPEAK TO YOU LIVE. TO SHOW BOTH YOU AND ME THAT I AM ALIVE.
I AM GOING TO ADDRESS WITH YOU TODAY THE ISSUE OF ELECTION FRAUD. ELECTION FRAUD COMES IN TWO MAIN STYLES. ONE IS ELECTRONIC WIZARDRY—USED TO ALTER WHO IS PERMITTED TO VOTE, AND/OR TO ALTER HOW THEY VOTE. THE OTHER IS PSYCHOLOGICAL WIZARDRY—USED TO ALTER HOW PEOPLE DECIDE TO VOTE. I WILL CALL THE FIRST TYPE OF ELECTION FRAUD “ELECTRONIC VOTER FRAUD.” I WILL CALL THE SECOND TYPE OF ELECTION FRAUD “PSYCHOLOGICAL VOTER FRAUD.”
I AM NOT WHAT AMERICANS REFER TO AS A SHRINK. I HAVE LITTLE TO OFFER ON THE SUBJECT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL VOTER FRAUD, OTHER THAN TO SAY THAT IT WAS EXTENSIVELY PRACTICED IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTIONS. WITHOUT IT, I BELIEVE THE U.S. WOULD HAVE ELECTED A DIFFERENT PRESIDENT, ALTHOUGH I CANNOT TANGIBLY PROVE THAT.
I WILL DEMONSTRATE TO EACH OF YOU THAT THE TECHNOLOGY EXISTS TODAY TO CARRY OUT ELECTRONIC VOTER FRAUD. IT EXISTED—AND WAS USED—IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTIONS, BUT THE TECHNOLOGY IS MUCH MORE SOPHISTICATED NOW. I CANNOT TELL YOU TO WHAT EXTENT IT INFLUENCED THE OUTCOME OF THE 2016 ELECTION, BUT I AM HERE TO TELL YOU ELECTRONIC VOTER FRAUD WILL BE USED IN THE 2020 U.S. ELECTIONS, AND WILL INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME.
WILL I PERSONALLY EMPLOY ELECTRONIC VOTER FRAUD IN THE 2020 ELECTION? WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD I EVER CONFESS TO SUCH BEHAVIOR? WHAT I WILL DO IS TELL YOU THAT ONE OR MORE PERSONS WILL DO SO, BUT YOU WON’T LIKELY KNOW WHO THEY ARE, BECAUSE THEY WILL UNDOUBTEDLY USE ANONYMOUS ENCRYPTED SOFTWARE AVAILABLE TODAY TO MAINTAIN THEIR CONFIDENTIALITY. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THAT KIND OF ENCRYPTION, YOU SHOULD SEEK OUT OUR HOST, CIPHER, WHO HAS THE BEST ANONYMOUS ENCRYPTION SOFTWARE AVAILABLE TODAY.
WHAT I WILL DEMONSTRATE TO ALL OF YOU TODAY, BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, IN A MOCK ELECTION THAT WE WILL CONDUCT, IS THAT I HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO CHANGE THE VOTES THAT ARE CAST. IF I CAN DO THAT HERE TODAY, THERE IS NO REASON FOR THE U.S. TO RATIONALLY BELIEVE THAT ELECTRONIC VOTER FRAUD WILL NOT PERMEATE—AND CONTROL THE OUTCOME OF—THE 2020 ELECTION. TO THE U.S., I SAY, TO BE FOREWARNED IS TO BE FOREARMED.
PLEASE USE YOUR SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS TO SUBMIT ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE AS YOU WATCH MY DEMONSTRATION. WHEN I FINISH THE DEMONSTRATION, I WILL DO MY BEST TO ANSWER EACH ONE OF THEM. YOU DON’T HAVE TO TAKE NOTES ON WHAT I HAVE TO SAY HERE TODAY. SOMETIMES, I GET INTENSE AND MOVE PRETTY QUICKLY. MY REMARKS ARE BEING TRANSCRIBED AND A PASSWORD PROTECTED LINK TIED TO YOUR REGISTRATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ALL OF YOU.
