Christmas comes early

This came to me in a dream. It seems a nice setup for a story, but I am already dealing with 4. How to assassinate a politician is about 90% complete in my mind. Then Kenos Diastima a series in three seasons which is at 40%, Residuam Vitam the mini series is at 30% and Engonos is I have no idea, but it is still ongoing, season one is about 75%, the rest is less clear. What I got now did not fit anywhere and I do not want to start something else at present, so I am making it public domain. Perhaps it will be useful to someone else at present.

The story is in the first person (it is easier for me that way).

And so it begins
It is a late afternoon, I am working in a data centre owned by Heineken. I am not sue what I am, but I am doing my job. Something about cleaning data. We are suddenly attacked and Heineken is subject to ransomware.

3 hours earlier
In the WebCentre of Heineken people are doing their work, they are editing, they are checking and they are aligning on a global scale. One person is doing something else. He is embedding a small code tabulator, alternate 0255, tabulator, alternate 0255, tabulator. A simple code a mere 5 bytes, but that was all that was needed and it was embedded in several places. Someone higher up would clean the data and that was the purpose. 

You see, the hackers were smart but not the brightest. They had a database, but one that mattered. They had a database with disgruntled employees and several worked at Heineken. This was the setting, the honey was a payday of 50 Bitcoin cents. And two applied for that, the hackers knew that the invasion would get them 150 bitcoins in a week, spending one coin was a wise investment setting. 

So here we are, I am at my desk and I see the Ransomware invade, system after system becomes useless. That was what was intended. As the employees with much higher security settings cleaned out the 5 bits, the system saw that as a call to include a small script, a mere 73 bits and it was included in several places and as these systems started to buckle, people with higher security clearance took up the hammer and they infected even more systems. The operation took less than 25 minutes and in that time everything was smitten with Ransomware. All systems and the log files were getting encryption. All these systems and more were now Ransomed and they had no clue who was behind it. 

Now you want to see some clever way out of this, but there is none. As systems buckle governments are forced to put in place draconian laws whilst cleaning what they can and it is with that stupidity the hackers are subject to prisons and executions and as the dust settles, the hackers go deep underground. They are now regarded a global enemy. In the days when there was surplus people never cared, now as governments will buckle they are ready to hold these people (including children too smart for their own good) to account and it was not going to be a nice stage. Just like these ‘Just Stop Oil’ idiots. 6 months was merely the beginning. When the oil starts being reduced even more, the people will start their vigilante justice, as well the IT people against hackers and their supporters. A cleansing unlike any we have ever seen, the agents of chaos will hurt and suffer for a long time to come. A setting no one wanted, a setting we all denied, but we all saw that there was no other direction and that was when we realised that at times we cannot be nice to the monsters, we have no other choice but to put them out of their misery.

A sad day on this day so close to Christmas.

Enjoy today, have a muffin.