I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1124: Cybersecurity]

Ventura.

At ten in the morning, Joss Whedon, the director of Iron Man, along with lead actress Bridget Fonda, Jeff Bridges, Natasha Henstridge, and other key team members arrived at Eric's private airport. They gazed at the imposing Boeing 747 parked on the runway. While private jets weren't entirely foreign to most present, everyone couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

"Mr. Whedon, Miss Fonda, and everyone, please follow me," Merissa Mayer greeted them and continued, "We can board the plane directly; it will take off in half an hour. Mr. Williams is currently in a video conference with New York, so he can't welcome you all personally, and he sincerely apologizes."

Naturally, no one minded these details and readily acknowledged before boarding the plane. Several crew members even stepped forward to help carry their luggage. The journey ahead would be extensive, as the group was set to fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo, then from Tokyo to London, and afterward back -- a full globe-trotting experience.

In the past, even if the movie studio arranged the finest first-class seats or even a dedicated chartered flight, there would be some complaints. But this time, everyone was filled with deep anticipation for the trip.

The film's crew, along with staff from Firefly Group, assistants to Bridget Fonda, and others, created a party of over thirty people. Once everyone boarded and settled in, about half an hour had passed. Merissa Mayer personally confirmed that all were present before notifying the flight crew to prepare for takeoff.

...

In the front cabin, Eric's office.

Hearing the flight attendant's signal, Eric and Chris exchanged a few words before ending their video call. Eric casually pulled the seatbelt from the side of his chair and fastened it. Caroline, who had been standing across from Eric's desk, also sat down on a single sofa beside him, fastening her seatbelt.

Moments later, as the plane began to take off, causing its characteristic bumps, Eric noticed Caroline appeared a bit tense. He smiled and said, "Would you like to come over and sit with me?"

Caroline blinked, her face slightly flushed, and playfully replied, "No."

"Or should I sit over there?"

"Eric, I definitely have to tell my aunt about this trip to London."

Hearing Caroline's teasing threat, Eric humorously pretended to be afraid. "Okay, I'm sorry."

They chatted casually, and before they knew it, the plane was flying smoothly. Eric unbuckled his seatbelt and said, "I'm going to say hi to everyone."

Caroline got up and followed him.

...

Although they didn't mind others boarding the private jet, it seemed unavoidable, yet Eric still preferred to maintain his personal space. This tendency was something Merissa Mayer had joked about privately, saying Eric had a primitive sense of territoriality, like a lion.

Therefore, the first quarter of the Boeing's cabin, excluding the cockpit, was considered Eric's absolute personal space. Aside from Eric, no one else could enter without permission.

After leaving the front cabin and passing through the communal lounge connecting to the cabin doors, Eric and Caroline reached the midsection of the plane. Only the last section had a cabin similar to a standard commercial jet, reserved for bodyguards, assistants, and other crew members, but it was even more luxurious than typical first-class seating. The remaining areas closely resembled a regular apartment.

At that moment, everyone gathered at the small bar in the midsection, drinking and chatting. When they saw Eric, they all stood up.

Eric greeted everyone one by one and took a seat beside the spacious bar. He ordered a cocktail from the flight attendant and began discussing the upcoming schedule and promotional details for Iron Man. This continued until they had lunch together, at which point everyone expressed the need for a break and dispersed.

...

"New Line gave me a script. Although it's a lead role, I have to portray a femme fatale. This is all your fault, Eric! Ever since Basic Instinct, everyone has been so eager to create thrillers featuring femme fatales. My agent is worried that I'll get pigeonholed, so they turned it down."

In the lounge area next to the restaurant, Natasha Henstridge lounged on the sofa, her curves accentuated as she glanced at the man beside her, recounting her recent events. One hand toyed with the corner of Eric's shirt, seemingly checking for loose threads.

Eric clearly noticed a small thread peeking out from the hem of Natasha's blouse and wanted to help her check it. However, Caroline often instinctively avoided his interactions with other women., and after crossing that boundary, Merissa had a habit of looking out for potential interruptions, prompting Eric to suppress his less-than-innocent thoughts. "Trying different genres is fine. However, your primary focus should still be on lead roles in mid-budget action films or as a supporting actress in big productions. If you do well with Underworld, you won't struggle to find work for the next ten years. This series could easily span five or six films."

"I know," Natasha replied, noticing Eric's gaze lingering on her chest. She shot him a playful glance but was clearly puzzled by his gentlemanly demeanor today. So, she asked, "Eric, can I go check out the front?"