OKAY, WITH THAT BACKDROP, LET’S TURN TO MY DEMONSTRATION OF ELECTRONIC VOTER FRAUD.
Cipher interrupted Nilsen. “It’s obvious that Lars is ready to rock and roll, but I think the rest of us could probably
use a few minutes break. And for those of you who are interested, I will be demonstrating my anonymity encryption software later this week. Thanks for the plug, Lars.” Cipher looked at his watch. “Let’s reconvene in fifteen minutes. For those of you who already have questions, be sure to electronically submit them as we proceed. We will get to them at the end of Lars’s presentation.”
JAKE STOOD UP AND stretched. Amir magically appeared at his side as soon as he did. “You wish something drink, Mr. JK? Need me to show you washroom?”
“I’m good, Amir,” Jake said.
“Good? Of course you’re good, JK.”
Jake laughed.
Amir smiled. “Another American idiom?” Amir asked.
“Yes. Another American idiom.”
“I very funny. See you at lunch break. I have arrangements.”
AFTER THE BREAK, NILSEN resumed his presentation. He pointed out that a ballot booth had been set up on the far end of the stage. He explained that this was the precise voting system used in a great number of U.S. States. Cipher said that he had an advance copy of Nilsen’s demonstration, and had personally arranged for the manufacturer of the most commonly used ballot booth system in the U.S. to provide the ballot booth now on the stage. He introduced two representatives of the manufacturer, who verified to the audience that this ballot booth was manufactured and delivered by them, and had been tested for its accuracy.
Nilsen asked for ten volunteers from the audience to come up on the podium. They confirmed that the ballots in the booth provided a choice between voting for mock Candidate Smith or mock Candidate Jones. He asked each of the volunteers, one at a time, to go into the booth and vote for one of the candidates and to write down on a slip of paper provided how they had voted. Afterward, Cipher collected the ten slips and invited the volunteers to return to their seats.
Cipher then scanned the slips and projected them onto the large screen facing the audience. The screen showed that seven volunteers had voted for Smith and three volunteers had voted for Jones, meaning that Smith had won the mock election. He asked the representatives of the manufacturer to examine the ballot booth and confirm the results. They did. Cipher then turned to Nilsen and said, “Lars, you maintain that you can alter these results from your laptop without physically going anywhere near the ballot booth, correct?”
The large screen flashed the words:
YOU CAN ALL BEAR WITNESS TO THE FACT THAT I CANNOT MOVE ANYWHERE NEAR THE BALLOT BOOTH, EVEN IF I WANTED TO. AND THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS, YES, I CAN ALTER THE RESULTS YOU JUST ANNOUNCED.
“How long will it take you to do that?” asked Nilsen.
IN THIS CONTAINED PROXIMATE ENVIRONMENT, FIFTEEN SECONDS, MAYBE LESS, DEPENDING ON MY KEYBOARD AGILITY TODAY.
“Okay, go,” Cipher said. He turned on a stopwatch on his smartphone and began counting out loud.
At ten seconds, the large screen displayed:
FINISHED.
Cipher asked the two manufacturer reps to examine the ballot booth once again and announce the results. They did so, with some dismay: “Ten votes for Jones, none for Smith.”
In less than ten seconds, Nilsen had changed the seven votes for Smith to Jones. Instead of Smith winning the election, Jones was now the winner.
At first, the hush in the auditorium was palpable. Slowly, however, the growing applause overtook the silence, but ceased when words again appeared on the large screen:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT. CIPHER TELLS ME WE ARE RUNNING SHORT ON TIME. I’VE GLANCED AT THE QUESTIONS YOU HAVE POSTED. I WILL RESPOND TO ALL OF THEM FOLLOWING THE CONFERENCE. HOWEVER, THERE ARE THREE GENERAL QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ASKED SEVERAL TIMES I WOULD LIKE TO ANSWER NOW.
