Read Online Chasm Waxing: A Startup, Cyber-Thriller by BMichaelsAuthor - Free Book Online Page A

SIGINT, and protect US military SIGINT;
the NSA’s staff consisted of the best collection of mathematicians
and cryptographers in the world. The NSA was the lead DoD agency on
encryption. It told the DoD what encryption algorithms were suitable for
various levels of information exchange, including SECRET and TOP
SECRET.
    Due to leaks of classified
information from Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden, SIGNIT
gathered from all over the world was increasingly encrypted. To
read this information , the NSA had to break the
codes, bypass the encryption, or persuade enterprises to volunteer their
encryption keys. Or, they could steal the encryption
keys.
    Samantha greeted Loreal and told
him that General Shields was present. She pushed the Hands-Free button. Shields and Loreal exchanged pleasantries.
    Loreal asked, “I f it’s ok with
you guys, I’d like to have our resident Bitcoin-Blockchain expert
join our call? I’ve gone over our earlier conversations. He’s got
some recommendations.”
    The General and Samantha
concurred. Loreal introduced Larry Watkins. Watkins
possessed broad experience with Bitcoin and Blockchain startups.
“As I understand it, you want to make sure that your Gamers can’t
claim they’re Gamification employees?”
    “ Affirmative, Larry,” said the
General. “We want to maintain a clear line of separation between
the Gamers and Gamification Systems. We don’t want there to be any
ties whatsoever. Gamers need to play games and earn rewards,
without knowing anything about the gamified environment, or knowing
that Gamification Systems’
software is handling the game .”
    Samantha added,
“Currently, we’re paying the Gamers in Bitcoin. Our concern is that
Gamers could be considered employees by the IRS and state
employment agencies. Of
course, that would mean we’d need to
withhold and match payroll taxes.”
    “ Right,” said Watkins.
“First, I’ll give you some background on your employment issue; then, I
want to review Bitcoin and the Blockchain. After that, I’ll
detail what I think is your best option. Ok?”
    “ Yes, that sounds good ,” replied
Samantha.
    “ In our connected age, the
boundaries between employer and employee gets fuzzier every day. ” Watkins
spoke with a distinctive New York accent. “This issue has really come to
the forefront, with the dawn of the sharing economy—the Ubers,
the Lyfts , the Airbnbs of the world.
    “ Every state has different
laws regarding drivers that receive payment for ride-sharing—and
it’s a big headache. Of
course, that’s why Uber and Lyft are
aggressively moving towards self-driving cars, as are others. I
think Nucleus Corporation’s, A-Car, comes out late this year.
    “ You can make the argument
that Gamers are independent contractors and are therefore
responsible for their payroll taxes. And at first, that’s what the
ride-hailing companies did. But many lawsuits were filed to challenge this argument.
Given the high profile nature of the NSA’s
investment in Gamification; I don’t recommend this
route.”
    “ Good, we agree with you so far,” said the General, with
a chuckle.
    Watkins laughed. “Anytime
I talk about Bitcoin and Blockchain; I do a level-set. I know
you have experience with Bitcoin as a digital currency, but are you
familiar with the underlying concept of the Blockchain?”
    The General replied, “I think we are,
but go ahead and give us your spiel.”
    “ Act like you’re talking
to your grandma,” Samantha said. She smiled at the General like a
school girl.
    “ Ok…so, the core idea that
makes Bitcoin disruptive is that it doesn’t require its users to trust one another,”
Watkins said, emphasizing the word, ‘ trust .’
    “ Let’s say I run a dry
cleaner. You come to pick up your clothes, and I charge you $75. You pull
out your credit card, or the pay-app on your phone. This connects you to your
payment processor , like Visa or Apple
Pay. Now, what’s important about this
transaction is