Guest Post: Greg Scott

Cover credit: Laura Drew

Hi – I’m Greg Scott and Larissa graciously offered me a chance to write a guest blog post here.  I’m a crusty, grizzled, veteran IT guy and a grandpa, and I’ve been doing IT work since I had a full head of hair a long time ago.   So why is a grizzled IT pro doing a guest blog post here?  Because I also wrote a cool fiction book named “Bullseye Breach” that will be available this April, 2015.   It’s a story ripped from recent headlines about a large retailer that loses 40 million card numbers to an international cast of criminals.  The main characters are a young, enthusiastic fraud analyst and, of course, a grizzled IT pro who work together to figure out a way to fight back.  It’s a great story with all the thriller elements, including a floating dead body in the Gulf of Finland.  It also has some emotional scenes that still make me tear up, especially when I’m sleep deprived.  I hope readers love it.  The idea is to present an interesting story to educate readers that IT security is important to everyone in today’s interconnected world, and the repercussions from these security incidents are felt far and wide. 

I also have my own blog on my website at http://www.infrasupport.com and some teasers for “Bullseye Breach” at http://www.infrasupport.com/security/bullseye-breach-book-greg-scott/.  Check it out.

Here’s a short fiction story I first published on my blog that I hope Larissa’s readers enjoy.  It may resonate with some readers. 

Abby Kramer was a third year student at a Bible college in Colorado. A pastor’s daughter, she liked to socialize online with friends from all over the world and kept a large library of pictures and videos from friends in her Facebook account. After a hard day of classes and studying, she allowed herself a few minutes each evening before bed to watch a new video or laugh at a few pictures and comment on posts from her online friends. The dialog with friends was always refreshing and no matter what frustrations the day brought, these few minutes always brightened her mood before bed.

She was shocked when she woke up one Saturday morning after a difficult mid semester week filled with tests to find this email waiting in her inbox:

From: Facebook [mailto:update+hiehdzge@facebookmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2013 4:16 AM
To: akramer@cobible.org
Subject: You requested a new Facebook password

Hello,

You recently asked to reset your Facebook password.
Click here to change your password.
Didn’t request this change?
If you didn’t request a new password, let us know immediately.

Change Password

This message was sent to akramer@cobible.org at your request.
Facebook, Inc., Attention: Department 415, PO Box 10005, Palo Alto, CA 94303

It was a shame Abby never looked at the email header. If she had, she would have noticed it originated in Florida and routed through a relay server in China. It came from a character who called himself “Duceml.” It didn’t come from Facebook.

But Abby didn’t know or care about how to look up any of that.

First alarmed that somebody tried to change her password, then relieved that Facebook had the wisdom to put in this email safety mechanism, Abby quickly clicked the “Change Password” link, which took her to what looked like a Facebook password change screen. Obviously, somebody had her password. She would change it and make sure nobody ever knew it this time. If Angie Gilroy ever saw what she said about Angie’s brother to Donna Gustafson, it would be awful.

A few seconds after filling in the old password and new password boxes, she found herself looking at the Facebook login screen. She was dying to know if Angie Gilroy found out what Abby said about Angie’s brother and what she had to say about it, so she decided to log in and check. When she saw a popup box with “Invalid username and/or password,” she tried again with her old password. Curious – her old password still worked. Didn’t she just change it? Annoyed, she went through the password change process again. This time it worked.

It was time for breakfast in Abby’s dormitory, and a school dance was coming up that night and Abby quickly forgot about her Facebook scare.

But a Russian FTP server did not forget. FTP – file transfer protocol (or program) – is one of the oldest programs on the Internet. Millions of people use FTP every day to upload and download files to and from websites. And criminals use FTP to surreptitiously upload and download information to and from computers owned by naive users.

Had Abby looked more closely at that first Change Password screen, she would have noticed it said, www.facebrook.com.ru. It was a website in Russia designed to look like Facebook. But Abby didn’t look closely. Instead, she entered her old and new password and waited several seconds as that fake website scooped it all up and redirected her computer to the real Facebook website. And even though she changed her Facebook password, she used the same email address and password for the bank account she shared with her parents to cover college expenses.

