Villain’s Programming - Chapter 225



Only Noblemtl

Episode 225: Edward

After arriving at the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), Do-jun raised his head and looked at the building.

The building was very big and tall.

‘This is the NSA I’ve only heard about.’

The general public knew a lot about the CIA and FBI, but did not know much about the NSA.

‘It sometimes appears in movies or dramas, but it’s an unfamiliar name so we tend to forget it.’

However, the NSA had a different meaning to Dojun, or rather, to programmers involved in security and hacking.

‘Because it started as a code-breaking department during World War II.’

In the past and even today, people thought of the NSA as a branch of the CIA, but that was not the case. It was a huge department that was completely independent and had an American captain as its director.

As Dojun stared blankly at the building, NSA Director Keith Alexander spoke.

“Come on, let’s go in.”

“Hey, Director. “The SHA encryption algorithm was developed here, right?”

The NSA director responded to Dojun’s words with a proud expression.

“of course. Not only SHA but also DES and most existing algorithms were born here.”

“also! Incredible. Rumor has it that the encryption technology here is 10 years ahead of what it is outside. Besides, Bitcoin is also a currency created using SHA-256, right?”

Director Keith’s face widened at Dojun’s praise.

“haha. It may not be that much, but it will be somewhat ahead. For your information, we employ the largest number of mathematicians in the world. “If you go inside, you will see the mathematicians.”

At first glance, it seemed like the NSA would be of infinite help to the world. But the challenge reminded me of an incident that happened in my past life.

‘NSA confidential data disclosure incident’

It was an event that shook the world. One person revealed that the U.S. NSA is wiretapping the entire world.

‘It wasn’t just that they exposed it, they actually leaked confidential information and exposed it to the whole world.’

The whole world was perplexed. Of course, there was a need to protest, but the target was the United States.

‘There were countries that strongly opposed it, and there were also countries that quietly passed over, like Korea. By the way, what was the name of the person who exposed it?’

Dojun, who was trying to think of the name of the exposer, ended up not being able to come up with the name. He thought of something else instead.

‘that’s right. In my past life, the NSA had planted backdoors everywhere, including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft… Is that still the case?’

I thought that might be the case, but unlike my previous life, Google, Amazon, and MS were all protected by GUARD CAT now.

‘I can’t do this. While I’m here, I’ll find out if they’re running a backdoor.’

Dojun said while looking at Director Keith.

“Let’s go in.”

* * *

Eric Ryan checked the ‘Bitcoin wallet’ sent by Wilson. It was money exchanged for information and source code provided by Wilson from the Iranian intelligence service.

“At today’s coin price, is it worth about $10 million? The world has become so much better. “A world where there is no need for money laundering.”

Making money through hacking in the underground world was not as easy as expected.

There are always victims in hacking, and those victims pursue them relentlessly.

Meeting clients while evading their capture was quite tricky.

‘Even though I met customers and worked like that, there was a problem in the end about how to get paid.’

The hacking group that Eric was running was spread all over the world.

Therefore, even if the payment was received in cash, it ultimately had to be connected to a bank to reach Eric.

‘Usually this was solved by creating a paper company or cannon account, but now there is no need to do that.’

It was thanks to Bitcoin. But Eric was anxious. This is because Bitcoin seemed like an illusion.

‘I’ll have to exchange it for cash soon.’

Eric Ryan accessed the BITCAT Coin Exchange homepage.

‘The commission is only 0.1%, but you’re really making a lot of money sitting there.’

Since the creation of BITCAT, numerous Bitcoin exchanges have been created, but no exchange has been able to guarantee as large a volume of coins and stable transactions as BITCAT.

“Did you say that the BITCAT exchange is run by a Korean company called Gold Circle? The representative there is a man named ‘Seungho Pyo’. Should I ask him to sell his shares? or not… … .

Eric scratched his chin with his fingers.

“Shall we hack BITCAT?”

Eric thought for a moment and shook his head.

“Let’s leave it alone. Bitcoin still needs to be bigger. “There is no need to ruin such an easy money laundering method with my own hands.”

Eric closed the BITCAT site and looked at his watch. 8 am, it was time to go to work.

But that was then.

‘huh?’

As I was about to close my laptop, an email arrived.

‘You’re Virat, right?’

The organization run by Eric had numerous members. There were so many members in the organization that Eric could not manage them all, so he appointed middle managers in each region, and the Indian manager was Virat Kohli.

Eric opened his mailbox.

[Wilson signed a side contract with Iranian intelligence.]

It was just one line, but Eric had a stern expression on his face.

‘Wilson… … .’

Five minutes passed, then ten minutes passed. If things continue like this, today will be late. But Eric couldn’t stand up.

“ha. “Have I relaxed it too much?”

Eric did not manage the organization particularly tightly. This was because he had the philosophy that if you tighten people up too much, they won’t be able to demonstrate their abilities properly.

