No Test for the Wicked: A Lexi Carmichael Mystery, Book Five (3 page)

“What have you done so far to lock them out?”

“As much as I can. Isolated the network, but the instructors must have access to post grades, make announcements, and monitor discussion boards. They’re the weakest link. I’ve separated the administrative functions and protected them to the best of my ability, but once the students are in the system, it’s not much of a leap to hack if you’re clever enough. And trust me, the students here are clever enough.”

He sighed and stroked his fingers through his beard. “But that’s not all. It’s not just individual kids doing this. They’ve created a core group.”

“A group?”

“Yes. They’re calling themselves the WOMBATs.”

I snorted and Bonnie looked at me. “You know what that means?”

I nodded, tried not to smile. “Well, yeah. It stands for Waste of Money, Brains and Time. It sounds like the students are taking this to a political level.”

Bonnie leaned forward. “A political level? Why?”

“Apparently they’re voicing their disapproval of the grading system, extracurricular activities, the cafeteria food or authority in general. Who knows?”

Her eyes narrowed. “What they’re doing is illegal. I could not only suspend them, but have charges brought against them.”

“Yes, you could. However, I suspect the kids just don’t realize the dangers of what they are doing. That being said, there’s no better time than the present to teach them before they get the wrong kind of taste for it.”

This job would test my loyalties. I would get it done, no question, but it would not be a simple seal and lock. Not only did I understand these kids, I’d
been
one of these kids not that long ago. I’d have to find a creative solution that would help them understand there was more at stake here than just their egos and need for a challenge.

Bonnie leaned back in her chair, steepled her fingers and studied me. “You sound like you understand them.”

“I had my moments in high school.”

“Did you do anything like this?”

I paused. It probably wouldn’t be appropriate to tell her how I’d signed the principal up for Watch Your Weight Anonymous using his credit card after he told my mother the tech field wasn’t for girls and I needed to try out for cheerleading in order to improve my social interaction.

“This isn’t about me.”

Bonnie smiled. “Ah, but in a way it is. It might make a difference in the way you approach them.”

“Yes it might, but that’s a good thing for you. Truthfully, I don’t know enough about your system yet to know how I’ll approach it or them. This isn’t going to be an easy fix. Figuring out how to stop them is the easy part.
Keeping
them out is a lot harder and much more important.”

Ron cocked his head. “Any thoughts on how you might do that?”

“Not yet. I’ve got a lot of questions. Tell me more about the teachers and staff. What kinds of things have you done to make them more aware of their behavior?”

“As much as I can. I make them change their passwords every couple of weeks. I insisted they create stricter passwords—longer, and more complicated ones involving additional letters and special characters. I also required them to stay after school for a couple of training sessions on computer security.”

“Bet that went over well.”

“Yeah, as you can well imagine. We even put up numerous signs and posters around the school about network security and the illegality of hacking, which the students promptly stole or vandalized.”

I winced. “Ouch.”

“Yeah, so I’m going nowhere fast.”

I thought for a moment, studying his school access badge, which hung around his neck. “How about the school’s security system? Is it tied in to the network?”

Ron shook his head. “No. A separate company runs the system, which may actually be a blessing in this case. That’s all we’d need, the kids messing with the security system.”

“Phone system?”

“Separate, as well,” Bonnie said. “The school went massively over budget on a new phone system and we still haven’t figured it all out. It was part of the plan before I came on board.”

“So you have three separate systems?”

“Exactly. Crazy, I know.”

“How long have you been headmistress?” I asked her.

“Nearly two years. I came on just after we reopened.”

I stood. “I think this might be more complicated than I expected. But still doable. If you’d show me the computer room now, Ron, I’d appreciate it.”

“Sure. Come on, Lexi. I’ll have to get you a badge in the outer office first.”

“Okay.”

We walked out to the office and Marge signed out a badge to me. “Are the badges only for the front door?”

“No. It can be programmed to open the restricted access areas. The Server Room and the Server Administrator’s office—two adjoining rooms we affectionately call Computer Central—is one. Others are the elevator, the teachers’ lounge and the planetarium.”

“Whoa. Did you just say planetarium?”

“Yes. We have one located on the roof. It’s pretty impressive. But the expensive equipment means students need a specially programmed badge to get in.”

