No Biz Like Showbiz

by Julie Moffett

  “I’m not sure what that means.”

  “It means I have no evidence that our hacker cracked into the system from the outside.”

  “I don’t have a clue what that means. Seriously, don’t look to me to help you. Tech talk makes me nervous.”

  After he left, I unwrapped my sandwich and took a bite. After the invasion of my computer, I had already suspected this would be the case, but now I had confirmed it. An absence of threads almost always meant one thing. Insider threat. This would make finding the hacker infinitely harder.

  Frowning, I slid my computer glasses off my nose and set them to the side of my monitor. I stood up and lifted my hands above my head in a full body stretch, glancing at Kyle’s office. He was typing furiously on the keyboard, a frustrated look on his face. I took another bite of my sandwich, trying to decide the best angle to pursue from this point. I wanted to fill him in, but an inside threat meant I couldn’t trust anyone. Unfortunately, keeping him in the dark was going to make things a lot harder for me. So, with no help and no threads to follow, it was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

  I knocked on the glass window of Kyle’s office. “I’m going out for a bit of fresh air.”

  He nodded. “Sure.”

  I grabbed my purse and walked out of the studio. I began to pace up and down the sidewalk. After few minutes, I pulled out my phone. I now had seventeen messages, but I wasn’t in the mood to check any of them and then feel guilty about not calling anyone back. Especially since sixteen of said messages were likely from my mother.

  Instead I punched in a number I knew by heart.

  He answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Elvis. It’s Lexi. Are you busy?”

  I heard the shuffling of some papers and the tap on a keyboard. “I’m all yours. Sorry again about calling so early this morning.”

  I sighed. “Not a problem. Actually it was good timing. It was great to hear your voice. What I really need now is a sounding board.”

  “At your service.”

  I pressed my hand to my forehead. “It turns out the cracker I’m looking for isn’t a cracker.”

  “Explain.”

  “I’ve got no threads, no trails, no nothing.”

  He was quiet for a moment. “An insider?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s tough. Those are the worst kinds.”

  “I know. I can’t decide how best to take this one down. If he’s on the inside, putting up internal barriers may not be enough for the long haul, especially if he’s talented.”

  “True.”

  “I could probably stay one step ahead of him if I worked here permanently. But I can’t stay in Hollywood forever.”

  “Glad to hear that.”

  “So, I’m in a bind. I don’t want to shut him out completely because then I can’t catch him.”

  “Or her.”

  “True.”

  His chair squeaked as he shifted in it. “Unfortunately, Lexi, it’s not just a technical problem anymore.”

  I sighed. “No. It’s a people problem.”

  “Then you’re going to have to find a people-centric solution.”

  “Big problem as I’m not much of a people person. People add too many variables to the equation.”

  “Then build your defense contextually. Look at how people use the system and create a baseline, searching for the incongruities.”

  “You mean a behavioral-based approach?”

  “Yes. You’re probably better at that than you think. As one of the best hackers I’ve ever met, you can use that to your advantage. Put yourself in his or her shoes and go from there.”

  I drew in a sharp breath. “Wait. Wait. You think...you think I’m one of the best hackers you’ve ever met?”

  “You’re surprised?”

  “Coming from a tech god such as yourself, yes.”

  He paused. “Wait. You think I’m a tech god?”

  I laughed. “Of legend status. Oh, jeez. You just made my day, Elvis. Seriously.”

  “Likewise.”

  I was glad he couldn’t see me grinning like an idiot.

  “So, Lexi, this television show you’re working on...Should I watch it?”

  “Oh, God, no, Elvis. Seriously.”

  “Okay, if you say so.”

  “I say so. Trust me.”

  “I do. I’m still waiting for the gaming and pizza you promised.”

  “Coming your way when I get back.”

  “Looking forward to it.”

  I glanced at my watch. “Well, I’d better get back to work. I really appreciate your insight. Thanks again.”

