“Now you’re catching on.”
Jake’s mind was whirling. He wasn’t catching on to anything. If these men thought he was up to tackling a massive computer failure, they were sorely mistaken. The lowliest clerk in a Radio Shack knew more than he did.
“So you’re saying,” Jake said, feeling Hoffkeit out, “that any one computer can bring the whole system down?”
“No. Not any one.” Hoffkeit looked at Bob, who nodded. They could tell Jake the big news. “There’s one computer in particular that keeps all the domain names for .com addresses. If that computer fails or is compromised, all email and the entire World Wide Web system is in jeopardy. From your Yahoo account to your Facebook wall to your bank account to your orders on Amazon.”
“I see,” Jake said. “And what does that have to do with this case?” He tapped on the Han Chu file.
“All domain names are looked up and disseminated from a single server,” Hoffkeit said. “It’s called the A root server.”
Jake had never heard the term.
Hoffkeit returned to the window and stared at the sun-drenched landscape. “Contrary to popular belief, the internet is a public, indeed an international, organization. Its servers are not operated by the U.S. Government.”
It took a moment for Jake to comprehend the implications. “So this one big computer is maintained by the private sector?”
“I said ‘operated by.’ In fact, the A root server is physically located at a U.S. Department of Commerce facility. But yes, it’s connected to the internet, so it’s vulnerable to cyber attack. In fact, Commerce has reported a sharp rise in attempted intrusions into the A root server.” Hoffkeit swung around from the window and faced Jake. “Agent Maguire, they think a major cyber attack is imminent.”
Jake sucked in his breath. But he didn’t exactly see how the FBI fit in. “Wouldn’t that be under, say, the military’s purview or the Department of Homeland Security?”
“You would think,” Hoffkeit said. “It turns out most of the internet is under the control of one company.”
“Which company?”
“Verisign.”
“Where Stacy works.”
Hoffkeit shook his head. “She more than works for Verisign. She runs the A root server.”
Jake was floored. Being a programmer was one thing. And working on government contracts was important. But running the heart of the World Wide Web was in a completely different league.
“Remember, Chu was also a computer expert,” Hoffkeit said. “And the Arlington police have just confirmed an alarming fact: Stacy’s voiceprint matches that of the witness on the 9-1-1 call. I want you to investigate her.”
Stacy was the murder witness? That went a long way toward explaining why she was at Chu’s funeral.
“You…want me…to investigate Stacy?”
Once again Hoffkeit exchanged glances with Bob. “We’ve arranged a secure room,” Hoffkeit said at last. “It’s down at our headquarters in D.C. She’s waiting to meet you.”
Chapter 7
Driving across the Potomac always presented an inspiring sight for Jake. He looked first for the Washington Monument, then the Capitol Building, then the Lincoln Memorial. The city seemed laid out in order of importance.
As the armored Suburban turned onto Pennsylvania and they came within view of a honeycomb-windowed building, Jake felt a moment of awe and pride. It was the J. Edgar Hoover Building, headquarters of the FBI. These were his people, but he had always assumed the work at headquarters was massively more important than anything he was pursuing in the burbs.
Arriving with the director made Jake wonder if he was up to the task. What did Hoffkeit see in him that gave him any confidence that he could handle a case involving the A root server? And why did Hoffkeit think he was qualified to interview Stacy Stefansson, the woman at the heart of the World Wide Web?
Both men had to go through the metal detector, and even the director had to surrender
Carol Wallace, Bill Wallance
Vic Ghidalia and Roger Elwood (editors)