PARAPHRASING THE MANY VERSIONS OF THE FIRST QUESTION RAISED: WEREN’T YOU ABLE TO ACCESS THE VOTING MACHINE TODAY ONLY BECAUSE IT WAS CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET? AND ISN’T IT THE CASE TODAY, UNLIKE IN 2016, THAT VOTING MACHINES CAN AVOID INTERNET CONNECTION, SUCH AS THE ONE USED HERE TODAY? AND WON’T THAT PREVENT YOUR TECHNOLOGY FROM BEING EMPLOYED IN THE 2020 U.S. ELECTIONS?
THAT’S A TWO-PART QUESTION. PART ONE, YES THE VOTING MACHINE I USED TODAY WAS CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET, AND YES, I AVAILED MYSELF OF THAT CONNECTION.
PART TWO, THE TECHNOLOGY I USED WILL WORK ON ALL DIGITAL VOTING MACHINES AVAILABLE, AND THAT WILL BE USED IN THE U.S. ELECTION NEXT YEAR. THOSE WHO DISAGREE MAKE THE INCORRECT ASSUMPTION THAT THERE ARE DIGITAL VOTING MACHINES THAT CAN AVOID THE INTERNET BY SWITCHING FROM CONVENTIONAL WIFI TO MOVE THE VOTES ACROSS THE INTERNET TO CELLULAR HOT SPOTS AND DIAL-UP MODEMS THAT WILL AVOID REGULAR INTERNET CONNECTIONS.
CELLULAR HOT SPOTS AND DIAL-UP MODEMS ALSO USE THE INTERNET IN THE CHAIN OF TRANSMISSION, JUST FOR MUCH SHORTER PERIODS OF TIME. THE PESSIMISTS WHO THINK THOSE MODES OF TRANSMISSION WILL CONNECT TO THE INTERNET TOO SHORTLY FOR DECRYPTION SOFTWARE TO DO WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN HERE TODAY ARE MISTAKEN. THAT WOULD BE TRUE IN THE CASE OF OLDER TECHNOLOGY. HOWEVER, MY LATEST TECHNOLOGY, IN PART ASSISTED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOFTWARE, REQUIRES ONLY SECONDS, AS YOU SAW.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. I WOULD COMMEND TO YOUR READING THE MYTH OF THE HACKER-PROOF VOTING MACHINE THAT APPEARED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE ON FEBRUARY 21, 2018. HERE IS A LINK TO THAT ARTICLE:
HTTPS://WWW.NYTIMES.COM/2018/02/21/MAGAZINE/THE-MYTH-OF-THE-HACKER-PROOF-VOTING-MACHINE.HTML
THE SECOND QUESTION RAISED SEVERAL TIMES IS WHETHER MY TECHNOLOGY ONLY WORKS IN THE CASE OF CLOSE PHYSICAL PROXIMITY TO THE VOTING MACHINE—GIVE OR TAKE ON THE ORDER OF NO MORE THAN 150 TO 300 FEET AWAY FROM THE VOTING MACHINE. AGAIN, THAT WAS TRUE IN THE CASE OF OLDER TECHNOLOGY. IN MY LATEST TECHNOLOGY, ACCESS CAN BE ACHIEVED FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. I CAN ACCESS ANY DIGITAL VOTING MACHINE FROM RIGHT HERE IN THIS ROOM.
