Page 10 of Every Last One
“A virus then?” Sandra asked.
Luis nodded. “Most likely.”
“But how would someone infect the server? Emailing a bad file or link?” Neal asked.
Luis shook his head. “This is a highly sophisticated system. It scans all incoming mail and locks out potential threats.”
“Technology isn’t foolproof. It could have missed one,” Neal said.
“I’d say the chances of that happening and aligning for today are slim,” Brice put in and added, “I think we’re best to assume someone shut it down from the inside.”
“Suppose you might have a point,” Neal conceded.
Sandra turned to Luis. “How hard would it be to plant a virus on the mainframe to crash the system?”
“Difficult to impossible, but if this happened, it was definitely an inside job. To start, the server is locked inside a dedicated room with retina scanners on the door. Once inside, the person would need to bypass the passwords and understand code to directly upload malware. But if a virus was used, that’s potentially good news for us. The service provider may be able to restore and reactivate the system. In the meantime, they are supposed to get me a link to access the last uploaded information. The system backs up automatically ten minutes to every hour.”
“We need to know who last accessed that room,” Sandra said. “And when.”
“Five staff have that clearance. I can get you what you need once I have that link from the provider.”
“What floor is the server on?” Sandra’s mind shot right to the fourth floor.
“The sixth.”
That could be where the gunwoman was posted, the one that prompted the woman’s call to 911.
“On another topic, we’ve been trying to gain access to the security cameras, but Monica hasn’t had any luck with the company yet,” Neal said.
“I’ll see if they respond faster to me.”
“That would be great,” Neal said. “The sooner we can get eyes inside, the better.”
“Just before you get on that, Luis, could you run us through the protocols for lockdown?” Details and facts were crucial. She’d rather be overloaded with intel than on the short end.
“Sure thing. Overhead lights go off, and emergency ones come on. Exterior doors and the ones between levels lock. Personnel are trained to get all patients into their rooms. Doors are to be locked, and all the blinds closed, including ones on exterior windows. Any visitors are escorted into rooms and told to stay put. Staff are also to find a place to hole up.
“Ambulances receive a computerized message in their rigs and are rerouted to Howard University Hospital. Any surgeries underway during the time of a lockdown will continue as long as it’s safe to do so. The hospital has several walkie-talkies, which doctors and nurses use to communicate transfer of patients, among other things. They are instructed to keep off the radios during a lockdown.”
“I can confirm no one is saying a word,” Gibson said, clearly keeping one ear on the conversation.
“And what about elevators?” Brice asked.
“They shut down, and the doors to the stairwells lock.”
“What if there was a fire?” Gibson asked from his workstation.
“A fire wouldn’t prompt a lockdown.”
“But a fire could be started after the place was locked down. Hey, I’m just saying.” Gibson shrugged.
“I have the ability to unlock doors and resume the elevator remotely,” Luis said, not indicating that Gibson had rattled him. “There is always one person off shift that does. The trick is the system needs to be up and running.”
“Does anyone inside have a keycard that overrides all the locks?” Neal asked. “Or does the system need to be responsive for that too?”
“It sure does, but in answer to your other question, no. Otherwise, that could make them a target. If they were taken out, their card stolen, criminals would gain access to the entire hospital. Only a few of us have standard keys and codes to unlock the main entrance, myself included.”
“By knocking out the system, the gunmen must not be concerned with unlimited movement around the hospital. Or they didn’t know about this restriction. Are these protocols public knowledge?” Sandra asked.
