24 (TV Series)

Day 4: 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. (2005)

Albie Selznick: John Reiss

Quotes 

• Erin Driscoll : [Through a video conference call]  Mr. Reiss, I am Erin Driscoll, Director of CTU Los Angeles: my colleagues Curtis Manning and Sarah Gavin are also present. Also, Jack Bauer, Special Advisor to Secretary Heller

  John Reiss : I hope you understand we at McLennan-Forster couldn't give you details about that case until we received appropriate permission from DOD

  Erin Driscoll : Understood, may we please begin? What was your courier transporting?

  John Reiss : A device we developed under the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Emergency Management Program. It's a Dobson Type Override

  Erin Driscoll : What exactly does this Override do?

  John Reiss : It's a combination of hardware and software that can remotely take control of a nuclear power facility

  Erin Driscoll : Under what circumstance the Override would be used?

  John Reiss : The government wanted the people to control the plant's nuclear bile. In the event of a disaster that necessitated an evacuation

  Erin Driscoll : And the person in possession of this program could they do the opposite with it? Create a disaster at a plant and meltdown?

  John Reiss : Theoretically: yes but merely having possession of the override wouldn't be enough. There are safeguards in place

  Erin Driscoll : What kind of safeguards?

  John Reiss : If anyone who's trying to use the Override, would have to hack through the reactor's firewall and that would take massive computer power which NRC could see coming a mile away

  Jack Bauer : Is it possible NRC could miss this due to unusually heavy traffic on the internet?

  John Reiss : I don't follow

  Jack Bauer : In less than an hour ago millions of computers around the world were streaming the trial of the Secretary of Defense, is it "possible" that this trial was some kind of Trojan horse to disguise a massive attack on nuclear power plant's firewalls?

  John Reiss : It might be "possible"

  Jack Bauer : How many nuclear power plants in this country would be vulnerable?

  John Reiss : All of them

  Jack Bauer : How many is that?

  John Reiss : At this time, the United States has one hundred and four nuclear power plants online

  Jack Bauer : We have to assume they used this Override to take over the plants: get me NRC now, get me Secretary Heller

  Erin Driscoll : [Concluding the conference call]  thank you Mr. Reiss