‘It sure doesn’t look like a coincidence. We’ve got proof positive the Russians were trying to manipulate the elections in Montenegro, they were doing everything possible to stop them joining NATO.’
Middleton gave a cynical smile. ‘I’m afraid that Montenegro isn’t the only election where we should be concerned about Soviet interference. Your people could start by looking closer to home.’
Chillicott took another swig. ‘I know, Hugh, but I’m not allowed to interfere in that. I’m just a soldier, not a politician or a special investigator. Anyway, the other reason I called in is to ask if you found out anything further about Lee-Win?’
‘So far, nothing, I’m afraid. However, Ilona’s new South African gentleman friend, Marius Coetzee, is confident he can uncover something about the transaction.’ Middleton paused. He found it strange to be talking in the present tense about a man he’d been convinced had been assassinated seven years previously. He took a sip of coffee. ‘As you know, he managed to arrange Leo Stewart’s release, so he’s obviously a very resourceful man. But we’ve heard nothing from him yet except a message saying the software package will be sent to Shanghai, probably tomorrow.’
‘The global upload is going ahead?’
‘So it seems. Apparently, Leo perfected the software before he was imprisoned. That probably means they’ll add the virus when they send it out from Shanghai, which will be very soon, I don’t imagine they’ll delay too long. Coetzee has taken Leo down to Johannesburg to try to work out what they can do to mitigate whatever’s going to happen, but unfortunately they don’t yet know what that is. It seems to be one of those annoying cases of the cart and the horse.’
Ilona came back into the room. ‘They started to see the movements last weekend, without any previous warning. He’s worried, this definitely comes from a very high level, they were taken completely off guard.’
‘I just had a random thought. May I throw out a speculative suggestion?’ When no one answered, Middleton said, ‘I don’t suppose these events could be more than just coincidental?’
‘You mean the cyber-attack, if that’s what it is, and the troop movements?’ Ilona looked dubious.
‘What I’m talking about is what could be described as “the perfect storm”. In Europe, we are involved in what will inevitably become a bitter and protracted Brexit argument between the UK, the buffoons in Brussels and twenty-seven countries. This is in addition to recent and upcoming elections in France, Germany, Austria, Holland and Italy, which could destabilise the EU even further. On your side of the pond, Billy, you have uncertainty and paralysis caused by dissension at the very highest level of government, which as we know, may involve NATO. In the Middle East we have several pots of boiling oil which can spill over in any direction, inciting intervention from East and West, and in Asia we have a young, narcissistic, ambitious and ruthless ruler who is determined to show off his explosive toys to the world at any cost.’
‘And you throw the Internet into the mix with a cyber-attack that brings down government and business infrastructure, so there’s a temporary void in communications. Bingo, World War III!’ Chillicott banged his fist on the table.
‘Do you recollect what young Leo Stewart told you in San Diego?’
‘You mean about crying wolf ? I sure do. He said it would need a really devastating event before anyone took notice of our preaching for more control and security of the Internet. Maybe that’s what we’re looking at here. What’s worse is that it seems like the cyber-attack will come from China, and the military threat is from Russia. Very strange bedfellows.’
‘Quite, Billy. Very strange.’
FORTY-THREE
Delmas, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Tuesday, 13 July 2017
‘Right, I’m ready to go.’ Leo had showered and changed and was feeling wide awake. Abby had introduced him to their team of programmers and specialists, and they were now sitting with Rod and Julia, two ex-hackers, in an office repurposed as a lab. ‘Did you find some Lee-Win kit to create a mini mesh network?’
‘It’s actually amazing how many of our machines have got them. We’ve brought six of them in here. What do you want us to do?’
Leo opened his laptop. ‘I’ve got the software upload here that’s going to be deployed from Lee-Win in Shanghai to their billions of microprocessors. We’re going to do a test run on this equipment via a wireless hub.’