An anonymous criminal somewhere in Russia eagerly monitored the growing list of Facebook usernames and passwords accumulating in his FTP server. He would try these credentials against a list of retailers and banks and no doubt find a few matches. It would be tedious trying variations of user akramer@cobible.org with password either, “IheartJ3sus” or “i@msav3d” against thousands of banking websites, but that’s why people write software – to handle tedious tasks. And a program could do the job in a few minutes.

He smiled when he found a match at a large bank website and looked up the bank balance – more than $1000 US dollars. After posting the credentials for sale on an underground website, somebody in the US named Matt1117 bought them for $750, paid into an anonymous escrow account. The transaction was routine. Just one drop in an ocean of transactions every day.

Two weeks later, Tamara Kramer, Abby’s mother, waited in the checkout line in the local grocery store. She wanted to surprise her starving college daughter with some ramen noodles and other snacks. When she swiped her debit card from the shared checking account with her daughter, the cashier politely told her it was declined. Surely there must be some mistake? She swiped it again and was declined again. As people queued up in line, Tamara called her bank. What was going on? After waiting on hold for more than 15 minutes, she finally connected with an agent named Nancy with a thick Indian accent who tried to be helpful. The language barrier was difficult to overcome, but Nancy eventually told Tamara that her bank account was over drafted.

“What? How can this be? I deposited $1000 in that account 3 weeks ago and haven’t bought anything since then.”

“Ma’am Tamara, it says here you spent $1232.55 at an online electronics store last week.”

“I did not! … Unless Abby did. Thank you, I will talk to my daughter.”

Embarrassed, Tamara paid for her groceries with a credit card and apologized to the cashier and everyone waiting in the growing line. She called Abby and left a message. Abby returned the call several hours later and felt the wrath of a mother betrayed. Abby tearfully assured her mother she did no such thing. Tamara called the bank, disputed the bill pay and closed the checking account. She had to visit the local branch of her bank to open a new account, and contacted everyone with checks from the old bank account that had not yet cleared. Over the next two weeks, Tamara managed to reimburse everyone to whom she or Abby had written checks by scavenging money from savings and delaying other bills. The bank fraud department investigated and after 3 months, filed an insurance claim and reimbursed Tamara for the stolen money, less Tamara’s $50 liability. The bank called appropriate law enforcement agencies about the matter, which took the reports and filed them away with thousands of similar reports.

Nobody tried to recover or even locate the stolen money. But a teenager named Kenny enjoyed the new game console he bought on Craigslist from somebody named Matt1117.

Thanks for letting me hang out here for a little while.

 

Author Interview: Beth and Owen Crane

When did you first know you wanted to write?

Beth

I've been an avid reader for as long as I can remember and have spent many a night reading into the small hours. I have been everywhere from absolutely livid that a character did something, to cheering out loud whenever they do another. I have always loved the idea of being able to write the characters in as I think they would act, the characters living and dying as they would according to the rules in my head. It was only a matter of having a story we could run with and actually sitting down to write the thing. 

Owen

It happened gradually.  I've loved reading every since I've was young but as I grew life got in the way and I stopped.  When I had kids of my own it rekindled my passion for it.  As Beth grew she started reading the books I read years ago i found a growing desire to write our own stories, it all snowballed from there.

What works of literature, art, and/or music have influenced your writing?

Beth

The genius authors of our time and generation as well as ones dead and gone. 

Owen

Lewis, Tolkein and Roald Dahl all hold a special place in my heart.  Whatever else I read i find myself returning again and again to those three.

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

Beth
We both have very active imaginations so the storyline was very fun to think up. There was a lot of loud, excited talking and arm waving as Dad would say something that could happen and I'd come back with something else, and then he would, and I would, back and forth as we let our imaginations run wild. 

Owen

I guess it was an amalgamation of all the great story tellers that have gone before added with our own journey.  I wanted to make it relevant to my own children and blend some of their character into the characters in the story.  Then we threw in some magic, griffons, talking gargoyles and rivers of blood, and lots of inspiration from pinterest.

Could you talk a bit about the publication process for your book?

Owen

We never intended the book to go beyond our own family, we wrote for the joy of storytelling.  Then some of our friends read it and persuaded us to get it published.  We look at lots of options and eventually went down the self published route so we could give the book away to anyone who wanted it.

Are you currently working on any new projects?

