Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics


 * You may also be looking for ice.

Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics, also known as ICE, are a series of hundreds of covert subroutines and firewalls designed to protect sensitive computer systems by frustrating access to the core memory.

Attorney General Julian Matthews announced on 1 October 2143 that the investigation into illegal activities at CenBank had been blocked by the discovery of a cloak of ICE surrounding the bank's massive computer network. It was reportedly so sophisticated that even top ICE experts had been frozen out of the system.

It was soon realised that the only person with sufficient technical know-how to break the ICE was the leader of "R", Kyle Swann, who had been chief programmer at CenBank. In return from an amnesty from the government of the North American Union, Swann agreed to break the codes on 6 October 2143.

Addressing the World Congress on 13 October 2143, Swann revealed that he had discovered the ICE concealing CenBank's core computer files soon after he began working there. He claimed that he had not created it, but described whoever had done so as having built "a technological monster more powerful and dangerous than anything we can imagine."

Swann continued to make slow progress chipping away at the ICE throughout November 2143, and he revealed on 16 November that he was convinced that the ICE system had been created by a powerful Artificial Intelligence.

Swann's further progress dismantling the CenBank ICE was halted following his arrest on 26 November 2143 for the kidnapping of President Clarke and the murder of Attorney General Matthews during a terrorist attack on the Floater Ball World Series.