Zero Day_ A Novel - Mark Russinovich [29]
A different organization, known as CERT, had been created earlier, in response to the infamous Morris worm, which had brought 10 percent of Internet systems to a halt in 1988. Housed at and part of the development center at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it held a less audacious mandate. CERT was intended to coordinate communication among the various cyber experts to prevent future virus outbreaks, though with the advent of 9/11, the older CERT’s profile had significantly increased.
But the total effect of so many organizations with overlapping jurisdictions hadn’t improved America’s defenses; instead, it created chaos. Turf wars intensified rather than easing, and obvious measures took months or years of discussion and debate to implement—if at all—because it wasn’t clear which organization was ultimately accountable. In Jeff’s view, it was all tragic and pointless. The threat was self-evident. Only those with the power to do something about it seemed unaware.
How anyone could do nothing in the face of such an obvious threat was something he could never comprehend or accept. The anger he felt whenever he thought of it burned at him, but he could do nothing more than what he’d already done and continued to do, every workday. Sometimes he wanted to scream, but he knew no one would listen. He’d just be defined as a kook and in consequence lose any effectiveness he had. This was, he now realized, one more reason why he’d made a point to stay in contact with Daryl.
“I didn’t know you were a field operative,” Jeff said.
She gave him a quirky smile. “I have a very competent team. Between my laptop, e-mail, and cell phone, we’re in constant contact.” She paused. “And I needed to see this situation for myself.”
“How do you like Homeland Security?” he asked with a knowing smile.
Daryl grimaced. “The bureaucracy can be wearing, but my part’s pretty good and getting better. I’m surprised anyone’s got time to work.”
“You’re with my old friend George?”
“With? We consult one another. I don’t spend any more time with him than I need to.”
“How’s that going?” he asked, though he had no doubt of the answer. She despised the man as much as he did.
“Did I mention bureaucracy?” She made a face. “Don’t get me going, though honestly, when it comes to that group and their maneuvering for power, he’s better than some I could name. It’s just that I feel like I’m talking into an empty oil drum most of the time. All I hear is my own echo back. Commercial attacks are up steeply, but both he and the department don’t really seem to care about that all that much. Lots of people and companies are losing information that costs them money. These high-tech crime groups in Russia are getting fat off of us, and nobody’s made them a priority.”
“I hear the Company ran another simulated attack last summer.” Such information was common knowledge in the elite world of cyber-security Jeff occupied. He’d been waiting to ask someone in the know about it. “What was the outcome?”
She laughed. “It was like all the ones before Silent Horizon in 2005 or Operation Cyber Storms I, II, in 2006 and then Cyber Storm III in 2009. CIA and DHS rigged the tests so completely there was no way they couldn’t defend. They established perimeters no real attacker would ever follow while everyone defending a system against penetration knew the attack was coming, and what the rules of the game were. It was ludicrous, but management took great comfort from the results. They