The "Big Tuna" - Eliminating A Vital Corpolitical Resource

by Macavity The Mystery Cat

It's occurred to me that the entire corpolitical system is like a giant computer network. And like any computer network, it has its vulnerabilities. Due to their reliance on computer-, network-, and Internet-based record storage, that is where the biggest vulnerability will lie - coupled with an equally large amount of security.

The most obvious vulnerability is their records. Without them, they have no way of knowing what they have and where it is, much less who earns what and where each person works. However, these are going to be the most heavily guarded areas of their technological network, covered not only by firewalls and antivirus software, but backtrace programs and counterhack routines designed to cripple an attacker's system. Therefore, the solution to that would be to find a weakness in the security programs themselves, and use that weakness to bring down the network defences. But this cannot be done without inside assistance.

And, of course, there are always going to be backups of the records, for near-instantaneous restoration of damaged systems, so the backups (or at least access to them) would have to be eliminated as well.

What I suggest as a structure for an operation of this magnitude can be summed up in five words:

Infiltrate, Locate, Disseminate, Exploit, Eliminate.

Step One: Infiltrate

In all corpolitical entities that use large computer networks (which would be the vast majority of them), there must be an Information Technology department. We would need to get agents - moles, if you will - into these departments, in order to send information on major vulnerabilites in the defences to the various strike teams across the world, as well as how to utilize them, as well as keeping a watch for anyone who might be working to counter such a threat.

The same thing must be done with the staff at the backup facilites. However, more likely than not, these agents will have to work alone, without outside support. In essence, they would be commandos, faced with the possibility that their job would become a virtual suicide mission.

Step Two: Locate

The agents who have successfully infiltrated these entities would need to use their skills to locate the vulnerabilities. Once that is done, they can collect the information and move on to the next step: dissemination.

Step Three: Disseminate

The agents who have been working to find and record the vulnerabilities then distribute the information to the strike teams, who then prepare themswelves for their tasks - some strike teams will be needed to disable the security and leave the records open, some will be needed to neutralize the backups, and some will be needed to attack the main records themselves.

Step Four: Exploit/Eliminate

When the information has been received by the strike teams, they utilize this information in as close to a simultaneous attack as possible. This is also where the agents at the backup sites come into play - they will have to at least deny access to the backups, if not eliminate them completely by corrupting the data.

With the denial of electronicaly-recorded information, there will be a massive slowdown, if not a complete halt, of the system. What will be done in that time, I cannot foresee. But the possibility exists, and we must find a way to use it to our advantage, to disrupt the system as it stands and force it to change.