IoT Noir: Digital Remediation
By: Wedge Greene
Episode 7 concludes the beginning of IoT Noir, Pipeline’s science fiction serial set some fifteen years from now. Recapping episodes 1 through 6: Jonathon Blake, the CEO of International Widget waged a cyber-attack on the IoT water control company of Kiko-Lyn’s aunt, Rachael Greg. During this attack, Black Hat hackers sabotaged Rachael’s smart home and attempted to kill her. Her young niece Kiko-Lyn independently set out to find evidence Jonathon Blake was behind the attack. Kiko-Lyn met up with a new contact in Hong Kong, Dawn the human rights blogger, to investigate Blake’s Hong Kong holdings. Kiko-Lyn was captured inside International Widget’s Hong Kong lab by minions of Jonathon. But the daring raid of the mercenary cyborg Ninan and the technical ingenuity of Kiko-Lyn allowed them to escape together with fresh evidence against the dastardly Jonathon Blake. Ninan was wounded in the extraction of Kiko-Lyn. Dawn led them to a clinic run by the artificial intelligence (AI) Nightingale where Ninan received emergency treatment and is now recuperating. There, Rachael and her associates learned that the AI Chinua Mills wished to arbitrate in the conflict between Rachael’s company and Jonathon’s. As we take up the story, our young heroes have apparently become involuntary house-guests of the AI's while Chinua Mills seeks to negotiate a settlement…
Hard Ball Arbitration
Over the next three weeks, little changes from the perspective of Kiko-Lyn and Ninan, trapped at the clinic. However, elsewhere Rachael, Doug, and Jorge work with the AI Chinua Mills to resolve the standoff between them and Jonathon.
For the first week, Chinua’s attempts at mediation between Rachael and Jonathon fail. Rachael is open to suggestions, but Jonathon is not receptive. Both express desires the other is unwilling to consider. Rachael seeks bonded guarantees for her and Kiko-Lyn’s safety. Jonathon will not have his practices constrained. He remains aloof. Jonathon seems to know of Chinua’s constraints and limitations and scorns these. There is an impasse.
Chinua decides an event is needed to shake up this environment. Jonathon must understand his personal stakes are threatened. However, Chinua’s predictive behavior model of Jonathon suggests Jonathon will only entrench when faced with a direct personal attack. Kiko-Lyn and Ninan’s incursion to his Hong Kong facility is a lasting source of anger. Chinua sees evidence Jonathon still has teams searching Hong Kong for them. Chinua decides that a show of force is needed to motivate Jonathon, and blunt his teeth, but such force must be oblique. Chinua justifies his involvement through one of his secondary programed tenants, specifically; the Internet must remain secure and free of obstruction. By week two, Chinua greenlights a mission against the Black Hats that Jonathon hired. It must occur without Chinua’s direct aid, but he can supply data on their organization and whereabouts.
With this "anonymous" tip in hand, Doug Bear arranges with Agent Lisa Dean of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Investigations Department to include Jorge’s Sabre Gaming as a party to the virtual side of an Interpol raid on the identified Back Hat base of operations. Chinua has judged this will increase the perceived strength of Rachael’s side in the negotiations. Interpol will run the ground operation.
Agent Dean lectures the combined FBI-Interpol-contractor team in the before-action briefing. “Eastern Europe is responsible for commoditized crimeware. Local services will not be an aid for us. Their lenient laws on cybercrime lack strong penalties, so all arrests will be Interpol. In Ukraine, where this group operates, there is limited monitoring of hosting and Internet use. Essentially anyone can do anything in an unsupervised data center or from their homes. Additionally, the corruption present in Ukrainian government interferes with legitimate development. Entrepreneurs wishing to create a software development business often have a competitor bribe officials to shut them down. The high-tech labor market has stagnated. With the lack of oversight and enforcement, it's become economically rational for bright youngsters to pursue the white-collar criminal option. So these end up joining organized cybercrime. Most of these are non-violent and should be treated as simple arrest and detention. These facilities will be handled by the Interpol Incident Response Team. Questions or concerns?”
Doug Bear speaks, “Our experience is there is murderous intent in their past actions.”
“That will be the sticky part of the raid. In the Russian-speaking zones the current generation has accepted Kremlin propaganda and internalized its message that a state of cyberwar exists with the West. They see themselves as a cyber militia force. Interpol has a Major Events Support Team geared with special weapons for that facility. We here will be providing direct support for them.”
“Can you get them all?” asks Jorge.
“We will shut down this specific operation, but another will just spring up. Be aware, you are making future enemies by involving yourself.”
Jorge responds, “We are already involved; and clearly known to them. They have been making a nonstop series of probes at our infrastructure. This is preemptive self-defense.”
Agent Dean concludes, “The operation is scheduled to commence in thirty-four minutes. Take your short break and be on station in ten.”
The combined raid goes on while Ninan continues his recovery and physical therapy. Frustrated, he believes he should be there, but is trapped in this facility. Jorge gives him a remote window to watch their operation. But not connected to the Interpol ground team, he cannot even provide analysis and suggestions.
The raid concludes as expected. Those identified Black Hat bases are closed; its members captured or forced into hiding. Its bot network is neutralized by Sabre Gaming. However, their cultural organization is not broken. Many members are elsewhere, escaping capture. Not all the assets are seized. Still, Sabre Gaming and North East Control Analytics are finally free of cyber probes.
In addition, Chinua has his leverage. Ghosting along with Sabre’s raid, Chinua found and sequestered the data linking International Widget, and Jonathon personally, to the Black Hats. This information is kept from Interpol and Sabre Gaming. But a sample is prepared for a secure call with International Widget’s board of directors. Jonathon may not fear disclosure, but on his board are well-known businessmen. Over the third week, Chinua arranges a series of personal calls to the individual members of this board. This concludes to the AI’s satisfaction.
