Free Balance of Power Shifted by Victor Karl Page A

on the screen took the most part of three weeks to uncover.
    “ Gentlemen” I said, “Here is the payload file.”  We were lucky in this case because sometimes the hackers use encryption on the files, which was not the case this time.  Flipping through a number of files, I focused on a few specific ones, which I thought were the primary target of their efforts.  On the screen were a series of specifications and diagrams of what appeared to be part of a satellite system, which was clearly the property of customer 3741.
    “ Great job guys,” Jeremy proclaimed loud enough for the entire floor to hear.  The customer is not going to like this but at least they know what may have been lost.  I will get them on the line right now and see if they want us to remove the data or play some games and substitute bad data.  By now, it was just after twelve and I was hungry and wanted to check on Bill.  Walking over to our receptionist area, I asked the only female on the floor Susan, to log back out my cell phone.  All phones and electronic devices remained in a locker at the front desk and not permitted on the work floor.  Grabbing my phone, I headed down the elevators and out into a beautiful sunny day with temperatures around 80 degrees.  Grabbing two dirty water dogs and a diet Pepsi from my favorite street vendor, I walked across the road and sat down on a brick wall.  I dialed Bill’s cell phone number and heard him say “Rico, que pasa.”  “Que pasa yourself, are you making yourself useful?”  “We’ve lucked out so far,” he said.  “The first supply house I went to had almost everything we needed and I also picked up a few other items that I hadn’t even considered.  I am heading over to an electronics supply house to pick up the meters and other test gear.  I will call you and let you know how I make out.  Ohhh, I guess I can’t,” he said laughing.  “Does Colonel Clink still make you check your phones at the door?”  “Yes he does,” I said and it can wait until I am done at work.  You can get me though Susan if you need to, but remember all calls are recorded.”  “Talk to you later” Bill said as he hung up on me
    Taking my time with the last hot dog , I thought about my next steps.  I would need at least 2-weeks to see where this was potentially going and if it was to be a Eureka moment, it was worth following through to the end.  If at the end of two weeks it did not look like it would pan out, I would come back to the job with disappointment, but I actually did enjoy working here and the type of work I did.  Thinking about it another minute or so, I made up my mind to talk to Jeremy.
    Heading up to the eighth floor, I rode the elevator with two analysts from the seventh that I was familiar with enough to say high.  The seventh floor people were the onsite team.  We sent them to customer locations to clean up any malware as well as to install any hardware or software to help mitigate any future occurrence.  They were also our hands on forensics gathering experts. Acting as consultants, they designed physical security controls and specialized in CCTV systems, secure entranceways and access technologies, including biometrics.  I was a little shocked to hear them discussing a client’s situation in detail in a public area, which was against strict company policy.  I made a note give our security officer a heads up and let him deal with the issue.
    Leaving the elevator on my floor, I headed to the far right corner office where Jeremy ruled his kingdom.  Jeremy was in his office staring intently at his screen, which was facing him.  I rapped on the doorframe lightly to get his attention.  Glancing up from the monitor, he saw it was I and nodded me into the office.  Without saying a word, he tweaked his eyebrows and forehead in a manner that implied to me that he wanted to know what was on my mind.  “Jeremy,” I started, “do you have a few minutes to discuss