Three questions re: Linda Franklin's death

Rob Rosenberger, Vmyths co-founder
Friday, 18 October 2002

I GET PAID to point out the ironies & absurdities of "cyber-terrorism." I do my job to the best of my ability. So I will again talk about Linda Franklin, who died this week in an act of physical terrorism.

Obviously, we can find irony in the fact a cyber-terror analyst died in an act of physical terrorism...

Let's make sure we understand my use of the term "physical terrorism." Perhaps you've heard of a sniper running amok in the Washington, D.C. region? Children in the Washington, D.C. region no longer go outside for recess because school officials fear the playground will entice a sniper's bullet. One of my most trusted sources tells me her firm won't force employees to fly to the D.C. region even for a critical meeting. Anyone foolish enough to volunteer to go to the D.C. region is warned to stay indoors as much as possible; to keep the shades drawn; to sit away from windows; and to order room service to avoid needless public exposure. (Hmmm. Avoid needless public exposure? {ding dong} "Get the door, it's Dominos, I'll cover you!" Be sure to tip the brave soul who risked his life to deliver your pizza. Man, I wish I got paid to point out those ironies & absurdities...) Our society feels "terrified" at the prospect of winning a headshot lottery in the D.C. region. FBI's website admits a sniper "paralyzed the Washington area with fear." The FBI alone assigned nearly 400 agents to hunt for the hunter before Linda Franklin's brains splattered onto her husband's feet in a parking lot. I get paid to point out the ironies & absurdities of "cyber-terrorism." I do my job to the best of my ability. And my job forces me to answer three important questions:

Who is Linda Franklin?
Why is Franklin's death so ironic?
What will come of the irony of Franklin's death?

We can answer the first question by tapping into reports about the sniper attacks. My local fishwrapper ran a newswire on the front page ("above the fold" as they say), complete with a smiling picture of Franklin:

The latest victim, linked to the sniper by ballistics evidence Tuesday, worked as an analyst at the National Infrastructure Protection Center at FBI Headquarters in Washington. The unit seeks to identify and block cyber threats to the nation's critical information systems.

An FBI eulogy notes "Linda Franklin, age 47, was an Intelligence Operations Specialist in the Cyber Division at Headquarters, and had worked for the FBI for three-and-a-half years." Her Intelligence Operations job title pegs her as a cyber-terror analyst. A somber blurb in Security Wire Digest describes the dead woman this way:

...But Franklin's ironic job description doesn't fully answer the second question. You'll find an important irony in cause & effect if you think about it.

Franklin, 47, has worked at NIPC nearly since its inception in 1998 and recently was assigned to the FBI's new Cyber Division, a unit created this summer to investigate and prosecute Internet-based crimes. Franklin also played an instrumental role in the creation and development of InfraGard, a program that coordinates infosecurity information exchanges between the public and private sectors.

So, to answer the first question: Franklin worked for FBI NIPC as a cyber-terror analyst.
THIS LEADS US to the second question: "why is Franklin's death so ironic?" Obviously, we can find irony in the fact a cyber-terror analyst died in an act of physical terrorism. Why else would Security Wire Digest publish a story about a sniper victim? FBI's website admits a sniper "paralyzed the Washington area with fear" and the record will show no cyber-terrorist has ever accomplished such a feat. Like I said: you'll find massive irony in Franklin's death. But her ironic job description doesn't fully answer the second question. You'll find an important irony in cause & effect if you think about it. Longtime readers know our columnists routinely criticize FBI NIPC. We more accurately describe it as FBI's "National Internet Protection Center." Vmyths toned down its outright bashing after Ron Dick took on the role of director, but our columnists won't stop criticizing FBI NIPC anytime soon. (They continue to ignore their presidential charter, for example.) The FBI and many other federal agencies want to equate cyber-terrorism with physical terrorism. They desperately want to equate the two. I could go into a long dissertation, but I'll sum it up for you in simple terms:

Franklin's death will almost certainly force FBI NIPC to ironically divert its "cyber-terror" resources to track down a low-tech sociopath who blows people's heads off.

Washington's war hawks needed to keep themselves occupied in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They needed something close to home and something everyone could suffer. The Internet came along, so they made up "cyber-terrorism" for numerous political reasons. Those who led the cyber-terrorism charge did it for self-serving reasons, e.g. vanity and/or greed.