“Wow. Just wow.”

“Wait until you see our computer setup.”

“Can’t wait.”

I hung the badge around my neck as we headed down the hallway with rows of lockers on either side. It was almost creepily silent.

Ron led me to a stairwell. “Computer Central is on the third floor. It’s flanked on either side by the distance learning labs and the foreign language multimedia learning center.”

“A multimedia foreign language center? Jeez. We had Latin class in a regular classroom with Mr. Dodd, if he was awake.”

“I assure you, there’s nothing regular about this school.”

“So I’m discovering.”

We climbed the three flights of stairs and Ron led me into another hallway. We walked a bit farther before he stopped in front of a door with a keypad. He waved his badge and a green light flashed. He pushed down on the handle and opened the door.

I stepped into a pretty sweet setup. The area consisted of two large rooms divided by a spectacular glass wall with a doorway but no door. Despite the recessed lighting, the area was dim. Neither room had a window. The interior location was meant to protect the equipment. Pipes could burst on an exterior wall and windows could leak or break and damage expensive computers, cables and electrical wiring. An interior positioning made the lab safer and more secure for the equipment and wiring.

I whistled. “Nice. You got antistatic finishing on the floor?”

“Of course. We also have an excellent fire suppression system and all the latest bells and whistles.” He swept out a hand toward a desk. “This is my station...well, at least for the three days a week I’m here.”

I liked the setup. Convenient to have the system administrator’s office next to the Server Room. Some offices use separate rooms, as there are some IT employees who can’t stand working in an office without windows. I wasn’t one of them. When I was in the virtual zone, I didn’t notice any of my surroundings, so a window wasn’t important to me.

A glance through the glass wall into the Server Room explained why Ron was a part-time employee. A school this well funded would certainly operate on a headless system. That meant most of the computer functions could be operated remotely by administrative software as needed. Ron could easily handle routine maintenance three times a week at a school like this.

I stepped through the opening in the glass partition and into a significantly colder area. The servers had been stacked neatly in a tower, with one server rack mounted on the wall to the left of a long table holding a couple of laptops. A security camera mounted to the back wall could see most of the server room and the system administrator’s office. Beneath the camera in the corner of the room was a thin vertical cable closet, jammed with wires and cables. I took a quick peek at the closet and then stood beneath the camera, looking up.

“Can you do a manual override of the security system from here?”

“Yes.” He pointed to a desk in one corner that had been angled to have a view of the door. The table held two laptops. “The first laptop is tied in to the security system. The second one is for our phones. I can do a manual override on the security system from here and monitor it myself if I want. But I rarely do since I’m only here three times a week, and who has time to sit and watch a security camera anyway? It loads to a file that I can review later as needed. Right now we have nine cameras mounted at various locations in the school, including one right here in Computer Central. Unfortunately, it’s not directly tied in to our system, which makes it a pain for me to operate remotely. Most of the time, I’ll just call and request that the security company adjust camera angles or run routine checks rather than do them myself if something needs to be done on a day I’m not here. It’s the same setup with our phones.”

I shrugged. “Kind of poor planning to have three separate systems, but in this case, it probably saved you some grief from the students. So far, no kids have hacked in to the phone or security systems?”

“Well, we’ve had some trouble with kids setting off the fire and tornado alarms, but those controls are also available within our general system. So, no, not that I know of.”

I tried not to smile. “Can you provide me with a laptop and passwords so I can have a look around?”

“Sure.” He set up a laptop for me on the table with the security and phone laptops and got me started.

“I’m going to help some teachers who’ve asked for assistance, so I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Take your time. I don’t need any hand-holding.”

“That’s good to know.”

After he was gone, I logged in to the system and took a look around. Top-notch system with a solid firewall and good protection. Unfortunately there were a lot of ins to the system. A slew of teacher, student and administrator accounts, as well as general accounts from the math lab, the English lab, the fine arts lab, six different science and engineering labs, the weather lab and several computer labs. Ugh. This wouldn’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination. And I had a big imagination.

I leaned back in the chair and flexed my fingers. Now came the real work.

Fingers on the keyboard.

Head in the game.

Just the way I liked it.

