The Newsmakers by Lis Wiehl

thought.”
    â€œSeriously?”
    â€œNo, I just said it to prove what a genius I am.” He blows air out through his mouth, his lips whinnying like a horse, then reaches up and scratches his scalp. “I’m sorry I’m being such a jerk. We had a software glitch yesterday and I pulled an all-nighter. It’s almost resolved but not quite.”
    â€œGotcha. This is a bad time. But you think cyberterrorism is a possibility?”
    â€œAbsolutely. It would be a tough system to hack into, but once you were in, you could control that ferry from the Kremlin.”
    â€œCan you back up a little? How would that work?”
    Mark’s eyes light up with techy enthusiasm. “Transportation systems—starting with airlines, of course—are high security risks. They’re protected by a lot of firewalls—both software programs and hardware that identify and block hackers. So getting in would take time and skill. But it’s certainly doable. Look at North Korea and Sony. ISIL shut down the French television network TV5 Monde and took over its website and social media. North Korea got into Sony by stealing the credentials and assuming the identity of a Sony IT systems manager. Once they were in, they could inflict damage at any time. It’s really the equivalent of getting behind enemy lines. North Korea’s initial salvos were phishing—e-mails that put malicious code into a computer system if the recipient unknowingly clicks on a link. The phishing started two months before they took total control of Sony’s systems. With the ferry, I would guess that the hackers had been in the system for a while, waiting for the optimal time to freeze up the navigational controls.”
    â€œAnd the Kate Middleton lunch was the perfect moment to gain maximum media coverage.”
    â€œExactly. You know GNN has a whole cybersecurity department.”
    â€œI had no idea.” How come no one has mentioned this to her?
    â€œOh yeah. It’s located on the sixth floor. It’s run by a guy named Dave Mullen. For obvious reasons, it’s a locked ward.”
    â€œBut you’re in IT here.”
    â€œI take care of our internal functions. I’m basically a glorified repairman. Dave Mullen protects us from the big bad world. He used to work for the Pentagon and then for a big defense contractor. Won’t give me the time of day.”
    â€œHow do I contact Mullen?”
    â€œThrough your executive producer. But I doubt he’ll talk to you. Like I said, they lie low. Nylan has a paranoid streak, but you know what they say: just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean someone isn’t after you. There’s North Korea, ISIL, the Kremlin, rogue hackers. Imagine the panic a terrorist group could create if it simultaneously shut down all four cable news networks, the East Coast power grid, and the national air traffic control system.”
    â€œTerrifying thought.”
    â€œWe’re living in a brave new world, Erica. You know what I call anyone who claims to know where it will all lead?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œA fool.”

CHAPTER 10
    TO WEAR OR NOT TO wear, that is the question. Erica is at home, standing in front of a full-length mirror, admiring the beautiful blue dress that she was going to wear on The View. Nancy Huffman returned it to her, perfectly altered. She’s meeting Greg in twenty minutes at a restaurant two blocks away. It’s Italian, unpretentious and well lit. She didn’t want some romantic place filled with candlelight and cozy corners. She’s nervous enough as it is.
    Yes, the dress is a dream, but does it send the wrong message? Would she be better off going simple—jeans and a white oxford, maybe, with the collar up? As soon as she got home, she washed the spray paint off her face, so maybe she can get away with the dress. It does make her feel . . . desirable. But is she comfortable with that?
    She