Chapter 93

Chapter 93

Teresa's eyelid twitched, and her heart instantly sank to rock bottom.

She bit her lip, her mind in complete chaos.

But now wasn't the time to panic. The project presentation was right around the corner. If the core design materials and even the team's internal discussion records were all leaked...

Then the Watson Group would have no secrets left and would completely lose its competitive edge in the Horizon Group project!

"Activate the highest level emergency protocol immediately. Cut all external network connections. Physical disconnect!" Michael made the decision on the spot, his voice cold and sharp.

"Protect the core database at all costs."

"Yes!"

The person in charge hadn't even caught his breath yet. After hearing Michael's words, he responded and immediately turned to run out.

The entire floor instantly went into combat mode. Colleagues in the tech department were frantically typing away at their keyboards, trying to track the attack source, fix vulnerabilities, and salvage data.

Other team members were also awakened and gathered in the conference room, everyone's face showing panic and anxiety.

Teresa forced herself to calm down. She walked to the tech department and looked at the wildly jumping code on the screens and the constantly popping up alert windows, her palms ice cold.

Was it the Smith Group?

Were they no longer satisfied with stealing one node but wanted to destroy the entire Watson Group team?

This cyberattack lasted nearly an hour before gradually subsiding under the dual measures of the tech department's desperate resistance and physical network disconnection.

Preliminary assessment showed heavy losses.

Nearly a week's worth of partial work data had been erased, some files had been leaked, and parts of internal communication records had also been exposed.

Fortunately, the most core design parameters and financial models were safe for now, but whether the encryption method had been cracked remained unknown.

As dawn approached, Matthew also rushed to the company.

After hearing the report, his expression was also very grim.

"Did you call the police?"

He asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, the cyber police are on their way."

Michael replied, his face serious.

"Send me the damage assessment as soon as it's ready. Also..."

Matthew looked at Teresa with a complicated expression. "Teresa, the timing and targeting of this attack were too strong. Have you offended someone?"

His question was tactful, but the meaning was obvious.

This incident was likely trouble brought on by Teresa personally.

Teresa's hands at her sides clenched tight, her face instantly turning ugly.

Who had she offended?

Simon, Anna, perhaps Oscar's remaining allies, jealous colleagues...

She'd made too many enemies recently. Even she couldn't count them all.

"Mr. Watson, I'm sorry. I've brought trouble to the company."

Teresa lowered her head, her voice hoarse.

"Now's not the time to talk about that."

Matthew waved his hand, tiredly rubbing his brow.

"The priority is damage control. There are still a few days until the final presentation. Can your team hold on?"

Teresa raised her head, her eyes full of determination. She bit her lip and thought for a few seconds, then finally nodded. "Yes. The core data is still here, and so is the team. Even if we have to work around the clock, we'll definitely come up with a better proposal than before."

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear!"

Matthew patted her shoulder.

"Whatever resources you need, just ask. The company will fully support you. Also, Michael, put more effort into tracking down the attack source. We must find the mastermind behind this."

"Okay."

Michael nodded.

After the cyber police arrived, they conducted a preliminary investigation.

The attack came from several overseas proxy IPs, with professional techniques and multiple new attack tools.

Tracking down the real source would be very difficult.

However, in the joint analysis by the technical team and cyber police, one detail caught Michael's attention.

The pattern hidden in the attack traffic was highly similar to a record mentioned in an internal brief from three years ago about an attempted cyberattack against the Smith Group.

Three years ago again?

Michael immediately told Teresa and Matthew about this discovery.

"Three years ago, the Smith Group was also attacked by similar methods?"

Teresa frowned.

"Yes, according to records, that attack also occurred during the early bidding phase of a key project at the Smith Group, but it was discovered and intercepted in time, causing no actual damage."

"The Smith Group conducted an internal investigation at the time and suspected it was a business competitor, but it eventually fizzled out."

Michael pulled up that brief.

Matthew looked thoughtful. "Three years ago, I remember that was when Synergy Innovations Group was at its peak, targeting the Smith Group at every turn."

Synergy Innovations Group?

Teresa and Michael exchanged glances, both seeing the shock and a certain terrible connection in each other's eyes.

Everyone had heard of Synergy Innovations Group.

It grew fast, almost surpassing the Smith Group at its peak. The person steering Synergy Innovations Group was indeed unknown to the public, rarely appearing in public view.

But unexpectedly, it also fell quickly. After Synergy Innovations Group went bankrupt, Simon stopped investigating that cyberattack.

Could it be that whoever attacked the Smith Group three years ago and whoever attacked the Watson Group today were the same people, or instructed by the same person?

Could it be the now-silent Synergy Innovations Group?

On the other side, at the Smith Group.

After learning that the Watson Group's servers had been hacked and some materials leaked, Simon immediately had the Smith Group's tech department issue a routine statement.

But privately, he immediately assembled his own security team.

"Analyze the detailed report of this attack on the Watson Group immediately. The more detailed the better, especially the attack methods and signature codes!"

Simon ordered.

When the technical director placed the preliminary analysis report and the comparison of similarities with the Smith Group's attack record from three years ago in front of him, Simon looked at it and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Fragmented memories and clues collided and connected wildly in his mind.

Three years ago, he was locked in fierce competition with the rapidly rising Synergy Innovations Group.

Almost simultaneously, when the Smith Group was bidding for an important government project, the core bid documents were nearly stolen by hackers, fortunately saved by the security team.

The investigation at the time pointed to an overseas commercial espionage group, but the trail went cold halfway.

Could it be that the attacker of the Smith Group back then wasn't some commercial spy at all, but their competitor Synergy Innovations Group?

Simon felt a chill rise from his spine.

If his guess was correct, then with the same methods appearing this time, was the silent Synergy Innovations Group about to suddenly reappear out of nowhere?

At this thought, Simon's expression became very serious.

He took power at a young age and had now controlled the Smith Group for nearly ten years.

All these years, besides the Watson Group, the only one he'd put his mind to competing with was Synergy Innovations Group.

A blurry face surfaced in his mind. Simon looked down thoughtfully at the documents on his desk.

His fingertips lightly tapped the table. Simon stared at the familiar scene in the documents, a name on the tip of his tongue.

Synergy Innovations Group, Luke Douglas.

He had a very strong premonition.

Luke was back.

And Luke's target this time wasn't the Smith Group, but the Watson Group.