Chapter 72

Trenchard examined the data from his latest score. Now that he was making copies before meeting with Simon, he examined the data in more detail. The problem was some of the files were encrypted.

Sam was an expert at cracking safes, but computer encryption was not in his skillset. He had no doubt that Simon had computer specialists who could unencrypt the data. But what was Trenchard to do by himself?

He had a couple of choices. He could ignore the encrypted files, copy the data that he could read, and pass everything on to Simon. The problem was, he knew the encrypted data was valuable. The very fact it was encrypted proved that. What was he passing up by ignoring those secrets? He was, after all, looking for information he could leverage to his own advantage and protect himself from Simon and the organization. Or if the cops grabbed him and he had to cooperate.

He could find an encryption expert and have someone open the files for him. He quickly rejected this approach as too risky. He did not want to widen the circle of knowledge. This was a task he would have to perform himself.

With reluctance, he took the only viable option and started learning encryption software. He was surprised to know how many encryption tools and levels there were available. He also discovered some corporations and countries mandated only one type of encryption software. Other encryption tools were prohibited, regardless of how the administrators customized the software.

On one level, he could understand the requirement. Who wants to learn every different type of encryption software out there? Large corporations and government agencies require standardization to operate.

But Sam realized he was dealing with individual targets who might work for any number of companies and agencies. This widened the scope of encryption software he might run into.

After some thought, he realized his only option was to learn the most popular encryption tool available. If he could unencrypt the files, great. If not, he would ignore those files, pass everything to Simon, and proceed to the next assignment. At least he would be able to view some of the data.