By Lloyd Reman:
I was in a conference room at the main office of a large US law firm the other day, cursing at my computer. I was trying…and failing…to get access to the internet. I’m sure the lawyer I’d met had given me a bum access code (after all, I couldn’t have screwed up scribbling a 6 digit code on my pad…and just because I’ve done it before doesn’t mean that…oh, forget it).
I called for help and was quickly provided with one of the firm’s IT techies, and he had me googling in no time (first search: Ideas for a novel you can steal from others).
Before the bright young man had a chance to make a clean exit, I asked if he could finagle with my computer so he could monitor my communications from a remote location. He stared at me for a while, presumably to determine if I was a nutcase (and apparently concluding in the affirmative). I assured him that I had no evil intentions, but it’s when I said I’m a novelist (with over 13 sales to my credit) that he opened up. He said it would be a cinch to do what I’d asked, and he could do it with any PC, including the ones used by the firm’s lawyers.
Think of the amount of market-moving data that’s on some of the lawyers’ PCs. Perhaps information about a pending corporate acquisition? What about the PCs used by key players in investment banking firms? I’m sure they’ve got a crack IT staff who’d know how to gain access. How about Congress and their IT gurus?
When will we read about a bunch of IT guys who left the country (presumably on a yacht) after orchestrating a major (and successful) insider trading scandal? (Hey, maybe that’s the idea for a novel I can steal…or should I call the IT guy to see if he’d help me organize a group to…