Trojan Horse (46 page)

Their faces might have been carved from stone. “Come with us, Colonel,” the man repeated.

Feng hung his head. It was over.

NATANZ, IRAN

FUEL ENRICHMENT PLANT (FEP)

BUILDING J

1:07 A.M. IRST

A
fter the body search at the entrance to Building J, Dariush Elahi went directly to his workstation to begin his night shift, nodding to a few co-workers on the way. Since the Stuxnet infection security had been significantly increased. Building J was part of the facilities expressly designed and maintained to create the ultimate air gap. No thumb drives or personal computers were permitted in this new facility. Cell phones were allowed but they had to be turned off and could only be used during breaks or at mealtime.

Before the acquisition of new computers and the creation of this secure facility, the program had been set back repeatedly. The failure rate of the 12,000 centrifuges spinning out enriched uranium had exceeded half and those that had not failed had nearly all produced useless product. The full scope of the disaster was known only within certain parts of the program. As senior engineer, Elahi was privy to such knowledge.

They were very close now, very close indeed. Promotions and bonuses had been promised at the time of success. Elahi could hardly wait. Projections from earlier that week said that some time in the next few days they’d have the quantity necessary for the first test. Then they’d see if the engineers had done their job and the bomb worked.

Elahi lay his cell phone down on his desk as he went to work. A few seconds later, Stuxnet3 made the wireless leap into his computer. This was a virgin system, which had never before been penetrated and the Trojan Horse found a vast expanse of fertile digital space in which to seek, to expand, and to destroy. As the malware moved beyond Elahi’s computer, it encountered itself spread everywhere, like an enormous spiderweb. In fact, there was almost no space left for it. The thirty thousand new computers within the air gap were utterly and thoroughly infected though until now the malicious network remained almost entirely dormant.

Now, having reached a specified critical mass and implanted itself in all the essential processes, Tusk initiated the sequence for which it was designed. And like a digital kamikaze, it set about destroying itself.

LANGLEY, VIRGINIA

CIA HEADQUARTERS

CYBERTERRORISM–COMPUTER FORENSICS DEPARTMENT

4:19 P.M. EST

T
here had been no word from Turkey since the advisory that an arrest notice had been issued for Ahmed Hossein al-Rashid. Since Agnes Edinfield had had nothing to do with it, she wondered just who had. The only information she possessed for now was that it originated from the General Directorate of Security in Ankara. She’d asked her man in Ankara to learn how it had come about.

There was, as well, no word about Jeff Aiken or Daryl Hagen. She wondered if they’d succeeded. Or were they dead in a ditch somewhere in Turkey?

She was tired. She closed her eyes, wanting very much to go to sleep. Instead, she read the cable once again. China had been informed that the United States knew of the Stuxnet3 countermeasure and that there would be hell to pay if they attempted to give it to Iran again. All this had taken place through back channels, but in her experience these were usually the most effective.

In his office, Frank Renkin was again watching the Intel sat in geosynchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean. For some two weeks, one of its powerful sensors had been directed at the fuel enrichment plant in Natanz. This was the primary target for Tusk. From this angle there was nothing special about the place. Most of the facility was underground but what was above was a series of square and rectangular buildings roughly organized around a rotary motorway.

The Israeli time estimate for penetration and activation had been six to ten days. The clock was fast running out on that and the plant would reportedly soon be ready with enough fissionable uranium for a nuclear test. Activity at the test site remained frenzied and several prominent Iranian officials were on their way there for an inspection tour. Company interpretation was that they wanted to see the bomb go off.

Edinfield wandered into his office. “I’m leaving. Anything?”

Frank wondered how she knew. Well, you couldn’t keep something like this a secret for long from professional spooks. “There have been some tantalizing trickles of information from FEP that suggests penetration. The program is designed to make preparations and activate when a specific level of saturation has been achieved to produce maximum effect.”

“How’d you jump the air gap?”

Frank smiled. “Classified.”
It was Jeff Aiken,
he wanted to say but could not. He looked back at the screen. “I’ve been watching this thing for two weeks now with no sign.”

“Will you know from the screen?”

He smiled. “Oh, yes. I’ll know.”

