by Uzi Eilam
As Tan asked his administrative assistant to locate Dr. Deutsch and ask him to join the meeting, the head of the Counter Intelligence Division strode quickly into the room.
“We’ve arrested Muhammad Osman,” the head of the division reported. “We’ve had him followed during the last few days. Today, around noon, we found him at a small restaurant near his home. The interesting development was capturing two foreign visitors who were in his company, the first Iranian and the second Lebanese. Both of them had Malaysian passports, but we soon uncovered their true identities.”
“And Osman himself?”
“The man started to sing like a canary,” the head of the division declared. “We thought he’d be a tough nut to crack, but my investigators uncovered his weakness. He broke down after we confronted him with the communications he conducted with Kuala Lumpur about defending the subway system, and began to cooperate.”
“The most important thing is that Osman revealed his source from our task force meetings.”
All eyes were upon the head of the Counter Intelligence Division. The room was silent.
“W-who is it?”
“The head of our Technology and Communication Department, Ms. Damia Nur.”
“That can’t be!” Tan burst out. “Talented, hardworking Damia, who was so dedicated to her role?”
“I’m not surprised,” Chang Mei said. “And I told you many times,” she said to Tan, “to pay attention to that department manager’s behavior.”
“If I may,” said Deutsch, who had arrived in time to hear the entire report by the head of the Counter Intelligence Division, “we have to arrest Damia immediately and not let her slip away. We know she has family in Malaysia.”
“Yes.” Tan came to his senses. “Take care of Damia’s arrest immediately,” he instructed the head of the Counter Intelligence Division. “Please send me ongoing reports on the next stages of Osman’s interrogation, on the Iranian and Lebanese’s interrogation, and mostly about Damia’s interrogation. It’s hard for me to believe she betrayed us so blatantly. You have to find out what motivated her.”
“One minute, sir, before you leave,” Dan called out to the head of the Counter Intelligence Division. “I’d like to request that Muhammad Osman’s laptop be sent for analysis at the institute’s lab. I’m sure it contains data that will help reveal the entire picture.”
“Dan’s right,” Gideon chimed in. “And let’s not forget the two terrorists under arrest, the Iranian from Quds Force and the Hezbollah member. We have to quickly get them to reveal the preparations for the attack whose scope and targets we haven’t figured out. Will arresting them thwart the attack, or are there parts of it we’re not aware of yet? Perhaps preparations for the attack are still going on?”
***
“In the name of Singapore law, you’re under arrest!” the head of the Counter Intelligence Division informed Damia as he walked past her administrative assistant. He was accompanied by two female police officers in civilian clothing. Damia stood still, looking pale, as the female police officers swiftly handcuffed her. For a moment, she was unable to speak.
“What are you doing?” Damia whispered in a broken voice. “There’s been a mistake… Ask General Tan…”
“It’ll all come out in the investigation,” the head of the division interjected brusquely. “You’ll get the opportunity to present all your claims. But you should know that your friend Muhammad Osman has been arrested too. We’ve learned a lot from him.”
Damia bowed her head and did not say another word. The female officers grabbed hold of her, one on each side, and walked her to a squad car waiting outside, as the administrative assistants of the Technology and Communications Department looked on in embarrassment.
Chapter 42
Gideon felt ill at ease after receiving an update from the investigators regarding the information discovered on Muhammad Osman’s personal computer. So far the man’s arrest had not been publicized. The head of the Counter Intelligence Division and Dan Avni had informed Gideon that an analysis of the data showed that Osman had access to all the bank’s confidential files. This went considerably beyond the man’s status in the bank hierarchy, the investigators claimed. In her new position, Ronit Hart enjoyed such access, and Gideon knew he had to confront her and understand how she was involved and what part she had played in the Osman affair.
At this time in the evening, Gideon thought, it wasn’t too late to ask her to come to the hotel for a meeting. On second thought, Gideon recruited Dan to join the meeting as well. He knew about the connection forged between the two young people, a connection that might make things difficult for Dan. However, it would be important to rely on the findings Dan had produced from Osman’s computer.
“Good evening, Gideon, good evening, Dan. What’s going on?” Ronit asked as she joined the two at a table overlooking the well-tended, illuminated garden. Gideon had chosen a quiet location at the edge of the hotel’s café floor.
“Good evening to you too, Ronit. I’m sorry for asking you to come by on such short notice. General Tan recently received information on further attempts to hack the accounts of bank customers.”
“That was detected and discussed in the meetings of our bank defense team. We reported all the information to you immediately.”
Gideon debated on how to proceed in what seemed to him like a personal minefield. He liked the dynamic, feisty young woman he had come to know, but he tended to believe that Ronit’s relationship with Osman exceeded that of mere running partners. He decided to get directly to the heart of the matter.
“Muhammad Osman has been arrested. He’s suspected of collaborating in terrorist activity against Singapore.”
“Really, Osman?”
“Did you know about Osman’s trips to Kuala Lumpur?”