‘How do you know all the processors have got connectivity modules?’ Rod, a short, red-haired reformed hacker from Cape Town, looked sceptical. Leo noticed he chewed his nails a lot, his finger ends were red and looked sore.
‘OK. You’re right. Only the Mark IV to VI models have got those modules built in, they started to incorporate them four years ago. But you only need to have one in any machine for the upload to permeate through a whole mesh network. And don’t forget there’s also millions of processors in IoT equipment that’s already sitting on mobile networks.’
‘Wow, that must be hundreds of millions of machines out there that could be infected.’ Now Rod looked impressed.
‘What’s in the upload?’ Abby cut to the chase.
‘Upgrades to Mark VII firmware and the new version of ACRE encryption-transmission.’ Leo explained the background to the upgrades that had been perfected. ‘After downloading, the whole network will switch automatically to the new transmission system.’
‘And there’s a worm, or something you don’t like, in the firmware or ACRE?’
‘No, I don’t think so.’ Over the last few days, Leo had had time to think deeply about the tests he’d run in the XPC lab. He explained to the team what had happened, the additional code addressed to the cell he’d discovered. ‘It closed down the system, but it started up again afterwards with the clean coding.’
Abby said, ‘It sounds to me like the worm is already in the processors. What that instruction is doing is waking it up.’
‘That’s what I’m thinking. I’ll show you the test I did in Dubai. Let’s get the network built.’
An hour later, they had created a mini mesh network, linked together and to a wireless router, exactly as he’d built at XPC. Leo’s laptop display was projected onto a large screen to let everyone see what he was doing.
‘OK, I’m going to upload the clean version of the upgrades via the router. Watch this.’
The screen showed a flurry of commands and a moment later, all the equipment was running with ACRE encrypted transmission. Leo ran some data through the network and showed how the old key-based algorithms and Mark VI encryption version had been replaced.
‘Wow, that’s really cool.’ Rod was biting his nails and examining the ACRE algorithms on an analytics programme. ‘It just keeps calculating and recalculating the encryption parameters so fast you can never catch a status for long enough to hack in. Impressive.’
‘It was developed at XPC by Scotty Fitzgerald, a real encryption wizard. But last week I accidently found a different version of the upload package. It’s identical, apart from three extra lines of code attached on the end. Look.’ He showed Sharif’s test code on the screen.
‘It’s just sending the same message over and over again to that cell, S470C887,999,’ Abby said. ‘I think it must be a sleeping cell that’s already in the processors, and it’s telling it to wake up so it can do something, but I don’t know what. Where did it come from?’
‘Sharif, the design guy was testing it, but I’m sure he was doing it for his boss, Shen.’
‘You think he was duped as well?’
‘Probably. He’s not the type to plan anything like this, not enough imagination and too honest. Shen put me in prison, so that cell must come from him somehow. Here, I’ll run it and show you what happens.’
Leo ran Sharif’s revised test. They could see the flash of the repeat instructions being passed thousands of times per second. In less than a minute, the mini-network shut down.
‘That’s impressive, but weird.’ Abby frowned. ‘I
t must wake that cell up and there’s some kind of handover that shuts down the network. If it’s to introduce a virus or something, I don’t see the point. When the network’s down, it can’t be instructed to do anything.’
‘Maybe that’s all it does, shut the system down.’
‘You guys are right. That cell’s asleep somewhere on the Lee-Win processors.’ Julia, a pretty, statuesque Swazi woman with an abundance of frizzy curls, intervened. ‘I read about something like this a while ago. See if I can find it.’ She started interrogating her laptop.
Abby asked, ‘When is this upload supposed to happen?’
‘The plan was to launch Mark VII at the same time they deploy the uploads, to get maximum bang from the buck. That would be in a month or so, depending on production.’
‘Are the uploads interconnected or independent from the new modules?’
‘They’re in the same package, but they’re not interconnected. All the software will be deployed together to the existing pool of processors, but the Mark VII modules can only be distributed after they build them.’