“We think China’s going to back down on the countermeasure you were concerned about.”

Frank had reported his call from Jeff, confirming the mule had been stopped. “How’d you manage that?”

“With the events of the last few days we’ve got enough evidence that they’ve been helping the Iranians to go public. They don’t want that getting out, certainly not with the international condemnation and sanctions that would bring . . .”

“Think it will stop them for good?”

“For a while. What’s that?”

Frank looked back at the screen. “That’s it!” Suddenly he was no longer tired. “It worked! By God, it worked!”

In real time, with a very slight stop-action motion, Frank watched one explosion after another. In one building, the windows were blown out, followed by a large section of the roof. In two others, the roof came off at once. Then from the ground about the structures, enormous plumes of smoke and dust emerged, confirming explosions underground.

Frank sat transfixed as each of the enrichment facilities was destroyed. They’d be getting radiation readings soon but they weren’t really necessary. Tusk had already shown itself to be the most powerful Trojan Horse ever unleashed on an enemy.

“A virus did that?” Edinfield asked in awe.

“Yes.”

“This will change everything,” she said.

“For them and for us.”

ERZURUM, TURKEY

ATATURK UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

10:53 P.M. EET

H
ow’re you doing, trooper?” Jeff asked.

Daryl was sitting upright in a hospital bed. “I’ll live. I’ve got a new scar or two, unfortunately.”

“Just as long as you’re okay.” After leaving Saliha’s body, he’d checked his cell phone again and there was a message from Daryl telling him she was in the hospital in Erzurum. She wanted him to come as soon as he could. On the way, he notified Frank of Saliha’s death, confirming he had stopped the countermeasure from reaching Iran, and given him the markers so someone could find her body.

“My wild-goose chase turned out to be more that I bargained for,” Daryl told him, as she related the story. “The power plant workers saved me. We should do something nice for them. And for Saliha’s family.”

“I’ll call Frank. Maybe he can pull some strings.”

She glanced toward the hallway. “I’m going to have to talk to the police about the airplane.” Daryl closed her eyes. “I’m really tired, Jeff. So very tired.”

“We’ll be home soon.”

Her eyes popped open. “What happened to Italy?”

INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLY
SECRET

It is estimated that the success of Stuxnet3, Operation Tusk, has set back the Iranian uranium fuel enrichment program at least five years. A detailed report will follow. We have confirmed the executions of fifteen scientists involved in the nuclear weapons program. The hunt is on for more “traitors,” as they are known.

On a sober note, the April 9 blackout of the Yakima, Washington, power grid WAyk5-7863 now appears to have been the result of a targeted cyber-attack. We believe it originated from the PLA in China.

In follow-up to my previous communication the extraneous software embedded within the U.S. Pacific Fleet Command computer structure has been largely removed. I say “largely” because fresh malware of unknown origin has been located. We remain uncertain of the level of penetration of USPFC at this time.

You have on your desk the latest estimate of cyber penetration of the DOD.

You’ve asked for the status of certain individuals:

•   Colonel Jai Feng, director of the PLA Cyber Warfare Center, vanished from sight, then was publicly executed last week for treason. He has been replaced by a director known for his close ties to the so-called Patriot Hackers.

•   Mei Zedong, deputy first state counselor of the Communist Party, has been demoted and now serves as deputy director of a potash factory in Qinghai province.

•   Henri Wille, director of security at UNOG, has retired, under pressure.

•   The source of the Iranian nuclear information to the United Nations, Nader Rahmani, was one of the scientists executed following the destruction of Fuel Enrichment Plant in Natanz.

•   Lloyd Walthrop of the UK Foreign Office has retired and is reportedly writing a book. The subject is unknown.

•   Agnes Edinfield has been promoted and placed on the list to receive the Medal of Freedom when she retires.

•   Frank Renkin, director of the Cyberterrorism–Computer Forensics Department, has likewise been promoted with expanded responsibilities. As an aside, he is the proud father of a baby girl the couple have named Daryl.

•   Jeff Aiken and Daryl Haugen continue working from their home in Georgetown. Both declined offers to return to government service.

INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLY
SECRET