Chapter 80
William Greenfinder looked through the presentation as the cyber firm representative made his final sales pitch.
“I’m sorry, but we do hair, nails, manicures, and pedicures. Do the Russians really think there’s national security data to harvest from us?”
“Any business can be a victim of ransomware.”
“Ok, but that is changing the subject. Now you’re talking about unauthorized encryption of files and extortion payments to the hacker to get your data restored in its original form. The intruder doesn’t care what type of data we have.”
“Bear in mind that an intruder could be looking for your bank account numbers with theft in mind. The point is, we protect you from a broad range of security threats.”
“Can you customize the offering so it targets our specific needs?”
“Of course.”
“For extra cost.”
“We have several options available. Think about them as gold, silver, or bronze. Select the offering that most fits your requirements and cost range.”
“We’ll be in touch. Thank you for the presentation; it was very informative.”
As he ushered the sales representative out the door, Bill was thinking hard about the implications. His next call was to Simon.
“I just sat through a security presentation from a cyber security firm.”
“And you are interested in their software offerings?”
“Yes. But it occurs to me that their software will be on every machine and phone in the organization. That could be a threat to your people.”
“How proactive of you. As it happens, we are aware of this issue and are assembling a team of consultants to address the issue. The plan is to have our team encrypt sensitive files before the new security software is installed. They are already hard at work in our other establishments.”
“Ok, got it. Just wanted to give you a heads up but it looks like you’ve already got it covered.”
“Thanks for the call.”
Simon hung up the phone and considered William Greenfinder. The man had been moved out from his CEO post during the merger and now occupied an advisory role. He was well-paid, but the downgrade in status was obvious. This phone call showed the man’s insecurity about his position and eagerness to prove his value to the organization.
Bill was right to worry as Simon did indeed have plans to dismiss him in the coming year. However, the call showed initiative and the ability to accurately analyze the situation. Perhaps the man might be worth retaining after all. Simon resolved to think about it before taking any action.
Greenfinder’s next meeting was with his FBI handler. He quickly briefed him on the phone call with Simon. The agent thanked him for the information and passed it along to the task force.
“So Simon is into file encryption now.”
“Given time, we have resources to open the files.”
“The more interesting component is the contractors. As he sends them out, let's do a full identification and record search on each one. Over time, we’ll fill in the slots in the org chart and get an idea of how many employees Simon’s colleagues have.”