  “My pleasure.”

  “You gave me some good ideas. I’m going to have to think about this.”

  He chuckled. “In my opinion, that’s the best place to start.”

  Chapter Eleven

  I returned to the IT room as soon as I hung up. I needed to start creating a baseline. To do that, I needed to know exactly who had access to the system from the inside, and how many people had accounts within the company. After that I needed to determine if there were any active or inactive accounts not specifically assigned to anyone and whether I should tag them for observation.

  I began an immediate series of protocols to match accounts to users and isolate any foreign or sole accounts. When all was said and done I had twenty-seven accounts that weren’t openly assigned to anyone. Not that any of them were a red flag, but I’d have them all figured out sooner than later. All of the contestants and Lucy had accounts and all of them were busy. Apparently the emails were publicized so the fans could communicate with the stars. As a studio employee, Stone had an account as well.

  I needed to get a better picture of all the people involved.

  I knocked on Kyle’s door even though it was open. He looked up. “What’s up?”

  “I need to talk with the contestants again.”

  “Okay? Why?”

  “A couple of them have dings on their records for hacking. Nothing serious enough to warrant jail time, but the skill is there. In fact, a couple of them have tech skills I wish I had. I want to talk to them in more depth, tech to tech, to get a general sense of what they think of our guy.”

  “What if he’s one of them?”

  I stopped, stared at Kyle. “You think one of them might be our guy?”

  “I haven’t ruled out an inside threat, and I bet you haven’t either. I figure that’s why you’re not sharing much. I understand that even though I’m not happy about it. So, why tip by your hand by letting them know they’re suspects?”

  “If our cracker is one of them, he’ll know I’m hunting.”

  “It will probably piss him off.”

  “I don’t care if he’s cocky, anxious, or pissed. If he’s among the remaining contestants, I want to rattle him. Rattled crackers are sloppy crackers, and that I like.”

  Kyle stuck a pencil behind his ear. “Okay. I’m on board if you think it will help. Check with Tony. He’ll have the guys’ filming schedule.”

  I managed to track down Tony, who told me the guys would be available after six o’clock at the mansion.

  “I’ll drive you over then.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Tony.”

  I returned to the IT room and decided to work in tandem with Carlos to see if we could find a pattern in the bad votes. It was nearly six o’clock when I spotted it.

  “Bingo.” I slid the glasses off my nose and leaned back in my chair. “Crapola. It’s been staring us in the face this whole time.”

  “What? Where?” Carlos leaned over, peering at my monitor. “I don’t see it.”

  “Here.” I tapped the monitor with my finger. “Look a
t this string. He swizzled. The bad votes are just copied good votes with the IP addresses and emails rearranged.”

  “He swizzled? Say what? Damn, damn, damn. He left it out in the open. I hate this guy. I really hate him.”

  “I’m more tired than I thought.” I stood up. “I should have seen that about three hours ago. Okay, well, we found out how he’s doing it. That’s a good thing. I can pull the plug on that technique.”

  Carlos looked hopeful. “Will it stop him?”

  I shook my head. “Doubtful. He’ll have a backup plan.”

  “It’s a never-ending nightmare.”

  I patted his shoulder. “Oh, there’s an end, Carlos. We’ll get him. Don’t worry.”

  Tony strolled in. “Hey, Lexi. You ready to see the guys?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be. Give me a sec to talk to Kyle.”

  I popped into Kyle’s office and brought him up to speed on the swizzle. He pulled up the data and cursed. “Hidden in plain sight.” I heard the disgust in his voice. “How did I miss it?”

  “We all did. It’s a bit unexpected, but clever. We’ll learn more about him as we go along. I’m going to see the contestants, then I’ll check out for the day.”

  Kyle turned his chair around. “I’m done as well. See you tomorrow.”

  Tony and I walked to his car. It was a warm evening, so he left the top down to the convertible as we drove. I dug the small therapy ball out of my purse and squeezed it.

