"What would be such an example?" Tom asked, using her pause as an opportunity to interject.
"Of using keyword analyzers in a corporate environment?"
Tom nodded.
"Oh, quite simple. Let's say your company is looking at patenting this new solution to reduce cost in the manufacturing of plastic bottles. It could mean millions for the company — the competitive edge needed to secure the company's future. In this case, you'd want to know if any employee discusses, writes specifications, or in any other way looks to steal your intellectual property and sell it. This employee would probably take notes, copy documents and data, or even write email messages containing keywords, such as 'manufacturing,' 'cost reduction,' 'process,' 'redesign,' and so on."
"But wouldn't all employees' work be riddled with such keywords? After all, it's their line of business to produce plastic bottles, right?"
"Correct. That's why the keyword analyzer doesn't work automatically or on its own. It just flags particular documents for review, documents that are then reviewed by a human and categorized as legitimate or suspicious. Keyword density also has something to do with it."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Keyword density is a measure of how many of the red-flag keywords are encountered in the same document. To your point, most documents on the majority of employees' computers would contain the words 'plastic,' or 'bottle,' or 'manufacturing,' or 'cost reduction,' because that's what they do. However, a document that contains more than one keyword, or all of them, is by far more likely to reflect suspicious activity. Therefore, keyword density is measured and used as a trigger of red flags, prioritizing suspicious documents for review by size of risk. This is auditing on complaint, or following the red flagging of a specific user account."
"I see."
"Finally, there is another category of such spyware — applications that monitor, in detail, Internet browsing. They capture each page visited and how much time was spent on it, even the links that are clicked, which allows the employer to draw conclusions as to employees' interests. This is also something that would be monitored randomly or on complaint. If, for example, the employee is seen by a supervisor as being constantly on the Internet or on Facebook instead of working, the supervisor usually has the authority to request an Internet usage report for that employee."
"What happens next with the employee? What's acceptable in terms of Internet usage at work?"
"That largely depends on company policy. Some companies restrict it to absolutely zero. You went online for five minutes; that is grounds for termination. Others allow unlimited usage during breaks. Others simply look the other way — but these wouldn't install browsing monitoring software. However, fewer companies are open about employees' use of the Internet during business hours."
"This has been informative, I appreciate it. You possess a wealth of knowledge that will benefit us all." Tom stood up and headed for the grill. "Let's see if the portabellas are done." He grabbed a large plate from the table. "How does it all relate to your laptop?"
"Well, I was definitely expecting to find a keystroke logger, considering that I am working for a company such as NanoLance. It makes sense for the business to be cautious, because it works with innovative technologies. The employees do a lot of research and development for the government, so there are lots of valid reasons. What I did not expect to find was a full array of monitoring and surveillance applications — all of them installed on my laptop, including a screenshot capture application. It captures my screen every ten minutes, saves the image, and indexes it against the keystroke logger. It's a very sophisticated monitoring application package."
"I see. So you'd have to be extra careful with the work you're doing on that laptop, including the volume of work itself."
"True, but that's not all. I need to be able to log into the main email server to look around, I need to be able to use my laptop without restrictions while I'm there, so that I can figure out what's going on. Plus, the thought of a voice bug never crossed my mind." Her voice trailed off on a saddened tone.
"Voice and video, perhaps," Tom added. "Let's not forget video."
"So, what do we do? We can't just remove everything and wipe it clean — they'll be on to me in no time."
"True. First, we look at everything — the laptop, the bag, and the phone, to find out if they are bugged already. But even if the equipment is not bugged now, you shouldn't assume it would stay like that forever. They might put one in, without notice or cause, at any given time. So you have to be careful."
"Buy a gun safe for my garage?" Alex chuckled.
"That could work. Or you could just leave it in the garage, somewhere. Or in a closet in your basement. Or, even better, leave the entire thing in your car. It's more natural, fits typical human behavior, and that shouldn't raise any red flags."
"That's what I'll do, great idea."
"I can't think of a good solution for your laptop, though. Any ideas that might work?"
"I thought of something, but it's complicated and somewhat risky."
"OK, let's hear it."
"Clone it. Clone both of them — laptop and phone."
"Clone? How?"
"Buy absolute replicas of both pieces of equipment — same makes, models, and configurations. Install the same applications, with the same user account and registrations, including the spyware."
"Why the spyware?"
"In case someone grabs a hold of the clone, they could see in fifteen seconds that it's not the same machine. But if they see a clone of their own spyware on it, they'd be absolutely convinced it's theirs. This cloned spyware would not transmit anything to anyone, though."
"I think it's brilliant!" Tom clapped his hands. "Why is it risky?"
"I would have to carry both of them and swap, when needed. All offices and conference rooms at that company have glass walls. Someone might see me swap."
"Somehow I'm not that worried about that. If you remember that the official one could potentially have audio and video bugs on it, you should be fine. Just be careful."
"I will." Or at least I hope I will, Alex thought. "I am starting to feel paranoid."
"Think of it this way: on a battlefield, in a war zone, paranoia is your best friend, it keeps you alive."
She sighed, letting a faint frown settle on her face.
Tom caught that glimpse of concern, but quietly turned away and started serving dinner.
They sat at the table, plates in front of them filled with steaming portabellas, covered with molten Swiss cheese. Claire joined them, happily sharing her satisfaction with her work results in the rose garden.
"What else is on your mind, Alex?"
"My boss. He is weird. He hates me."
"Are you sure? He has no reason to," Claire chimed in.
"Oh, he said so himself. His contempt for me, and people like me, was almost the only subject for the half hour we spent together so far."
"People like you?" Tom asked, intrigued.
"Yeah. Not too smart, young, aggressive hot shots who come and go. And that's a quote from Sheppard."
"I see. Then I think he's not really that smart himself, is he?" Tom offered, and everyone smiled.
"He might not be, but I am meeting with him tomorrow for an hour to discuss my goals, and I am dreading it." Alex paused, her frown becoming more visible. "Please, keep your fingers crossed."
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