Cyber Sam: The Alexander Connection

By Lee Parrish

We are taught at a very young age not to talk to strangers, but in today’s world of technology, accepting an online friend request from someone we don’t know seems harmless. Samantha (or Sam as she is known by everyone) loves technology and hanging out with her friends Emily and Billy. When Emily accepts a friend request on social me

• Language: English
• Publisher: Novel Security
• Release date: Dec 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9780578423098

Lee Parrish

Lee Parrish is a cyber security expert that has served in Chief Information Security Officer roles with large corporations for twenty years. He has led many cyber-crime investigations across multiple industries and is a frequent international speaker on cyber security. Lee possesses two graduate degrees and is board certified in information security. He has served as an adjunct professor of information security for large universities and provided guest lectures for several colleges. Lee is a combat veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Book preview

Cyber Sam: The Alexander Connection

by: Lee Parrish

Novel Security™

____________________

Dallas, Texas

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2018 by Lee Parrish

ISBN 978-0-578-42305-0 (print)

ISBN 978-0-578-42309-8 (eBook)

Published by Novel Security™ | Dallas, Texas

Copyrighted Material

For Nancy,

To the moon and back again…

Cyber Sam: The Alexander Connection

By: Lee Parrish

Chapter One

Sam was halfway up the ladder that seemed to go on forever; it was difficult to see exactly where it ended because of the blindingly bright sunlight. The wooden rungs were coarse and thick, difficult to wrap small hands around, but the climb was progressing nicely. Overhead there was a small hatch that led into the bottom of the tree house where Sam would knock three times to gain entry. She did, then waited, holding on to the ladder.

Password, a voice demanded loudly from inside the tree house that Billy’s dad built for him three years ago.

"It’s the same as it has always been: football," Sam yelled in between deep breaths. She was tired from the climb but would never tell the boys waiting for her on the other side of the wooden door with rusty hinges.

Samantha, or Sam as everyone called her, moved to the neighborhood when she started the first grade. She was always the smartest in her class and she knew that would sometimes bring teasing comments, but it didn’t bother her. She actually enjoyed learning about new things and her all-time favorite subjects were science, math, and technology. As the neighborhood kids began to get to know her, they realized that she was a fun person. Boys liked her because she could spit farther than any of the boys on her street and could climb trees just as fast as they could. The girls liked her too, mainly because she enjoyed dressing up, dancing, and talking about the cute boys in her class.

The door opened, and three heads appeared through a hole in the floor of the treehouse.

Took you long enough, Billy said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the treehouse. I texted you an hour ago.

I was reading a book; something you apes probably have never done before, Sam teased, climbing into the treehouse. She stood upright, rubbing her hands together to relieve the numbness. What is the emergency?

Billy smiled, My laptop won’t connect and I’m trying to play a video game online with Jasper.

Wait a minute! You called me up here and the emergency is you can’t get your laptop online?

Billy smiled again. Yep. C’mon, don’t be mad, Sam. You understand this stuff and are the only one who can help me. These guys don’t know anything, Billy said as he waved his arm toward the other two boys. They shot him a mean look.

Billy Wagner stood a bit taller than most boys his age and had an athletic build molded by years of playing youth football. A small scar ran alongside the point of his chin, the result of a football injury two seasons ago. He remembered the intense pain from that injury but knew that the scar made him more tough-looking to the opposing football teams. He walked with his head held high, ensuring that everyone saw his scar: a reminder for others of his toughness on the football field.

Sam rolled her eyes and moved to the corner of the treehouse where a small table made of plywood held Billy’s laptop computer. She pecked on the keyboard and began looking in the system preferences for the network connection. Billy was connecting to the Wi-Fi in his home below; the signal wasn’t very strong, but it was enough to get online. She disconnected from the Wi-Fi and rebooted the laptop. Again, she punched a few keys on the keyboard, re-connected to the wireless network, and entered the password. After less than a minute, the computer was online and ready for Billy to login to his gaming profile online. Sam entered in a password to the gaming site and a banner appeared on the screen welcoming Billy to the online gaming platform. She spun the laptop around, so it was facing Billy, stood up, and walked toward a small cooler on the other side of the treehouse. She pulled a cold bottle of water from the melting ice, opened it, and began chugging the water. She knew the boys wouldn’t have the common decency to offer her a drink. The water felt good going down and was exactly what she needed after a long climb up the ladder.

You’re all set, she said in between large gulps.

Wait a second, Billy yelled. How did you do all of that?

Sam rolled her eyes again and explained. I rebooted the system after disconnecting…

No, Billy interrupted, how were you able to access my computer, then my wireless network, and then my online gaming platform? Each one of those have a password.

A grin slowly formed on her mouth, getting wider and wider with each second that passed. She looked behind her, picked up a football that was laying on the floor of the treehouse, and tossed it underhanded to Billy. He caught it and shot her a confused look.

Figure it out, big boy, she said. She opened the hatch and began her long descent down the ladder.

The three boys looked at one another, confused and shrugging their shoulders.

Chapter Two

Emily placed her tray on the table and sat next to Sam. If there was one person that Sam considered a best friend, it was Emily. Sam knew many girls, but she admired Emily for her exuberant personality. Emily was a cheerleader at her school, the ends of her long brown hair touched the middle of her back and was often highlighted by a colorful bow. While Emily did well in school, her