  Twenty minutes later we entered the gated community. Since the sun hadn’t set yet, I got a better look at the big honking mansions in the guys’ neighborhood.

  I stared at one of the monstrosities that masqueraded as a house. “That compound is bigger than the National Zoo.”

  “It’s Penny Forester’s house. You may know her from the show Millionaire Model Makeovers.”

  “No, I don’t know her. I’m sorry to offend her apparent bad taste, but that has to be the ugliest structure I’ve ever seen. I sincerely hope she doesn’t live there alone. There’s enough room for the entire population of Estonia.”

  Tony laughed. “Wait until you see the house next door.”

  We drove past several more hideous structures before pulling into the circular driveway of the guys’ mansion. I followed Tony to the front door and he opened it without knocking and strolled in. “The filming should be over by now. The guys will likely be in the kitchen or the heated pool.”

  He headed straight for the room where we’d gamed last night. Several of the guys huddled around a table, leaning over something. A lone cameraman was filming them.

  I grabbed Tony’s arm. “Hey, they’re still filming. Wait.”

  Tony held his ground. “Sometimes they use clips of the guys during their down time as filler.”

  “They’re filming them doing a puzzle.”

  “The television audience actually finds this interesting? Really?”

  “Well, it’s a lot more entertaining than what they usually do.”

  “So, they have absolutely zero privacy?”

  “Pretty much for the duration of the show.”

  Barnaby spotted us first. “Greetings, Lexi and Tony. ‘May the fortune of Shangra shine upon you this day and always.’”

  The other contestants looked up from the table. They’d been working on a huge puzzle, at least five thousand pieces.

  Eldrick waved. “Hey, Lexi. What brings you to our humble abode again?”

  “I came to pick your brains.”

  The rest of the guys wandered over. The cameraman zoomed in on me. I glanced at Tony.

  “Can we do something about him? I’m going to need some time here.”

  Tony considered and then motioned to the cameraman. “Take five. Cartwright would approve.”

  The guy seemed more than happy to oblige. He shed the heavy camera, then wandered out on the patio near the pool.

  Tony patted me on the shoulder. “I’ll go keep him company. Come get me when you’re ready to split.”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  After he left, I stood alone with the guys and tried to get my thoughts in order. It was awkward until Ray suggested we sit down. I perched in the middle of one of the couches while Barnaby and Anson took a seat on either side of me.

  Truman leaned back in a black leather chair and crossed his arms behind his head. “So, my brain is ready to be picked. What’s going on?”

  Ray leaned forward. “Yeah, fill us in, Lexi. How’s it going finding the nutcase who’s manipulating the votes?”

  I threaded my fingers together on my lap. “Well, that’s why I’m here. I need to partake in the collective wisdom present. So, I’m going to cut to the bottom line. Our cracker is on the inside.”

  Silence.

  Truman finally spoke. “Are you joking? An inside job? Like a studio employee or something?”

  “Yes.”

  Eldrick studied me intently. “No. Not only a studio employee. She thinks it may be one of us. It makes sense. We all have accounts and access.”

  All eyes turned back to me and I shrugged. “It’s a possibility.”

  Barnaby inhaled sharply. “Fascinating development.”

  “Damn right, it’s fascinating.” Gregg chortled. “It’s a real mystery. Like the game of Clue or something. Okay, okay. Wait, guys. I think it’s Anson Oxlong in the studio with a hypertext transfer protocol.”

  Anson shot Gregg the finger. “Shut up, Gregg. Lexi, do you really think one of us is the show’s cracker?”

  “I don’t know. Call it a hunch, a gut instinct. I usually trust them.”

  “So, how can you be sure it’s someone on the inside?” Eldrick asked. “Maybe he’s just prime. Operates without a trace.”

  “There’s never not a trace. If you look hard enough, trace evidence is always there. But I can’t find anything.”