Chapter Three

The next morning I went in to work as usual at X-Corp. My sniffing around the high school’s network and system had given me an idea and I’d pinged Finn the night before to see if he was available in the morning. He asked me to come down to his office at nine-thirty. So, at nine twenty-five, I refreshed my coffee in the break room and headed to his office.

His door sat half-open and he was talking to someone. I peeked in and Finn saw me.

“Come in, come in.” He gestured for me to enter. I closed the door behind me.

A man with balding hair and a bit of paunch sat in one of Finn’s chairs. Ben Steinhouser, the other bigwig of X-Corp and a legend at the NSA where he used to work before he retired and got picked up by Finn for a job. Even after working together for several months, it was weird for me to talk to Ben like a normal person because he was freaking legendary within our field. But he treated me like I had a brain, and I appreciated him for it.

“Hello, Lexi.” Ben balanced a laptop on his knees and didn’t look up. “Finn was just telling me about your new assignment. Going to take on some kids, I hear.”

I plopped into the chair next to Ben. “Yeah, lucky me.”

Ben lifted his gaze to look at me from above his spectacles. “Do I detect a hint of concern in your tone?”

“More than just a hint. One of the more unfortunate trends in cybersecurity is that it is becoming less of a tech problem and more a people-centric issue.”

“Ah.” Ben snapped his laptop shut. “Let me guess. The students are getting in through the teachers and professional staff.”

“They’re smart. The school has a part-time IT guy who is capable, but honestly, he’s no match for these kids.”

Finn came around his desk and perched on the front edge. “Well, that’s why they hired us.”

“Yes. But the solution isn’t going to be a simple one. This is largely a people-centric problem. I can see already it’s going to have to be a combination approach, which is going to be difficult for me to balance.”

“Because?” Finn crossed his legs out in front of him.

I rotated my neck to release the tension that was building there. “Because I have to convince the kids that what they’re doing is wrong.”

“Teenagers. Good luck with that.”

“I appreciate your vote of confidence, Ben. Not.”

“Just being realistic. So what’s your strategy, Lexi?”

I forced myself to continue before I chickened out. “Well, it’s a bit of an unorthodox approach, and I’m not sure Bonnie, the headmistress of the school, will approve. Technically, I’m not even sure I approve and it’s
my
idea. But after turning it over in my head for a while, I think it’s our best shot of solving this problem for the school once and for all.”

Ben lifted an eyebrow. “Okay, I’m intrigued. You have my full attention.”

“Mine, as well,” Finn added.

I took a deep breath. “Well, I think the best way to figure out exactly how and why they are getting in is for me to become one of them. A student, I mean.”

Finn blinked, clearly in shock. He held up a hand in a stopping motion. “Wait.
What?
Did you just say you want to pose as a high school student?”

“Well, let me make it perfectly clear. I don’t
want
to pose as a high school student. Technically, I’d rather face down a post-apocalyptic zombie swarm with nothing more than a nail file than go back to high school again. High school was one of the worst periods of my life. Ever. But I think the best solution lies within this plan.”

Finn stared at me in disbelief, so I tried another approach.

“I actually got the idea from Ron, the school’s IT guy. He mistook me for a student when he first met me. Even Bonnie asked me how old I am. I think I could pull it off.”

“Clever.” Ben regarded me thoughtfully. “Really clever. I think it’s a solid idea.”

I looked at him. “You do?”

Finn pushed off the desk. “Seriously, Ben? You think this would work?”

“I do. It’s creative and innovative.”

Finn began to pace the office. “But she’s twenty-five years old.”

I held up a hand. “Hey. Hello. I’m in the room here.”

They ignored me.

Ben leaned back in his chair. “So what if she’s really twenty-five? We both know she could easily pass for seventeen or eighteen. Put her in a ripped pair of jeans and a T-shirt, keep her hair up in that ponytail she likes to wear, and slap a backpack on her. She’d fit right in. I’m serious. Look at her.”

Both men turned to stare at me. Self-conscious, I reached up and touched my ponytail. While I appreciated Ben’s full support, I wasn’t sure I was thrilled with his utter certainty that I could pass as seventeen or eighteen. I had expected at least a
bit
more resistance.

I cleared my throat. “Um, the students wear uniforms. Technically, I’d be in a green and white plaid skirt, white polo shirt and green sweater, not ripped jeans.”