Before the twin towers fell, Washington bureaucrats viewed "cyber-terrorism" as a ticket punch for a first-class ride on the greedy gravy train of Internet security. Clinton appointee Richard Clarke, senator Robert Bennett, congressman Curt Weldon, deputy secretary of defense John Hamre, FBI NIPC founding director Michael Vatis, CIA analyst Terrill Maynard, and beltway bandit James Adams all played to the media's insatiable fetish for cyber-terror stories. After the twin towers fell, Washington bureaucrats viewed "cyber-terrorism" in a new light. Yes yes yes, they still saw it as a ticket punch for a first-class ride on the greedy gravy train of Internet security. More importantly, though, Washington bureaucrats saw "cyber-terrorism" as a way to divert the attention of gullible U.S. reporters who might otherwise investigate what real terrorism experts do (and fail to do) to neutralize real terrorism. Let's make sure we understand this. Washington spoon-feeds a healthy dose of cyber-terrorism to reporters, hoping they won't do any investigative stories on real terrorism. Washington knows a spoon-fed reporter is almost always a happy reporter. (The antivirus industry knows it, too, but let's not digress.) FBI NIPC plays an important new role since 9/11/01 as a media clown. They exist in part to spoon-feed reporters. (Clarke, now a Bush appointee, plays a similar role for the White House.) But the importance of NIPC's new role came at a hefty price — FBI unceremoniously kicked them out of the Hoover building after 9/11/01 to make room for hundreds of agents who investigate real terrorism. We can now complete the answer to the second question. Franklin's death will almost certainly force FBI NIPC to ironically divert its "cyber-terror" resources to track down a low-tech sociopath who blows people's heads off. I'll wager the internal pressure to ironically divert FBI NIPC's resources exceeds any external pressure. If I worked in the same cubicle farm as Franklin, I'd want to stop hunting down virus writers just long enough to find the sniper who killed my coworker. If I worked as an FBI cyber-terror analyst, I'd stare at myself in the mirror each morning and ask "do I really do as much to stop terrorism in America as a guy working on the sniper task force?"

Don't get me wrong! The fact of Franklin's death will serve a purpose. The irony of her death will not. It will go to the grave with her.

If I worked at FBI NIPC, I'd grumble at the water cooler about the fact so few of my coworkers carry guns & handcuffs on duty...
AND SO WE reach the third question: "what will come of the irony of Franklin's death?" Before I answer the question, I want you to know how much it pains me to spout a truthful answer. I get paid to point out the ironies & absurdities of "cyber-terrorism" and I do my job to the best of my ability. So I will not flinch on the third question. What will come of the irony of Franklin's death? Answer: "nothing." Now, don't get me wrong! The fact of Franklin's death will serve a purpose. The irony of her death will not. Washington will do everything in its power to find Franklin's killer, and Washington will do everything in its power to equate cyber-terrorism with physical terrorism. "Cyber-terror experts" will conveniently ignore the irony of her assassination just as they ignored the irony of Ray Downey's death last year in the World Trade Center attack. Downey received a bit of lip service from then-Virginia governor James Gilmore ... after which cyber-terror experts swept his ironic death under a rug. FBI director Robert Mueller gave Franklin some lip service in a press release ... and I assure you the cyber-terror experts will sweep her ironic death under a rug, too. "But Rob," you wail. "You can't expect anyone to point out this kind of irony in a eulogy." Fair enough — but you'll find no link to Franklin's eulogy on FBI NIPC's website three days after FBI published it on their main site. (Day1, Day2, Day3.) The rest of the world may disagree with me, but I believe cyber-terror experts already started sweeping her ironic death under the rug. The irony of Franklin's death will go to the grave with her. It's that embarrassing. Mark my words, folks. FBI NIPC and other government agencies will continue to equate cyber-terrorism with physical terrorism. The senate and the house will continue to hold hearings where a parade of experts will lay out their delusions. Delusional corporate schmoes will continue to predict Osama bin Laden will unleash a computer virus in his next attack. Beltway reporters will move their keyboards away from windows to avoid sniper fire, and then they'll continue to file breathless stories about the dire threat of cyber-terrorism. Franklin's gravestone will weather away in obscurity. Washington will treat her as if she died of cancer, or in an auto accident, or in some other way not ironic to her cyber-terror analysis job at FBI NIPC. The beltway — Franklin's alma mater — abhors the very irony her gravestone now represents. They'll find some way to rationalize her death so long as it doesn't include irony.

The ultimate irony is that only a handful of computer security critics will remember the irony of Linda Franklin's death.

AND I IMAGINE Washington's bureaucrats will find some way to pooh-pooh my anger. "Why can't you just let Franklin lie in peace? You insult her memory by insinuating she served no purpose in life as a cyber-terror analyst..." Insult her memory? Hardly. I believe she did her job well. I believe she went to work each morning hoping she'd make the world a better place. I believe she marched home each night thinking she did make the world a better place. You'll find decent, hardworking people like Franklin all throughout the computer security arena. I believe Franklin made something of her life. The ultimate irony is that only a handful of computer security critics will remember the irony of her death. Cyber-terror experts will purposely ignore it. But hey, that's the price you sometimes pay when you work in Washington.

[continued in part 3]