  Ray stared at me. “You’re that good?”

  “Good enough. Just so you all know, all the passwords and protocols have been changed and a new dedicated server has been set up. So, if it is one of you, you’re going to have to start at square one for your next hack.”

  Eldrick cracked his knuckles. “Changing protocols and passwords won’t stop a decent or determined cracker.”

  “True. I’m just putting it out there as common knowledge.”

  “No, not as a deterrent,” Truman said, rubbing his chin. “You don’t really think that will stop him. We’re all prime suspects. This is pretty cool.”

  “Cracking isn’t cool.”

  Truman shrugged. “I respectfully disagree. It depends on who, when, how, and the all-important why. Besides, you’re not one to talk. You’ve got a blip of your own on record, Lexi.”

  I turned my gaze on Truman. “You’ve been checking me out?”

  “In more ways than one. But yes. I’ve got a lot of time on my hands. I’ve pretty much compiled the life story of everyone in this room.”

  “Same here.” Eldrick grinned. “Guilty as charged.”

  After a moment Barnaby raised his hand. “Guilty as well. ‘To admit to an uncomfortable truth is to master the hidden deception of the heart.’ Ab’Jona to Kirk Masters in ‘Red Dwarf Revisited.’”

  Truman laughed. “Damn it, Lexi isn’t even surprised. She probably expected it of us. Plus, I bet she’s already done the same on us. I would venture the assumption that she knows more about me than my mother right now. I bet she also knows Anson still has Star Wars sheets on his bed and Gregg likes to play Xbox naked.”

  Anson reddened. “Hey, I do not have Star Wars sheets on my bed.”

  “Well, I do like to play Xbox naked, but not with you perverts around,” Gregg said laughing. “My door doesn’t swing that way.”

  Truman snorted. “Technically you
r door should be bolted shut. But, hey, that’s why you’re here, Lexi, right? To gauge our reactions to your little announcement.”

  “Partially true. The other part is to elicit your help.”

  Anson raised his hand and then lowered it when I glared at him. “Right. Sorry. I’m not in a classroom. Anyway, if you think it’s an inside job, why are you telling us? If one of us really is the cracker, then you’ve just given it away.”

  I scooted back against the cushions and stretched my legs. “I’m being upfront for a number of reasons. One, I really do need your help. I want you to keep an eye on each other. Make it harder for the cracker among us to operate without wondering who is looking over his shoulder.”

  “You mean, spy on each other?” Eldrick said. “That is very NSA-like, which is, by the way, your former place of employment.”

  “Sometimes the best approach is an open one.”

  Gregg cocked his head. “Baby, all this talk of spying is making me hot. But explain to me how spying equals an open approach.”

  I resisted the urge to smack him. “I’ve planted the seed. Now all of you are wondering if it’s possible that your fellow contestant might be the cracker.”

  “Sowing the seeds of suspicion,” Ray said. “Clever. Bold.”

  “Subtlety has never been my style. Add in the fact that several of you already have an expertise or experience with hacking. I won’t object to anyone who wants to offer any theories on how he’s operating or who he is.”

  “He’s got a beef with society.” Anson picked up a throw pillow from the couch and squeezed it. “He’s been bullied, pushed around.”

  Eldrick shrugged. “So what? Who in the room hasn’t?”

  “My take is the guy is on a mission,” Ray offered. “He’s got a bone to chew.”

  Truman nodded. “Yeah, he’s definitely got a bone, but he’s no lunatic. He knows what he is doing and, in a way, he speaks for each of us.”

  “He makes me feel like I need to grow a pair.” Anson pointed at his groin. “That would be balls, Lexi, just in case you hadn’t heard that expression.”

  I grimaced. “Jeez, Anson. Too much information.”

  Gregg thrust his hips forward. “I’ve got balls, Lexi. Big balls, especially for a guy my size. I can show you if you’re interested.”