FINALLY, MANY OF YOU HAVE ASKED ABOUT WHETHER MY TECHNOLOGY WILL WORK IN THE CASE OF MANUAL MAIL-IN VOTING. AT THE RISK OF SOUNDING LIKE A LAWYER, MAYBE YES AND MAYBE NO. IF AMERICANS ARE WILLING TO WAIT FOR SCANNED PAPER VOTES TO BE MANUALLY COUNTED OVER WHAT WILL PROBABLY REQUIRE WEEKS, IF NOT MONTHS, THEN THERE WILL BE NO CONNECTION TO THE INTERNET UNDER SUCH MANUAL VOTING AND COUNTING AND MY TECHNOLOGY WILL NOT WORK. HOWEVER, IF AMERICANS DEMAND INSTANT GRATIFICATION, AS THEY ALWAYS SEEM TO DO, THEN THE COUNTING AND REPORTING WILL ENTAIL AT LEAST SOME MINIMUM INTERNET CONNECTIVITY, AND MY TECHNOLOGY WILL WORK. AND THEN, OF COURSE, THERE IS THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THE U.S. POSTAL AUTHORITIES CAN ACTUALLY MOVE 200 MILLION EXTRA PIECES OF MAIL WITHOUT TOTALLY COLLAPSING THEIR DELIVERY CAPACITY, EVEN IF AMERICANS SURPRISE ME AND SHOW THE DISCIPLINE TO WAIT FOR THE RESULTS OF A PURE MANUAL COUNTING SYSTEM THAT AVOIDS ALL INTERNET CONNECTIVITY.
THANK YOU LADIES AND GENTLEMEN FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND INTEREST. PLEASE ENJOY THE REMAINDER OF THE CONFERENCE.
Once again, the auditorium lit up with applause.
JAKE HAD NO WAY to know for sure if the demonstration he had just watched, and Nilsen’s answers, were for real. The demonstration could easily have been rigged, but that would have required either that the manufacturer reps were fakes, or were in on a possibly rigged show. However, Jake could see no reason why the manufacturer would be motivated to disclose that its technology was vulnerable to corruption.
Even if Nilsen’s answers were self-serving and exaggerated, Jake was still fascinated both by the answers and the underlying questions. This was a highly sophisticated audience. While nothing Jake heard or witnessed suggested that Nilsen’s ballot box demonstration was not legitimate as presented. It was also clear that Nilsen was not giving away any of his “how to” secrets. At least, not for free.
After the buzz calmed down, Cipher announced it was time for lunch, and some networking opportunities. He added that the auditorium would be secured during the break, and it would be safe to leave one’s personal effects in the room. At least the lunch, as opposed to whatever it was that Cipher and/or Nilsen were really at the conference looking to sell, was free, meaning it was included in the cost of the program registration.
CHAPTER 17
November 19, 2
019, Midday And Afternoon Same Day
JAKE FINISHED ENTERING SOME notes on his customary laptop while the auditorium emptied out. He expected Amir would appear at any moment. His anointed “personal assistant” was nothing if not predictable. He wondered just how much in the way of a tip would be required at the end of the week.
“Please to follow, Mr. JK. You have lunch with Cipher. It’s okay?”
“Sure, Amir, thank you, that’s very nice,” Jake answered. He followed Amir to one of the elevators. Pretending he had a sudden afterthought, he stopped and said, “Shit, I forgot to make a note on my laptop. Please go ahead and I’ll meet you in the dining room.”
Sensing that Amir was about to say he would wait for him, Jake gently pushed the somewhat puzzled Amir through the open elevator door. “I’ll see you downstairs.” He turned and headed back into the auditorium before Amir had a chance to protest.
From his front row seat, he had seen Cipher leave his laptop up on the dais when he headed out of the auditorium, perhaps due to sloppiness from all he had on his plate with the conference. This may be my only chance.
The laptop was chained to the table, powered down, and no doubt password protected. Neither of those constraints presented any obstacle. Jake pulled the Mossad thumb drive from his coat pocket, stepped up on the dais, as if he were admiring the large flat screen and, making sure no one was watching him, he quickly inserted the thumb drive into the USB port on Cipher’s laptop and turned back to the large flat screen when he heard it snap into place. One thousand one, one thousand two. Oh my God, this is the fucking longest thirty seconds ever! He kept counting until he reached one thousand thirty.
He turned around, and was still the only one in the large room. He returned to the laptop and deftly removed the thumb drive. He hopped off the dais, grabbed his backpack, and hurriedly walked out of the room. Unlike Cipher, he chose not to leave his backpack and two laptops behind. He summoned an elevator and rode it down to the banquet floor of the hotel.
JK's Code (Brooks/Lotello Thriller Book 4) Page 6