Network activity logs weren’t usually part of Steffi Roderick’s regular checks, unless there was trouble with the network. However, given the situation right now, she had been doing a little more tracking than usual, trying to see how usage patterns had changed since the beginning of the pandemic.
It was interesting to notice how certain departments, especially in the sciences, tended to have sudden spikes all at once. She could often predict when there would be a major discovery announced, simply because one science department had a whole lot of network activity, like Astronomy was having right now.
But some of the others were more puzzling, popping up and then vanishing. Occasionally one particular device would show up in several locations, which suggested someone was doing a lot of work on something while waiting for various activities to begin.
Obviously the data would need to be anonymized if it were to be given to anyone else to analyze. But right now some of it was interesting in other ways. In particular, certain people doing some unusual searches that seemed to suggest they had some awareness of matters that were currently being kept under embargo, and were trying to find out.
In fact, it made her wonder if it was time to mention Spruance Del Curtin’s activities to certain people in authority over him. On the other hand, without definite evidence that he was actually in breach of any rules, it would be tricky to get the intended corrective effect. Yanking him in for a bawling-out might just as easily breed resentment.