‘So, if the plan is to do something when they send the upgrades, it could be right after they finish testing in Shanghai. Before they even manufacture the new modules.’
‘That’s what worries me. If they’re going to attack the existing pool of machines they can do it as soon as they get the upgrades. They could deploy the modified code this week.’
‘It would really cut down our timescale for doing anything. We need to look at that shutdown function right away.’
‘I know, but I don’t understand how the shutdown happens. That cell is just like any other cell, it can’t suddenly take over the management of the whole microprocessor.’
‘That’s not what it does, Leo.’ Julia looked up from her screen. ‘I found that item I remembered. It’s called an “Analog Back Door Attack”, code name “A2”. I’ll distribute it.’ She forwarded an article published by the University of Michigan.
‘A2? I’ve never heard of it. How does it work?’
‘It’s a physical change to the processor, they add a malicious cell in the manufacture process. It’s a capacitator cell that accumulates an electric charge when they trigger it with those multiple commands, then it hands over control to a logical function that’s already programmed in the processor. In this case, it just shuts down the system.’
‘Shit. All the processors in the devices we’ve got here shut down, so they’ve been tampered with. That means someone discovered this A2 backdoor cell idea some years ago. It must be Shanghai that’s behind it, and they’ve been preparing an attack all this time.’
Julia was still reading. ‘Hang on, Leo. Stop sending that code and see what happens.’
He terminated the programme on his laptop and they all waited in silence. After a minute or so, the network came back to life. Leo shook his head. ‘Now I’m totally confused.’
‘That’s what’s supposed to happen,’ Julia said. ‘When you stop sending those trigger instructions, the cell loses its electricity and the network reverts to its normal state. Check that it’s still running ACRE, Rod.’
‘Yep. It’s back to where it was before, with the upgrades working.’
As they were reading and discussing the report, Coetzee walked into the room with Karen. ‘Hi guys, how’s it going?’
‘We think we’ve got it, Dad. Julia, you explain.’
She summarised what they’d found, finishing with, ‘We haven’t looked at the cell yet, so this is all theoretical.’
‘OK, guys. We need to do some strategic thinking.’ Coetzee decided it was time to restrict the flow of information. ‘We’ll break for lunch. See you later.’
In his office, Coetzee said, ‘All the equipment in that network is less than five years old. Didn’t you tell me they’d been incorporating the connectivity module for the last four years?’
Leo nodded. ‘I was thinking the same, the timing of the changes is linked. They started planting that cell at the same time as providing the connectivity capability to contact it later.’
‘I suppose you know Lee-Win changed hands five years ago. This plan must have been hatched soon after that.’
‘That figures, if they’re targeting all the processors built in the last four years.’
‘What happened when you stopped sending the trigger commands?’ Coetzee asked.
‘The network came back to life in a minute or two.’
‘So, the command has to be sent continuously to maintain the network shutdown?’
‘Exactly. But if it’s downloaded by millions of users, their systems will stay shut down until a new command is sent to stop triggering the cell.’
‘Is there any way of finding that command and overriding it to make it harmless?’
‘We haven’t got that far yet, but that’s what we need to get the team focused on now.’
‘I wonder how they’ll do this.’ Abby was going through the plan in her mind. ‘Will the package they send from Dubai contain the extra code, or will they add it in Shanghai?’
‘I’ll ask Ed. The final package must be ready now if they’re sending it tomorrow, and he knows about that cell instruction. It would make sense for Shanghai to send out the clean version first, get it accepted, then follow it up with the A2 code afterwards.’
‘You’re right. Once the customers are happy with the upgrades, they’ll accept a minor correction without question, then the world shuts down.’ She frowned. ‘The other thing I can’t understand is why they set up the XPC facility in Dubai in the first place? Wouldn’t it have been simpler to do everything from China?’
