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CHAPTER TWO

A Problem

Mr Williams ran down the escalator and into the main office area. What was happening? All the computers were down. Everyone was trying to reboot but it was impossible. Henry Williams tried not to panic. He asked Belinda to call Mike and tell him to come immediately. Then he said to his staff, “Don’t worry, everyone. I’m sure it’s a minor problem that Mike will soon resolve.” A young bank teller whispered to a colleague, “He said that last week when that virus destroyed most of our files. Remember?”

His friend smiled. Someone had sent an e-mail to all the staff which promised to show photos of Belinda’s new boyfriend. Belinda was very popular with the staff in the bank so naturally everyone opened it. But there was no photo, just a virus which corrupted the entire system. Mike, who still didn’t know about the problem, arrived in the lift just as strange things began to happen. First the lights went off, leaving the bank in darkness. Then a client came in to complain to a cashier that he couldn’t access his account from the ATM outside the bank. Then the lights came on again but the doors closed automatically, locking everyone in the bank. Mr Williams said sarcastically, “As you can see, Mike, our new system is working perfectly. Nobody can do any work, the clients are angry, and we are all prisoners in the bank!”

Mike smiled nervously. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ll take a look at the server and see what the problem is.” Mike was the only person with total security access rights for the system and he had the only copy of the password list. He was very good at his job so he wasn’t too worried about these “hiccups.” He went to the main computer and put in his password. A message appeared on the screen: Access Denied

Password Invalid

Everyone in the bank was watching him. Mike took his password list from his wallet. He typed in his password again, slowly and carefully. Every time he tried the same message appeared on the screen. “That’s impossible,” he cried. His face was white with tension. Mr Williams was waiting for an explanation. “Is everything OK?” he asked. Mike prepared to give his boss the bad news.

“It seems that… someone has obtained the passwords for the new system and… has changed them.”

“And what exactly does that mean?” asked his boss angrily. Mike took a deep breath.

“It means that this person now has total control of the bank.”

At that moment the doors of the bank miraculously opened again. No one spoke. The silence was broken only by the noise of the clock on the wall. All the staff were waiting for Mr Williams’ reaction.

“And tell me, how did this person get the passwords?” asked Mr Williams quietly.

“I have no idea,” replied Mike. “I always keep the password list in my wallet. No one else has ever seen it. It’s a complete mystery.”

“No!” shouted Mr Williams. “The mystery is why I gave you a job. First the virus and now this. Well, you can start looking for a new job. You’re sacked!”

Mike left the bank without a word. He didn’t look at anyone. He knew that it was his fault. Belinda’s voice broke the silence. “Oh, Mr Williams, what are we going to do?” Before he could answer, the computer displayed a new message: E-mail arriving for Henry Williams