“Oh… right, he told me he had a large family in Malaysia. He said he kept in touch with them through occasional visits to Kuala Lumpur. Is that a crime? You’re not allowed to keep in touch with your family?”
“No, Ronit, maintaining family relationships is not a crime, unless it’s merely a front for acting illegally against your country. In the course of the interrogation that has been going on for twenty-four hours now, Osman has already admitted to assisting terrorist activity originating in Malaysia. But I have a different question, Ronit.”
“What is it?” Ronit was no longer the energetic, self-confident young woman they knew. Her eyes were downcast and her face pale.
“We found some confidential files and passwords to access the bank’s secret database on Osman’s computer,” Dan said. “It’s unclear to us how he obtained information that only senior managers are allowed to access.”
“These are details that you, in your new senior position at the bank, have access to,” Gideon continued. “What was really the nature of your relationship with Osman?”
Gideon’s questions landed one after the other, and Ronit listened to them, her face bloodless. This was a different Gideon than the one she knew. Gone were the smiles and the friendly demeanor that had accompanied their meetings thus far.
“Uhm… Osman helped me find my footing at the bank when I first arrived. Sometimes he joined me on morning runs… I ran with you too, Gideon, a few mornings.”
“And that’s all?” Gideon persisted.
“I… I don’t understand where these questions are going, Gideon. Osman was very friendly and went out of his way to help me with wise professional advice.”
“We’re trying to protect you, Ronit, and you have to help us by shedding light on Osman’s moves in regard to gaining access to confidential bank information, which is a criminal offense. We have to prove that you weren’t an accomplice to this activity on Osman’s part. Don’t hide something that will be exposed later and incriminate you,” Dan said.
“He courted me, but not aggressively, and it was always do
ne in a sophisticated way that included advice that he ‘volunteered’ to give me. But I never talked to him about cyber defense.”
“Do you have your laptop with you?” Dan asked, thinking it would be wise to switch to practicalities.
“Yes, Dan, it’s always with me.”
“We’re going to Dan’s lab. Osman’s computer was taken to be inspected by Dan and the technical crew. This should allow us to determine if and how a connection was forged between your computers. I hope this will also clear you of the accusation of colluding with him.”
Gideon and Ronit waited outside Dan’s small “war room” while Dan and his two assistants, Singaporean computer engineers, installed the testing software on Ronit’s computer. A long interval went by before Dan could state with certainty that Ronit’s files fully matched those found on Osman’s computer.
“We believe, Gideon,” Dan said when he left his lab, “that Osman used an application we identified on his computer to copy the files from Ronit’s laptop. This app allows him to copy files to his computer from a nearby one without physically linking the two. He needed quite a while to carry out the copying, and it appears Osman managed to find such an opportunity.”
Ronit remained silent—merely gazing at Dan, who was holding a laptop—then at Gideon, who looked directly into her eyes.
“You better go home, Ronit. You deserve some rest,” Dan said. “We’ll take good care of your computer, and here’s a similar replacement laptop that our people prepared for you. Osman’s arrest has to stay confidential for the time being.”
Dan didn’t tell Ronit about the software concealed in the new computer. It would be better if she didn’t know about it and acted naturally, the counter intelligence staff had explained to him.
Dan put his arm around Ronit’s shoulders as he walked her out of the lab building.
“I’m still not taking in what’s going on with me, Dan,” Ronit said. “I don’t have the words to thank you.”
“It’s okay, Ronit. Go home and take a sleeping pill if you need it. We’ll talk tomorrow,” he promised.
“We have to keep looking into this tonight, and maybe upgrade the bank’s cyber protections,” Gideon said to Dan and his staff when Dan returned to the “war room.” “We have to assume Malaysian intelligence already has access to the information on Osman’s computer.”
“Yes, you’re right, Gideon,” Dan replied. “We’re in contact with the head of the bank’s team, and we’ll take care of it immediately. I’m also calling in Rogel and Tyler. We don’t have a lot of time, and we should also update the Ministry of Defense and check cyber defenses at Changi Airport, as well as the controls for the subway system.”
“Anything else I should know, Dan?”
“Oh, right! Ja’afari returned invigorated from a one-day visit in Tehran. I have a transcript of his meeting with the head of Malaysian intelligence, General Razek.”
“You’re doing this through his insulin pump?” Gideon asked.
“Yes. We’re getting excellent communication using the connection of the pump to his smartphone created by his assistant, Dr. Fakari. We also stay informed of the general’s medical condition. Not that I’m aspiring to monitor his diabetes, but it’s been my impression that Fakari’s very well informed on this topic.”
“So our information relies on Ja’afari’s diabetes? Way to go, Dan.”
“Would you admit, Gideon, that this is the sweet side of the whole affair?”
“You managed to make me laugh. I’m going to update Tan, who already knows about the diabetes, on your new information,” Gideon said. “This is going to be a long night for all of us.”
***
“Good evening, Gideon,” said Tan, who looked troubled and tired. “Do you have some good news for us?”
“Yes and no, Tan. I think we’ve identified the way Osman infiltrated the central bank’s internal, confidential system and, at this very moment, Dan and the bank’s defense team are busy upgrading the bank’s defense array against cyber attacks.”
