"Lois Gresh - Termination Node" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gresh Lois)

She glanced up. Rodriguez was blinking at her. He was baffled. Wasn't a technical guy like Jose. No
matter how simply she put it, it wasn't going to be simple enough for Rodriguez.

Give it to him in a way he'd understand.

She shut her eyes. "That is, Mr, Rodriguez, there are over a hundred ways a hacker can break into your
corporate files. Once past the firewalls, this person could download all your sales records for the past
year. Or copy the purchase agreements you have with manufacturers in the video field, complete with
discount schedules and delivery dates.

Or hijack all the passwords to your electronic bank accounts, then withdraw any or all of your corporate
funds. One hacker, with a grudge against Widescreen DVD, could bring your company to its knees."

There. Done. She sagged against the windowsill.

Rodriguez nodded. "So we plug the leaks. I understand. I just need a time frame. How long will it take to
fix the problems?"

Steve spoke before she had a chance. "Judy will supply a full report on the necessary solutions within the
week. Ten days at most."

Rodriguez smiled. "Excellent. Now. How long will it take my guys to patch this thing up?"

"It makes more sense for Judy to program the fixes," Steve said.

"At her fees? Seven hundred an hour?"

It was amazing that anyone paid her fees. If it had been left to Judy, she'd be offering services to
Rodriguez for two hundred bucks an hour, way below industry standards. But she knew enough to let
Steve field the question. After all, he paid her contract fees of five hundred an hour, then pocketed the
extra two hundred himself. He understood people and business. She understood only technology.

And Steve was one sharp smoothie, "Judy's the best. Nobody else comes close when it comes to
Internet security. Face it, Hector, you need her. Your guys couldn't even find the problems."

"True enough." A pause. Rodriguez was considering whether he could bargain Steve's price down. Judy
had witnessed this scene a hundred times. She felt ridiculous being called the best, being dickered over
like a farm animal at auction. But Rodriguez gave Steve the response Judy always heard. "Done. In less
than ten days, Judy fixes my security leaks. DVD is safe from hackers. It's fast; it's effective."
Great. Judy had only ten days to fix one hundred and two security holes in DVD's Internet systems.

"Judy walks on water. She's a miracle worker," Steve said. More like a girl who worked around the
clock nonstop. She wasn't the best. She just worked like a dog.

"I have to run. Good meeting. Thanks, Steve." Rodriguez shook hands with Steve, nodded politely to
Judy. Then he was gone.

Steve ran his hands through his hair, clasped them on his desk. "I hate justifying your fees like that. If you
worked for me full-time, in-house, on my staff—"