We're writing a second book, to follow Ariella and the Blood Curse. 

If you could be any person for a day, alive, dead, or fictional, who would it be, and what would you do?

Beth

After a lot of eye rolling and being told to "stop over thinking it", I've narrowed it down from roughly a few thousand people/characters to Charlie Weasley. He was always my favourite character from the Harry Potter series and I massively respect the fact that he moved countries, away from all his family (and the Weaselys are a tight bunch - bar Percy *boo* *hiss*) to follow his passion and find something he loved to do. He's also ginger, something I'm rather jealous of. I'd have a day living his life, working with his dragons. 

Owen

My first choice was Spiderman but them my imagination took over and I flittered between Gandalf, Aragon or Roald Dahl's George who made the marvellous medicine for his grandma.




About the book:
Written by father/daughter writing duo Owen and Beth Crane, Ariella and the Blood Curse is about Ariella Lightharbour is heir to the throne with a kingdom at her feet, but knows she’s meant for more. Forsaking her throne she chooses to become a Guardian. As she embarks on The Journey she must find the courage to battle the deadly Ghost Raiders that murdered her father, discover the identity of the elusive shadow and fight to end the Blood Curse that threatens to overwhelm the land.


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Spotlight: Reagan's Ashes

 About the book:

Reagan Darby crams her dad’s urn into an overflowing backpack. His last wish: deliver the urn to Rocky Mountain National Park and release his ashes into Lake Nanita. To find closure, she'll hike the same route they completed after her latest involuntary stay at the hospital.
But not alone, as she'd hoped. Her cousin Dalton surprises her at the trailhead and insists on tagging along. Soon, his eerie stares and half-volume mutterings set her on edge. As they trudge further into the mountains, dodging moose and lightning strikes, she catches him rifling through her backpack multiple times. She confronts him but he shrugs it off. His claims that he came along for support wear thin, but she’s too deep into the park simply to turn around.
When Reagan discovers a hidden compartment in the lid of the urn, a tiny silver key tumbles onto the floor of her tent. But there’s no telling what lock the key might open. More unsettling, however, is that her lithium has gone missing. With only a meager Swiss Army knife for protection, she’ll have to fend off her cousin, resist the creeping mania, and escape the forest to find the lock. If the man Dalton works for locates it first, he’ll reduce Reagan to the same pile of dust and ash.
A mix of wilderness survival thriller and amateur sleuth mystery, Reagan's Ashes builds to an unforgettable climax.

Author Bio: 
Jim Heskett was born in the wilds of Oklahoma, raised by a pack of wolves with a station wagon and a membership card to the local public swimming pool. Just like the man in the John Denver song, he moved to Colorado in the summer of his 27th year, and never looked back. Aside from an extended break traveling the world, he hasn't let the Flatiron mountains out of his sight.

He fell in love with writing at the age of fourteen with a copy of Stephen King's The Shining. Poetry became his first outlet for teen angst, then later some screenplays, and eventually short and long fiction. In between, he worked a few careers that never quite tickled his creative toes successfully, and hasn't ever forgotten about Stephen King. You can find him currently huddled over a laptop at an undisclosed location in Colorado, dreaming up ways to kill beloved characters. 

He writes cross-genre fiction and enjoys mixing elements such as mystery with wilderness survival, or mixing post-apocalyptic epic with espionage thriller. He doesn't care about normal genre labels, and tries to write books that are exciting and thought-provoking, while being a little bit satirical and full of plot twists.

Details at www.jimheskett.com
Reagan's Ashes on Amazon
 

Spotlight: Take Back the Memory

What would you do if you found out your husband of thirty years is not who you thought he was?
What would you do if you suddenly discovered that you have indeed had the one thing you had yearned for all your life without realizing it?

Now, imagine a woman transformed from psychiatrist to patient, and lured into a compelling backward journey through her own life on a psychotherapist's couch. Imagine skeletons from the past pulling her back into the vortex of darkness from which she thought she had escaped. Paige Lyman is a woman conned by fate, and plagued by damning memories she must decipher in order to be free.

Take Back the Memory is a psychological exposé on love, betrayal, vengeance, and a heart-wrenching secret.

