Read Online Chasm Waxing: A Startup, Cyber-Thriller by BMichaelsAuthor - Free Book Online
Authors: BMichaelsAuthor
Tags: Artificial intelligence, Christianity, Robots, hacking, Virtual reality, encryption, endtimes, quantum computing, blockchain, driverless vehicles
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“It
should be. That’s a $50,000 bottle of scotch. I get all sorts of
gifts in this job.” A devious smile swept across his face.
“ Josh Adler emailed me
today and said that you told us to meet?” asked Samantha,
nonchalantly. “I forwarded the email on to Becca. I knew you wanted us to talk. I just
didn’t realize it was so urgent.”
“ After his demo, it jumped
up in priority. I know you’re still a little apprehensive. Don’t be. You
want Gamification to be about gamifying and monetizing standard enterprise functions— cybersecurity is just one of them,
right? I remember from your earliest presentations the idea that
you wanted to expand to other business opportunities; like, human
resources, call centers, and physical security?”
“ Yes, General.”
“ CyberAI is better than
you at recognizing sophisticated attacks. I think if you replace
your current AI with CyberAI, you can quit devoting resources to
developing software to identify cyber-threats. So if the
conversation goes well with Becca, I’d like you to consider
licensing his technology.”
Samantha took a sip of her
scotch to mask her frown. “I see. We’re going to review the
financials later, but you know that with nine people on the payroll , we’re burning
through our cash quickly. Unless I lay people off, there won’t be
any money for licensing.”
“ I know. I’m going to help you
land Gecko Insurance as your first source of revenue. I think that
deal can provide close to $1.2M. From that money, you can take
about $250,000 to pay CyberAI for licensing.”
Samantha’s frown
transformed quickly. “Landing our first paying customer would be so
exciting! We’re scheduled to conduct a demo and presentation to
Gecko in two weeks. I just don’t
think they’re ready to buy that
fast.”
“ I believe I can get them to
move quickly, if everything goes well on your end. Especially, if you can recognize spear phishing. Tim and I go way back. And, I have some inside information. Recently, hackers
viciously attacked Gecko. The cyber-thieves sent spear phishing emails, with bogus .pdf insurance
attachments, to Gecko customer service agents.
“ When the Gecko agents
clicked on the .pdf files, malware was downloaded to their system
and spread everywhere. Then, the thieves snuck into Gecko databases
and stole personal financial information, including credit card
data and lists of insured assets. This hasn’t been announced to the
public yet. The FBI called us.
It appears the hackers have some ties to
the Caliphate. The whole situation gives me some leverage with
Tim.”
Samantha could barely contain herself.
Landing the first paying client for an enterprise software firm was
like scaling Mount Everest. Samantha batted her eyes at the
General. “You’re my hero,” she said, using her cheesiest
voice.
The General smiled broadly.
“ Of course I am. Now, let’s make sure your hero isn’t called to testify
before Congress.”
“ Alright, the law firm is
expecting our call on their secure line.” Loreal & Hammer was a
boutique law firm located 10 minutes away, in Annapolis Junction,
Maryland. The General recommended the firm to all members of the
Accelerator because Jim Loreal was a former NSA
attorney.
Jim answered the secure
phone. A secure phone ensured that voice communications over
the regular public telephone network were encrypted, and not subject to
eavesdropping. Voice and email were not the only forms of
communication that could be encrypted. All types of
communications—voice, satellite, radio, web, text, chat, and the
like—could be encrypted. When ‘https:’ was
visible in a browser, it signified that encrypted IP messages
were being sent from the browser to the web server, and vice
versa. Encryption made
online shopping and banking
safe.
Numerous algorithms
existed to perform encryption. Over the years, N SA cryptographers developed many of these
algorithms. In fact, with their chief
mission to steal foreign
should be. That’s a $50,000 bottle of scotch. I get all sorts of
gifts in this job.” A devious smile swept across his face.
“ Josh Adler emailed me
today and said that you told us to meet?” asked Samantha,
nonchalantly. “I forwarded the email on to Becca. I knew you wanted us to talk. I just
didn’t realize it was so urgent.”
“ After his demo, it jumped
up in priority. I know you’re still a little apprehensive. Don’t be. You
want Gamification to be about gamifying and monetizing standard enterprise functions— cybersecurity is just one of them,
right? I remember from your earliest presentations the idea that
you wanted to expand to other business opportunities; like, human
resources, call centers, and physical security?”
“ Yes, General.”
“ CyberAI is better than
you at recognizing sophisticated attacks. I think if you replace
your current AI with CyberAI, you can quit devoting resources to
developing software to identify cyber-threats. So if the
conversation goes well with Becca, I’d like you to consider
licensing his technology.”
Samantha took a sip of her
scotch to mask her frown. “I see. We’re going to review the
financials later, but you know that with nine people on the payroll , we’re burning
through our cash quickly. Unless I lay people off, there won’t be
any money for licensing.”
“ I know. I’m going to help you
land Gecko Insurance as your first source of revenue. I think that
deal can provide close to $1.2M. From that money, you can take
about $250,000 to pay CyberAI for licensing.”
Samantha’s frown
transformed quickly. “Landing our first paying customer would be so
exciting! We’re scheduled to conduct a demo and presentation to
Gecko in two weeks. I just don’t
think they’re ready to buy that
fast.”
“ I believe I can get them to
move quickly, if everything goes well on your end. Especially, if you can recognize spear phishing. Tim and I go way back. And, I have some inside information. Recently, hackers
viciously attacked Gecko. The cyber-thieves sent spear phishing emails, with bogus .pdf insurance
attachments, to Gecko customer service agents.
“ When the Gecko agents
clicked on the .pdf files, malware was downloaded to their system
and spread everywhere. Then, the thieves snuck into Gecko databases
and stole personal financial information, including credit card
data and lists of insured assets. This hasn’t been announced to the
public yet. The FBI called us.
It appears the hackers have some ties to
the Caliphate. The whole situation gives me some leverage with
Tim.”
Samantha could barely contain herself.
Landing the first paying client for an enterprise software firm was
like scaling Mount Everest. Samantha batted her eyes at the
General. “You’re my hero,” she said, using her cheesiest
voice.
The General smiled broadly.
“ Of course I am. Now, let’s make sure your hero isn’t called to testify
before Congress.”
“ Alright, the law firm is
expecting our call on their secure line.” Loreal & Hammer was a
boutique law firm located 10 minutes away, in Annapolis Junction,
Maryland. The General recommended the firm to all members of the
Accelerator because Jim Loreal was a former NSA
attorney.
Jim answered the secure
phone. A secure phone ensured that voice communications over
the regular public telephone network were encrypted, and not subject to
eavesdropping. Voice and email were not the only forms of
communication that could be encrypted. All types of
communications—voice, satellite, radio, web, text, chat, and the
like—could be encrypted. When ‘https:’ was
visible in a browser, it signified that encrypted IP messages
were being sent from the browser to the web server, and vice
versa. Encryption made
online shopping and banking
safe.
Numerous algorithms
existed to perform encryption. Over the years, N SA cryptographers developed many of these
algorithms. In fact, with their chief
mission to steal foreign
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