Episode 66

United States Cyber Command

Fort Meade, Maryland

The tension around the table was palpable. The four middle-aged men sitting down in the highly secure room within the United State’s premier cyber warfare facility were collectively responsible for both defending the United States against Cyber attack and leading the attack against adversaries. Despite the fact that they were all about the same age and they were all white men, they had very different paths to this room. The FBI Deputy Director was a cop first and foremost. He had made a career of busting mob bosses. The General was a career soldier. He had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He came to the cyber world late but made up for it in sheer effort. The CIA deputy director was a spy. He had worked as a field operative in the middle east and Europe for almost twenty years before being promoted to Washingon. The final member of the gathering was a politician. As the “National Security Advisor” he was primarily there to represent the President of the United States. A lifelong politician, he was primarily interested in ensuring that the administration looked like it was “doing something” about the Chinese threat. Winning the war was frankly secondary for him.

The General was the first to speak. “We have confirmation that the weapon has achieved projected levels of penetration. We can set the countdown to whatever value we like.”

The FBI deputy director was quick to respond, almost rising to his feet. “I cannot emphasize enough my concerns with this plan. We are inviting a response here and I cannot guarantee the outcome.”

The National Security Adviser was pensive. “Are we opening Pandora’s box here?”

The CIA deputy director snorted. “Come off it Bill. We already know what the Russians did in 2016. It’s not a question of IF these options will be used, it’s a question of when and by whom.”

The General steepled his fingers. “Gentlemen, we’ve been through this. Any attack risks retaliation. However, if we don’t strike now we risk the loss of ability. We all know that China can more easily block us than we can block them. The “Great Firewall of China” is more than an internet meme. It’s real. We need to strike now while we still can.”

The National Security Advisor nodded. “Tim, what’s CIA’s assessment of the impact from the shipping blockade?”

“It’s starting to bite. They have re-started mining operations in several coal mines which had been shuttered and the private economy is slowing down. Trade has always been their ace in the hole. They are using trains to get into eastern Europe and especially Russia but they don’t have the rolling stock to replace the sea routes completely.”

“Will this new attack be enough to bring them to the table?”

“You know it doesn’t work like that Bill. We need to keep applying pressure until they crack. How much? Nobody knows.”

The other three men turned to the National Security Adviser. Ultimately, this was a political decision. As the President’s direct representative, he had the deciding vote. “Very well, I have discussed this with the President, he will sign the executive order today. As agreed, the countdown is aligned to Long Snap.”

“Agreed. We will align the clocks so it goes off when Long Snap goes off.”

“And Anaconda?”

“The president signed the finding this morning. Give the team the go.”

“Yes, sir.”

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

Los Angeles, California

WARRANT OF SEIZURE AND SEALING ORDER TO: INTERNET CORPORATION FOR ASSIGNED NAMES AND NUMBERS, INC.,
12025 WATERFRONT DRIVE, LOS ANGELES, CA, USA (“REGISTRY”)

ANY AUTHORIZED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

An Affidavit having been made before me by ROBERT P. LEWIS, a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of Justice, that he has reason to believe that the below-referenced IP addresses and domain names are subject to seizure and criminal forfeiture pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 1030(i) and 1030G) and 21 U.S.C. §§ 853(e) and 853(f), and as I am satisfied that there is probable cause to believe that the property so described is subject to seizure and criminal forfeiture pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 1030(i) and 1030G) and 21 U.S.C. §§ 853(e) and 853(f); YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED AND AUTHORIZED to immediately seize, by serving a copy of this Seizure Warrant and Order, upon the REGISTRY, the IP addresses, phone numbers and top-level domain names (TLD) listed herein.

US Federal Seizure Warrant, USA vs. Peoples Republic of China et al.

“Federal Agents. We have a warrant.”

The receptionist at ICANN wasn’t really sure how to react. ICANN was pretty much the most boring company she had ever worked for. The last thing she had expected was to find a group of grim-faced FBI agents and Federal Marshals in her lobby at 8 AM. Looking through the windows, she could see at least a dozen police cars with their lights flashing. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure what to do.”

“Ma’am, I need you to take me up to Mister Marshall’s office.” She looked down at her phone. “Right now. We know he is in.”

“Let me call his assistant.”

“Ma’am, my apologies, but you need to do as I ask or we will place you under arrest.” He took a step to move around the desk. “Right now.”

“I can’t. I mean, I’m not allowed to let anyone in without an escort.”

“Very well. You are under arrest for interfering with a federal officer in the course of their duty. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney….” As he spoke, he removed a pair of handcuffs from his belt and stepped around the large lobby desk.

“Wait, wait. Is that necessary? Just give me a moment.”

Just then, an inner door opened to admit a flustered thirty-something man in a grey suit. “Stop right there. I protest this behavior. It is not necessary.”

“And who are you, sir?”

“I am Walter Lemnitky. Chief Legal Council for ICANN.”

“Sir, I have a warrant.”

“Let me see that.” The FBI agent handed over the long legal document. As the lawyer began to read, his eyes grew large. Then he shook his head. “No, no, no. This cannot be. You cannot simply seize part of the Internet like this. This is not a proper seizure order.”

“Sir, I am not here to debate you. I am here to carry out a legal order. You will comply or I will place you under arrest.”

“Please, these strong-arm tactics are not necessary. I am an officer of the court just like you are. However, I can assure you we will seek an immediate injunction. Please come with me, we can handle this in a civilized manner, special agent….”

“Lewis. SAIC Lewis.” Lewis turned to two uniformed LAPD officers. “Set the perimeter. Nobody goes in or out.”

Lemnitky led them into the offices and to a large conference room where several others waited. “Craig, this officer has a warrant to seize a large number of domains, telephone numbers and IP addresses.”

“Of course. Why didn’t this go through normal channels? I don’t understand. I’m Craig Marshall, executive director of ICANN.” It was normal as part of criminal prosecution for the FBI or other law enforcement agencies to file warrants seeking things like email accounts or domains. It was common enough that all parties involved had developed procedures for handling these types of legal requests.

“Craig, read the order. They want all of China’s TLD’s, phone prefixes and IP ranges.”

“What? How is that even possible? APNIC owns those ranges. Besides, this level of seizure would basically shut down a large chunk of the internet. We cannot agree to this order.”

A younger man jumped up from the table. “It doesn’t matter Craig; we are not going to help these jackbooted thugs break the fucking internet because of the dumb-ass war they started. We talked about this. No.”

Lewis turned to the younger man. “And who are you, sir?”

“I’m Walter Trent, CTO of ICANN. We have a responsibility to maintain the integrity of the Internet. We’re not going to violate that trust. No fucking way. This order would basically shut down the Internet for China. If you could even enforce it.”

“Are you refusing to comply with this order?”

Lemnitky stepped forward and placed his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Walter, don’t say anything else.”

Trent shook his head violently. “This whole thing is stupid. You can’t enforce this anyway.” He looked down. “It doesn’t matter if it will work or not, we cannot comply. No way. Not on my watch. Someone has to stand up to these ass hats. We will not simply hand over a chunk of the internet to you.”

Lewis turned and signaled to one of the Federal Marshals who had followed them into the room. “Walter Trent, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney….” As he completed the Miranda warning, he placed Trent in handcuffs. The US Marshall remained silent as he led the outraged Trent out of the room.

Marshall cast a pleading look to Lemnitky, who shook his head. “Very well, ICANN will comply with this order. I will instruct my team to cooperate. However, I can assure you we are seeking an injunction to this order immediately!”