Free Buzzworm (A Technology Thriller): Computer virus or serial killer? by Theo Cage Page A

about him.”
    Roger looked uncertain again. “A friend? You’re absolutely...” She held up her hand. He wanted to know who the friend was. “And what was the video about?”
    “The details aren’t important. It did feature a leading role by Satan though.”
    “Satan?” Strange felt a slight shiver, but he also wanted to laugh. There was that Old Testament theme again. Guaranteed to raise a few goose bumps. " Buzzworm looks like it was designed to get to people — not necessarily to dig up or steal information or computer data. It personalizes everything for a reason. Very clever manipulation to create FUD. Fear. Uncertainty. And doubt.”
”Don’t fool yourself, Roger. It’s that –and much more. Buzzworm has affected every single piece of technology in the intelligence community. They don’t want you to know how seriously FUBAR we are, but you need to know that if you don’t do something soon...”
    Strange was surprised by her frankness. No wonder Jo was calling him every hour. “How about Frank? I'm willing to bet he was part of their ongoing mini-series too. If it wasn’t him, it had to be somebody else inside.”
    Roger could tell Med had already considered that. “We guessed as much, but there was no trail. No data shadow.”
    Roger leaned in. “You know the most dangerous viruses take advantage of computer users in the organization that don’t know any better. They get an email that says Click here to upgrade your virus system and they invite in a virus or a Trojan. Or they bring work from home that’s infected. Buzzworm is likely a blended threat. I think it uses a combination of methods. It’s not going to be a simple matter to track it down and disinfect the system. The longer it takes, the more cases you are going to have like your friend with the Nanny — or Scammel." Roger swallowed hard. The more he thought about it, the more he knew that time was running out. What would be the big payoff for Buzzworm ? This all seemed like a lead up to something big and nasty. Did he want to be around if the CIA systems crashed completely?
    "A lot of the staffers here have come up with their own solution,” said Med. “They’re finding ways to avoid using their computers. They think if they don't log in, Buzzworm can’t track them down."
    Roger thought about that. ” Buzzworm wins both ways then. If employees don’t use their systems, how does the CIA function? Isn’t it hard to evaluate spy imagery if everyone is on a permanent break?”
    Med tensed. Roger could tell he had hit a sore spot. She slid closer to him across the table and lowered her voice. “You’ve got to stop this infection, Roger. In a week, we have a major test here. The government is doing a final review of something we developed called GIPETTO. If we fail, this whole division will be shuttered. Four hundred people could lose their jobs.”
    Roger was struck by the emotion in her voice. “You want me to stop this thing, but you can’t tell me anything about the program? Do you know how hard that is?”
    Med looked away. Roger could tell this was more than just a programmer defending her code. She began carefully. ”Jo and I came up with the idea for GIPETTO. I have been leading the programming development and another team worked on the satellite hardware and servers. We’ve spent five years creating something that is decades ahead of everyone. I can’t give you the details, but I can say that GIPETTO is critical to US security. And though the system should be absolutely hack free, somehow Buzzworm got in. I have absolutely no idea how someone from the outside could do that.”
    Roger cocked his head to one side. Med could tell he was trying to see how GIPETTO fit into the CIA’s network. “I didn’t come across anything called GIPETTO when I did the network scan. And I was allowed to scan everything. Your network. Langley. NIM. DOD. What did I miss?”
    “You can’t see it, Roger. It’s the highest level of