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Twitter: @austin_sam001
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Author bio:  Augustine Sam is a bilingual journalist and an award-winning poet. A member of the U.K. Chartered Institute of Journalists, he was formerly Special Desk editor at THISDAY newspapers, an authoritative third world daily, first published in collaboration with the Financial Times of London. He later became correspondent for central Europe. In 1998, his entry poem in the North America Open Poetry contest, Anguish & Passion, was adjudged winner of the “Editors’ Choice Award.” His poems have been published in two international anthologies: The Sounds of Silence & Measures of the Heart.

Sam’s recent work, Take Back the Memory, a contemporary women’s fiction, was released in October last year by Melange Books LLC. And his complete collection of poems is scheduled to be published in March this year.

Excerpt: Seasons of Time

Lara

The woman who was lying on her bed was beautiful, with hair a reddish gold and a face as pure white and soft as ivory silk. Although bestowed with love and cherished by those who knew her well, she lacked what most would have called "blessed with substantial wealth." Even so, she imagined she could win the affections of an honorable prince, perhaps a count, a true royal, one who could sustain her heart and flourish within her dreams.

Elias

She laughed at her foolishness and stroked the small painting of her beloved, decorated in twine and rose petals she had weaved throughout the night. As she placed a finger to his lips, she marveled at the likeness, wondering if she truly was a gifted artist.

But it was inevitable she would paint him so. He was etched to her mind. Even with her eyes closed, she could see every curve of his exquisite face, the deep earthly heaven of his eyes and sensuous lips. He had betrayed her, yet she still hungered for his touch, she still longed for the press of his lean physique that made her feel light and feverish.

Will

Of course, the wench he craved was rich and that helped her in gaining his attention.

But Elias was hers. Only hers. Not Penelope Le Roses'.

The young woman sat up and grimaced, distorting her cumbersome features.

With her mind set, she knew what to do. She would cast her spell and severe the bond he'd declared for the imposter once and for all.

Spotlight: In the Case of Understanding

Title: In the Case of Understanding
Author: Sudipta Quabili
Page Count: 390

About the book:
John, Neena, Jemma, Nick and Marie are facing their final year of high school with the threat of the future looming inevitably around the corner. The persistence of their individual challenges and the overarching struggle to make it through the final leg of adolescence comes to full force during an impromptu trip to the Atlantic City coast line. Over the course of a single night, each of the friends must come face to face with their fears while also confronting their desires. What seems like a night that will be full of revelry and youthful carelessness becomes a night of regret and uncertainty. The group returns home, hoping to leave behind the memories of the night that only reflect their own flaws and insecurities. However, the situation is further complicated when a mutual enemy is found dead and one of their own is blamed as the murderer. In light of the events, everyone must learn to fight back against the pressures that their surroundings have placed upon them and become more than the persons that they have defined themselves to be. With a varied look on the final days of high school, In the Case of Understanding provides a glimpse into the minds of those who are traversing the long road to adulthood.

About the author:
Born in Bangladesh and moving to the United States at the age of four, Sudipta Quabili has always had a fascination with language. Determined to learn the tongue of his new homeland, he quickly understood the power of the written word. This inspired him to delve in writing and he has since worked on a number of screenplays, short stories, academic pieces and novels. He now studies at the University of Virginia where he is working toward a degree in computer science.

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Interview with Martin Rouillard Part 3

Here is a bit about the first book in his series, Tales of the Lorekeepers:
Samuel Osmond opens his eyes in a world he has always dreamed of, where legends are more than bedtime stories and fabled heroes battle fearsome foes. In his hand are the mysterious dice that brought him here, to this world called Metverold. He remembers casting the dice in his bedroom, and the red light that engulfed him, but has no idea why he has been brought to this place. Fortunately, he will soon meet Angeline, a fata tasked with helping Samuel understand his role as the new Lorekeeper, a guardian of legends. 

But Metverold is a harsh world, and Samuel quickly grasps the danger he is in. Hiding among the Briton army of King Vortigern, on the run from Saxon invaders, Samuel must find a dark sorcerer who threatens to change history before a force from an earlier time is unleashed upon Dinas Ffaraon. And what of this strange boy who knows much more than he should? Could he be the key to it all? 

Discover the story that has captivated readers all over the world, and join Samuel as he journeys across mythical lands and fights alongside legendary heroes.

Tales of the Lorekeepers on Amazon