“Hell, that’s even better.” Ben slapped his thigh. “She’ll blend in perfectly.”

“I’m not sure about this,” Finn said.

“Why?” Ben shifted in his seat. “Lexi has accurately described the situation. We all know it’s going to be near impossible to stop the hacking because every damn student at the school is an insider threat. These are smart kids. Lexi can isolate the networks and the system all she wants, but all the kids need is one teacher who forgets to shut down or leaves their password taped to their desk. This is an organized group with a leader. Finding the ringleader and teaching the group a lesson from the inside—one hacker to another—is
exactly
the way to shut this group down and keep it down. We don’t want these kids to get a taste for what it’s like to cross the line from a little harmless hacking to illegal cracking. In order to get the kids to listen, she has to become one of them. Her talent alone will be enough to get her noticed by the best and the brightest in the school and they should bring her right into the group. Once she’s in, the hard part is done.”

I decided it was time for me take control of the conversation.

“Well, I don’t know if it would be
that
simple, Ben, but it would definitely be a start to determining how and why they’re cracking, and what I can do about it.”

I glanced over at Finn and rubbed my temples. “Look, Finn, the group at the school is apparently quite well organized and has a ringleader. I need to find out who it is and give him or her a lesson from the inside. This is exactly the way to shut this group down. Ben gets it. In order to get them to listen to me and understand what I’m saying, I have to become one of them to show them I
am
one of them.”

“So, you’re certain going undercover like this will help you shut them down just like that?”

“Not just like that, but I have a plan.”

“What if someone recognizes you? You’ve been on a television show. Bonnie recognized you.”

I shrugged. “Plausible deniability. If I’m recognized I can say I’m sometimes mistaken for that woman on the television show. No biggie, really. I can handle it. It will take me all of thirty minutes to create an alternate identity that Bonnie or Ron can upload to the school system. The kids that matter will check me out there.”

“Agreed,” Ben said emphatically. “Not to mention that I hardly recognized you on that show and I
know
you. The clothes and hairstyles made you look really different—in a good way, of course. Not that you don’t look good now. I didn’t mean that to be an insult. Just you don’t look good in that glamorous, really pretty way on a daily basis. Except I didn’t mean that in a sexually harassing way.”

“Jeez. I know, Ben.”

“Good, because these days a guy can’t say a thing about a woman without getting into trouble. That being said, I’d suggest changing your hair color as an extra precaution. Go blonde. I guarantee no one would recognize you then.”

My mouth fell open. “Blonde?”

“No one on this planet, perhaps in the entire universe, would recognize you then.”

“I don’t know if that’s necessary.” My stomach lurched queasily.

He chuckled. “Going undercover as a high school student is less extreme than dyeing your hair?”

“Totally.”

Finn looked between Ben and me. “Do you think you can really pull this off, Lexi?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I’m definitely on the fence about the blonde thing. But, regardless of whether I could actually pull it off, I still think it’s the right approach, in spite of my anxiety about reliving the absolute worst period of my life.”

He gave me a small smile. “You’re not the same girl you were then.”

“No, thank God, I’m not.”

Finn pushed his fingers through his hair, paced a few steps more. “This is all a bit tricky. Do you think we can we convince Ms. Swanson this is the right path?”

I lifted my hands. “You’re the lawyer with the wicked persuasive skills. You tell me.”

“Is there no other way?”

“Well, there are lots of other ways, but none of them will keep the kids out permanently. This may not work either, but I believe it has the best chance. They’ll take me more seriously, especially from the inside. Besides, I know what to say and how to say it in their language in order to explain the gravity of the situation. Been there, done that, if you know what I mean.”

Ben gripped his laptop and stood, pushing himself up on one arm of the chair. “She’s right. It’s a good plan, Finn. Do as she says. Work your magic on Ms. Swanson.”

“Easy for you to say. The boss always has to do the dirty work.”

I rose, as well. “No pity party for you. At least
you’re
not dyeing your hair blonde—not that I’ve agreed to that—or going back to high school.”

“There’s that.” He sighed. “All right, team. I trust your instincts. Guess I’m the last on board. Let’s do this.”

Just like that I was headed back to high school. Maybe this time around, geek girls would rule.