Eric shook his head with a smile. "Now is not the best time; it's still daytime."

As he said this, someone knocked on the door of the lounge.

Eric turned, feeling a twinge of regret for letting his thoughts wander towards his assistant, and then she appeared.

"Mary, is there something you need?"

"Eric, Mitnick is online. He said the encryption software you needed has been sent over, but there seems to be something else."

Eric nodded. "I'll head over now."

Merissa Mayer responded, casting a cool glance at Natasha Henstridge before turning to leave.

"Eric, your assistant has quite the personality," Natasha remarked.

"Yeah," Eric said, reaching out to touch Natasha's delicate face. "A pretty face alone can't get this job done."

"Are you calling me a pretty face?" Natasha replied, turning her head away, not pleased. "That doesn't sound like a compliment at all."

Eric stood with a smile. "Alright, we can chat more later."

...

As Eric walked out of the lounge, he found Merissa still standing in the hallway, pretending to read a document.

Eric casually patted Merissa on her well-fitted crimson suit at her waist and nonchalantly walked toward the front cabin. Startled by the sudden contact, Merissa shot him an annoyed glare and, with her face stern, followed behind.

Once in the front cabin office, Yahoo's Chief Technology Officer, Steve Mitnick, appeared on the video call screen, but he was busy focusing on something. Caroline, still seated on her single sofa beside him, stood up as Eric entered, intending to leave. Eric waved her off and gestured for Merissa to sit as well.

He then addressed Steve Mitnick on the video call. "Steve, how's it going?"

Hearing Eric's voice, Steve Mitnick looked up. "Eric, I've sent the encryption software to your email. The method is simple. You can also set up a decoy file; once encrypted, the encryption software, the target file, and the decoy file will merge into one. Unless the correct password is input, it cannot be separated, significantly increasing the difficulty of cracking it. I've also set up a trap; even highly skilled technicians could easily get lost and only retrieve the decoy file, while the real file would be deleted automatically."

Eric sat behind his desk, pleased as he checked his email and then smiled, "What about you?"

"I can definitely manage," Steve replied straightforwardly. "But don't worry, Eric; I won't do that. I'm a person of principles."

Eric scoffed, "I remember you sneaking into my laptop once."

"That was just that one time, I assure you," Steve dismissed. "Besides, I wasn't snooping through your personal files. As long as you physically isolate the encrypted files, I won't be able to crack anything."

"Fine," Eric shrugged. "Mary mentioned you had other matters to discuss?"

"Yes," Steve said, glancing down at his laptop, "Eric, I need to check your plane's network system. It will take about five minutes."

Eric was puzzled. "What?"

"Just consider it a security check," Steve replied, casually tapping on his laptop.

Still confused, Eric watched as his video call screen and computer began to auto-reboot. While it lasted, Eric grew concerned about whether Steve's tinkering might affect the plane's navigation. However, everything returned to normal after a while, and Steve Mitnick focused back on his laptop screen.

Seeing nothing unusual, Eric remained silent, patiently waiting until Steve looked up. "No problem; at least your plane's network is secure and hasn't been monitored. However, Eric, I still recommend a thorough bug sweep of the entire plane."

Eric chuckled, "If Boeing is found to be spying on its customers, how can they continue to do business?"

Steve shook his head. "Eric, many world leaders lack a dedicated Air Force One. Do you know why?"

"Hmm?"

"When they order presidential planes from Boeing or Airbus, they often find that it's essentially a massive surveillance device once delivered -- totally unusable. Thus, those leaders can only randomly summon commercial planes from their national airlines."

"I'm not a world leader; I'm just a businessman."

"Right now, you're attracting more attention than many heads of state, making you a prime target for anyone willing to go to great lengths to obtain information about you."

"Didn't expect you to flatter me."

"A bit of sympathy, too."

Eric shrugged. "Alright, so what's the plan?"

"First, as I mentioned earlier, you need to conduct a thorough sweep for bugs on everything around you, even your staff. Oh, Mary and Carly, I'm not suggesting it's you."

Eric interrupted, "Let's get to the point."

"Well, I can personally oversee and maintain the security of Firefly's email system, but Firefly staff could also become targets, particularly concerning your personal communications. They might inadvertently leak your private email information, so it's crucial that you minimize sending sensitive information through emails. Additionally, the entire Firefly system needs a network and device update and employee training on cybersecurity, which could be quite costly. Lastly, while I'm not an expert on mobile phones or landlines, they're also extremely vulnerable, and you'll need to hire a technology expert for that."

*****

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