A Peculiar Failure

Posted on 27 Jan 2024 @ 9:56pm by Lieutenant Leland Hawksley & Lieutenant JG Faith Benson

1,218 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: Security Office
Timeline: Current

[ON:]

Hawksley took a seat across from Benson's Security desk. He had been graciously afforded the time to have a meeting. Leland had addressed Faith in a request they met regarding a security concern.

And it was a concern. Nodes do not go offline ten by 10 in two decks around security. Hawksley had locked down the whole systems of the deck and isolated the node network. Whatever the issue was, he would deal with it asap.

"So. This is where we are currently." Leland had passed Faith his engineering padd showing the schematics of the two decks of the Tomcat, namely, security decks and institutions such as the brig and other departments compromised in 10 by ten hallway sensor cluster nodes on the ceiling of the concourse/hallway of a starship.

"What do you think?" Leland asked the Lieutenant.

She leaned forward taking the PaDD and looking it over a moment. Setting it down her violet eyes settling back on Leland. "Good thinking on locking off the node cluster first. Have you actually looked into them yet, or simply locked them off first?"

Hawksley grinned and then used his finger to tap at the side of his forehead. "I knew."

Lifting a silver briefcase with locks, Leland snapped them open and lifted the lid on Faith's desk. "Here is a node for lab sampling and determining. So far, I have no issues with the sensors and coding. I ran a level 04 scan of the nodes, but nothing showed."

She raised an eyebrow a little, "Okay. Well we can always grab a lab and go over that on a secure isolated system so it doesn't link with any of the rest of the ships systems. We've got or should have audio and visual, so why don't we start there." Turning to the console there at the desk and looking to bring those up.

Hawksley nodded. “If the node repeats its failure sequence, we can change the harmonics of the resonance outflows and then add and compensate for the degradation levels of the node.” He nodded in agreement.

"Right, and follow that along as well. Figure out what else may be up." Faith nodded.

As the audiovisual had come up on the security screen, Hawksley scanned it. "See. You are having some sensor degradation to your security systems." Leland pointed at the data. "Regarding engineering, I have no clue about these security coding involved."

Hawksley got up and patted the silver briefcase with the malfunctioning node. "Let's tear er' apart. See what we got."

Deck: 08 Engineering Laboratory

Faith gave a look around once they got the lab. It had been awhile since she'd been in there. Giving a motion out to Hawksley to lead the way.

After a few moments of connecting the malfunctioning node segment in to the lab diagnostic computers, Hawksley narrowed his eyes reading in the sub coding.

He crossed his forearms, and stood aside to let Faith have a look at the screen.

"This line here..." Leland isolated the chip sequencing. "Wait." He paused. The coding he highlighted, a degradation line written to dull the Security Sensors on board, had glitched and re-fixed its coding...

"Did you see that? The security coding re-affixed itself into the program. Software onboard does not do this." Something more nefarious was occurring right there.

Faith leaned over a bit, watching, and then running it back. More than once, before getting to the points that showed the rewriting of the code. "I see that, and if you're right, it definitely was done by an outside influence. We should be able to trace the transfer point. It's not to unsimilar to tracking a blood trail, or footprints and the like." Keying in to zoom back a little. "So we follow where the command for this file came from. It goes to that, then follow where that file got it's command from. Follow to that third one, and where it got it's command from. Rinse and repeat until it shows the point of origin."

“I like your thinking.” Leland nodded as he watched Faith trace the file's origins. The selection and coding led to a series of sub-malware files.

“Oh dear.” Hawksley shook his head. “I will institute a hard lockdown on the sub-routine generators."

"Thank you. It's not to disimilar to following the physical steps for finding a criminal." She smiled lightly. "What..oh dear?"

"I think we'd best check your security computer to be safe. I am having a hard time checking the verification protocol synthesizer. It has been corrupted as well." Leland flummoxed.

"Where is this intrusion coming from?"

She shook her head a little bit, "I'm not entirely sure, hence..well..following the source."

"Agreed." Leland paused tapping his com badge. "Hawksley to Raina." He waited for a reply from the Main Computer Core assembly.

=/\= Raina here, Main Computers. What can I do for you Chief? =/\= The Bajoran officer replied.

"I'm not certain... I'm heading to the Core, we have a potential cascade file corruption sequencer. Potentially a trojan file. Lock down the core heuristics and AI evolution protocols. Security is joining me. Hawksley out. =/\=

Leland then clasped his large hands together and rubbed them. "You ready to find a needle in a haystack, Faith?" He half grinned.

There was just this look given at the floor a moment, then up to him, back to the floor, then back to him. Letting out a groan, "Sure, why not. It'll be fun."

Hawksley chuckled at Faith's reply. He felt the same.

Hawksley narrowed the MJL junction links to the central core two hours into the primary computer diagnostics. There was an estimated 12% Doppler loss of transmission rate across the LCARS access rate. This was important when searching for corrupted data files because a disruption would increase a Doppler loss ratio and stick out like a red herring.

“Ok. Faith.” Leland pulled up the MJL junction, LCARS storage of isolinear chipsets. He scanned the junction box with his engineering tricorder.

“I’m picking up a staggering loss of transmission ratios in LCARS 44,099.8. The kiloquads access linkage is bordering on 34.9% Doppler loss. I think we found our corrupted security link right here.” Leland bent down, pulling over a metal chair on wheels next to the wall units.

She tilted her head a little looking and checking again, "I guess so, though, who did this. Now we have to fix this, and figure that out."

“Aye.” Leland agreed. He didn’t like the thought that this was engineering-related. “I will have the counselor with me and question the Engineering staff. It's not an interrogation but more of a Q and A session regarding the fix. This wasn’t sanctioned. Whether intentional or not, we cannot have anyone tampering with data systems. There are only a few who would have this engineering know-how on board. I would like you to be at the meeting.” Hawksley turned to Benson. “I will call the meeting within the hour.”

"Sounds good to me. I certainly would like to know." Faith gave a nod.

[OFF]



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