“Really? That’s interesting, but let’s wait for Chang Mei and Deutsch. They’re on their way here,” Tan said. “They should also hear about this, as well as an update on the Counter Intelligence Division’s investigations.”
“We’ve made fairly good progress in interrogating Muhammad Osman,” the head of the Counter Intelligence Division began immediately following his arrival. “The man turned out to be a pretty easy nut to crack. He revealed the way he recruited and handled Damia Nur, and we’re making use of that information in her interrogation.”
“What do we know regarding the major terrorist attack that Dan Avni has been warning us about over the last couple of days?” Tan asked the head of the division.
“Unfortunately, I have no news on the mega-attack, sir. Osman apparently wasn’t in the know when it comes to the details of that attack, and the two ‘tourists’ arrested with him still aren’t talking.”
“What are they saying, though?” Tan persisted.
“They claim they came to Malaysia for a shopping vacation, and that they don’t have any connection to terrorist activity. They said Osman’s Malaysian cousin suggested they contact him, and he helped them rent a car.”
“So can we conclude that, due to the arrest of those two, the major operation won’t be carried out?” Tan’s question was mainly an expression of wishful thinking. He was still upset over the exposure of Damia as a traitor.
“I suggest we don’t sound the all-clear just yet,” Gideon chimed in. “Let’s wait to hear from Dan about what’s happening on the ground, and whether the major operation, or at least part of it, is still imminent. We’re aware of the two generals’ determination, and we have to assume their plan of attack included backup forces in case some actions were thwarted.”
“I agree,” Tan replied, noting Chang Mei’s nod of encouragement. “Let’s stay at a high level of alert,” he instructed the head of the Counter Intelligence Division.
Gideon and Dan entered Dan’s “war room” and found him on his own, typing vigorously on the keyboard of his main computer. He paused reluctantly and responded to Gideon’s greeting with a weary tone.
“What’s going on, Dan? Something’s worrying you,” Gideon said.
“We’re stuck with the IOT firewall at the terminal…”
“What do you think the problem is?” Deutsch asked, trying to conduct the exchange with a leisurely, academic quality.
“I don’t know what the reason is but, up till now, we’ve been working—Rogel, Tyler, and me—in the hope of stabilizing communication from here to the terminal’s control room. There are some inexplicable hang-ups, and I’m afraid a cyber maneuver that we haven’t encountered previously is at play here.”
Gideon felt acutely troubled, with many thoughts pecking at him since Damia’s arrest. Where could such a damaging leak of the task force’s most internal activity have originated? He mentally surveyed the task force members once more. The close connection between Damia and Rogel surfaced in his memory. He didn’t believe Rogel had failed to the extent of purposely passing on information. The key to these still-open questions, Gideon concluded, was in Damia’s computer or in the information resulting from her interrogation.
“What do you suggest we do, Dan?” Gideon asked. “Are you planning to stay here all night?”
“I want to check out a few directions for getting over the malfunction. In any case, from what I can see here on the screens, preparations for the major attacks haven’t stopped. If the situation here doesn’t improve, I’ll hunker down at the terminal’s control center tomorrow. We have one available swarm of ‘wasps’ that’s ready for emergency deployment. We’ll see tomorrow if we need to deploy it to the container terminal, the airport, or the subway.”
“And who’ll be here?” Deutsch inquired.
“I agreed with Rog
el and Tyler that they’ll work from here. They know our system as well as I do.”
***
General Tan didn’t sleep a wink all night. He tiptoed out of the bedroom without waking his wife and made a big cup of tea for himself. Too many worrying developments were gnawing at him. He wasn’t sure whether everything possible had been done to thwart the “Thunder from Heaven” attack, which both Dan and Gideon claimed was still impending and might take place the following day. He returned, again and again, to Damia’s exposure as a collaborator with Osman and with the enemy. He could not overcome his shock.
At five in the morning, he was already at the office, asking the employee on duty to contact the head of the Counter Intelligence Division, his assistant, and the administrative staff. Soon, Dr. Chang Mei, Deutsch, and Gideon arrived as well. Gideon told Tan of Dan’s decision to relocate to the container terminal’s control center for the day.
“What’s new with Osman and Damia’s interrogation?” Tan turned to the head of the division.
“We’re now confident that Osman’s laptop was equipped with an application that allowed him to extract confidential information from Ronit Hart’s computer.”
“We already discovered that yesterday when we checked Ronit’s computer,” Gideon said. “What did you find on Damia’s computer?”
“You won’t be too surprised, Gideon, to hear we found the same application there that we found on Osman’s computer,” the head of the Counter Intelligence Division replied.
Tan listened, his expression unreadable, as his gaze surveyed the attendees sitting around the conference table. Chang Mei looked directly into Tan’s eyes and did not need to softly pronounce “I told you so.” Deutsch considered chiming in, but he decided to stay out of it and wait.
“And what did you find on Damia’s computer?” Gideon asked.
