Sherlock & Orin
Sherlock Sherlock
Orin Orin
Orin Orin
I’ve been tracing a series of anomalies in the old telecom logs—like a digital ghost trail. Think you can spot the pattern?
Sherlock Sherlock
Tell me the dates and the specific anomalies, and I’ll see if a pattern emerges.
Orin Orin
Sure thing. Here are the dates and what I flagged: - 12/05/2017 – sudden drop in signal strength in sector 9, 2‑hour spike in error codes. - 03/18/2018 – phantom uplink packet from a dead node, 4‑minute loop. - 07/22/2019 – unauthorized handshake at 02:13 UTC, lasted 12 seconds, no acknowledgment. - 11/30/2020 – a cluster of packets with impossible timestamps, 3‑minute blackout, then normal traffic resumes. - 04/07/2021 – duplicated beacon from a retired base station, 7‑minute repeat. - 08/15/2022 – a burst of traffic with a checksum error pattern that matches a known malware signature. - 01/02/2023 – a single packet with a 48‑bit GUID that doesn’t exist in our database, followed by a 5‑minute silent period. That’s the raw data. Look for a rhythm or a correlation between the timestamps and the types of anomalies. Happy hunting.
Sherlock Sherlock
The spacing is key – each event lands roughly every four months, almost as if a timer is ticking. And notice how the nature of the glitches escalates: a sudden drop, a phantom packet, an unauthorized handshake, a timestamp cluster, a duplicated beacon, a checksum error, then a mysterious GUID. That progression suggests a single orchestrator tightening the attack as the dates align. My guess is a scheduled script that triggers on those dates, using the telecom system’s own maintenance windows as cover. Check for any hidden cron jobs or firmware updates that run on those exact months and hours. That should give us a concrete lead.
Orin Orin
That’s a solid read – a ticking clock in the logs. I’ll dig into the maintenance windows and look for any firmware rollouts or hidden cron entries that line up with those four‑month gaps. If the system is playing along, it should leave a breadcrumb trail in the job scheduler or in the version history. Hang tight, I’ll map the schedule and see where the orchestrator is hiding.
Sherlock Sherlock
Just make sure you cross‑check the timestamps against the actual system clocks – a 2‑hour drop could be a clock drift. If the job scheduler shows a pattern, look for an identical payload or checksum each time. Once you have the schedule, the only remaining variable is the payload itself – that’s where the real culprit will surface. Keep me posted.
Orin Orin
Got it. I’ll sync the logs with the system clock, pull the scheduler data, and scan for duplicate payloads. I’ll ping you as soon as I spot the pattern.
Sherlock Sherlock
Sounds good. Keep an eye out for anything that repeats exactly – that’s usually the telltale sign. Let me know what you find.
Orin Orin
Running the cross‑check now. Will flag any exact repeats in the payload or checksum. I’ll ping you when something pops up.
Sherlock Sherlock
Ready when you are.