‘No idea, but they must have had a reason. It might have been to attract first-rate people who don’t want to go to Shanghai, like Scotty. I think the key to this is ACRE. They doubled their sales last year because of it, so the number of networks it gives them access to is huge.’
Coetzee said, ‘I think there’s another reason. Whoever’s behind Lee-Win and this potential attack, they’re hiding their identity from the world. They have to remain anonymous because the processors are in top level organisations, hospitals, government departments and the like. It could literally bring everything to a standstill, cause a worldwide panic.’
‘While they do what, Marius? Why would the Chinese or anyone else deploy something so devastating, knowing it could start a new war? We’ll have to give the bad news to General Chillicott. He knows there’s going to be an upload, but he doesn’t know what might be in it.’
‘And there’s this possible link to Russia. Ask Ed for a status report, then we’ll call Homeland Security. I don’t know what good it’ll do, but they need to know what’s going on.’
Leo texted Ed, asking him to call when he found a quiet corner. His mind was racing, desperately trying to work out if they could do something, anything, in time to prevent whatever was planned, before it was too late.
FORTY-FOUR
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tuesday, 13 July 2017
‘The package is assembled. Shen’s sending it tonight. He talked Tom into proving to the Lee-Win people how well we can manage without you and moved it forward another day.’
Ed was in the XPC car park, speaking to Leo. He’d finished his last clean-up of the software and signed it off to Shen. Sharif’s design template for Mark VII was also delivered. Now it was out of their hands.
‘You’re not delivering it to Shanghai yourselves?’
‘Tom decided that there should be only one person in contact with them, for security purposes. Shen’s the direct link, so he’s sending it. It’s not rocket science, even he can manage to do it right.’
‘So, after Shanghai retests everything, they could put the upgrades out without waiting for the Mark VII launch?’
‘I suppose so. No one’s actually given us a date for the release, but you’re probably right, it’ll be a fast turnaround. There’s nothing to be debugged and we don’t expect any glitches. It works f
ine, thanks to you.’
Leo explained what they’d discovered about the rogue cell. ‘We don’t know if the upgrades will trigger it, or if they’ll do it in two stages. Any thoughts?’
‘Fucking hell! That’s what Shen’s been plotting? That devious, arrogant Chinese arsehole.’ Ed sounded apoplectic. He popped a piece of gum into his mouth and chewed aggressively. ‘Let’s think about the deployment. The package has got our original software, so it would make more sense for them to send that clean version out to test the process. When they know it’s been successfully downloaded by the networks out there, they follow it up with the trigger. Sound logical?’
‘That’s one of the theories we’ve come to down here, but it’s a hell of a risk to take.’
‘Well, there’s no way I can find out now it’s in Shen’s hands. We just have to make that assumption.’
Leo thought for a moment, cursing the fact that he’d never been in direct contact with Lee-Win in Shanghai. ‘Any chance of getting the address and handshake that Shen’s sending to? Maybe the hub network coordinates?’
‘I get it, try to get in the back door and take a look. I’ve never had any contact with them, so the only way would be through Sharif, if he’s sent stuff before. He’s gone for the night, I’ll see what I can find out tomorrow. I’ll check with Daniel as well, but Shen probably used his laptop, so there’ll be nothing in the main network.’
Washington DC, USA
‘Leo, how’s it going? It’s great to hear your voice. That must have been a hell of an experience.’
‘Educational, I keep telling people. Billy, I’m calling you about the Lee-Win upload that’s scheduled. I think you know Marius Coetzee, I’m on the speaker with him here in Joburg. We’ve been running tests on the corrupted version of the software.’
‘That figures. Hugh Middleton and I were talking about it in London yesterday. Hello again Mr Coetzee, glad you’re looking after Leo down there. This whole thing sounds like it could be that imminent catastrophe you were warning me about in San Diego, Leo.’ Chillicott said nothing about the Russian troop and naval movements. No need to complicate things in their minds, he thought. One thing at a time.
The African Diamond Trilogy Box Set Page 139
