CHAPTER 6 ROBERT T. IRONSIDE, HACKER
Ironside's Office 6:30 pm
Rick Trombley looked up from Eve's computer. "Sorry I couldn't get here earlier, but I think I got it all, Chief. This was one nasty set of bugs. Whoever did it wasn't concerned about wrecking the system; he was just plain angry about something."
"Why do you think that, Rick?" The Chief asked
The computer tech got up, stretched, and went over to the coffee pot. "Mark make this?"
"No, Eve did."
"Good. It's drinkable then." Mark Sanger's inability to make a pot of coffee was well-known in the building.
Ironside scowled as Trombley leisurely fixed his mug and then took a long drink.
"Because he or she, Chief, is what we call in the trade, a 'Script Kiddie.'"
"A what?"
"Script Kiddie. All the signs point to it, Chief; the time of the hack, the quality of it. A Script Kiddie is someone, usually a teenager, basically bored or angry, who's got a heck of a nice setup. He probably has all the latest stuff, including a 3-D printer, and maybe uses nanotechnology too. Our kid is smart enough to wreak havoc but knew when to pull back before doing any real damage to our system. Everything is still here, as far as I know, undamaged or compromised. It seems that all our hacker did was shroud our databases on the networked computers. The kid's good, really good. He's someone I'd like to get to know. Heck, he could teach me a thing or two. Then you can throw him in a cell."
"Tell me about hackers, Rick." The Chief asked. "I need to know what and who we're dealing with before anyone gets in more trouble than they need."
"Ok, Chief. Before we get going with the beginner's guide to the art of hacking, I smell chili, and I'm starving. It's been a long day, and a bowl of red would be great."
Ironside wheeled himself to the stove and ladled out two bowls. "Beer's in the fridge."
Trombley took out two and twisted off the caps. Bringing them over to the table, he gave one to the chief. He spooned chili and crackers into him as if he hadn't seen food all day. His bowl empty, he got up and grabbed a legal pad and pencil from the desk behind him. "Ok, Chief, Lesson one: BIOS."
"BIOS?"
"Basic Input Output System"
Ironside looked at the tech. "Want another bowl of chili?"