“If I had asked for more money, I would have given it to you.”

Wilson was different from other local managers. He was a co-founder of sorts, having been with this business since it first started.

So even if Wilson embezzled some funds, Eric turned a blind eye. But he couldn’t do it this time.

‘Virat already knows. Moreover, this is a different contract itself.’

I couldn’t just leave this alone. Moreover, Virat knows that if he just ignores it, the organization will collapse in an instant.

Now, $10 million didn’t matter to Eric.

‘What do we do? I need to somehow handle this in a way that other managers can understand… … .’

However, it was also dangerous to hit Wilson without any evidence. Wilson’s influence in the organization was that strong.

‘Virat may have got it wrong.’

Eric thought that it was important to check the ‘side contract’ first.

“But to find out about the secret contract, you have to dig up information about Iran, right? how?”

It was then. As Eric was thinking, a man came to mind.

Although he was not a member of the organization, he was a genius programmer and a person who was very dissatisfied with the organization he belonged to.

‘What if you decide to help him next time? ‘We might be able to extract Iranian information.’

Eric called right away.

“Edward. Good luck, Eric.”

* * *

Dojun followed NSA Director Keith into the NSA.

the CIA director said.

“From now on, CEO Hwang will work at NSA until the end of this project. Due to the nature of the work, communication, internet, and even external contact are restricted. “Please understand.”

Dojun nodded.

“All right.”

“Okay then, I’ll just go.”

The CIA director handed Dojun over to the NSA director and then went outside.

“Let’s go.”

The NSA director took Do-jun to an office.

“This is where the top NSA agents work. “It’s a little crazy, isn’t it?”

There were numerous computers in the office, and numerous mathematical symbols and algorithms were scribbled on the whiteboard on the wall.

Dojun opened his eyes wide.

‘You’re crazy. This looks like a new encryption algorithm?’

Dojun looked at the blackboard frantically. The NSA director saw this and smiled.

“As expected, CEO Hwang is also a programmer. “When crypto programmers come here, they all go crazy looking at the blackboard.”

“It’s really awesome.”

“You will be able to see this amazing thing forever. So now, let’s say hello to the people who made that.”

The NSA director had Do-Jun exchange greetings with numerous people. What was unusual was that many of them were mathematicians.

After just saying hello for 30 minutes, the NSA director looked around and asked someone close to him.

“Where is Edward?”

“Oh, I went to check the system. I’ll be back soon.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a man came into the office.

He was an ordinary man with a thin body, wearing glasses and wearing a checkered shirt. NSA Director Keith shouted at the man.

“Edward, come here. “I have someone to introduce you to.”

A man named Edward approached Director Keith.

Dojun also looked at a man named Edward who was approaching.

‘hmm? Where did you see this person? Looks familiar?’

I tried to think of where I saw Dojun, but I couldn’t remember anything.

Edward, who had already arrived in front of the director, lamented and spoke.

“Director, we need to upgrade the system immediately. It’s too slow. Do you know how many days I’ve been unable to get off work already?”

“We have already increased the budget execution, so please wait a moment.”

“ha. “If you keep doing this, you never know when something big will happen.”

“Rather than that, Edward, let me introduce you to someone. “This is the person I will be working with on this project.”

A man named Edward frowned at the director’s words.

“no. How many times haven’t I told you this? “Are you saying that the NSA’s own manpower is sufficient?”

Director Keith said with an embarrassed expression.

“Hmm. Edward. Listen to me. This is a man brought in by the CIA with great difficulty. And didn’t he just say the system needs to be upgraded?”

“Surely, upgrading the system isn’t a condition of putting this person on the project?”

“Hmm. That’s not true, but it might be a little faster.”

A man named Edward bowed his head and listened to the director’s words.

“All right. But who is this person? Are you a famous hacker?”

“My name is Dojun Hwang.”

Edward tilted his head at Director Keith’s words.

“Dojun Hwang? “I’ve never heard of it?”

“So, do you know Annie?”

“I know. He’s the only hacker I recognize. I was going to bring him with me when I got out of prison… “Someone stole it.”

Director Keith said, pointing to Do-jun.

“The person who stole her was Dojun Hwang.”

Edward then looked straight at Dojun.

“this… Someone took Annie? Wait, Annie is the representative of GUARD CAT now, really? “Is this person the real owner of GUARD CAT?”

“That’s right.”

“hmm. Are you a person with a lot of money? “But you don’t look like a hacker?”

“That person is the person who commanded and created the hacking tools used in the cyber war between Korea and Japan that you are currently analyzing.”

Edward looked curious at those words.

“Is it true?”

Dojun shrugged his shoulders and said.

“So you were caught here, right?”

“Are you caught? ha ha ha. “You say something interesting.”

“It’s not fun. The damage is enormous. If I work outside for just one day, I will earn about the same salary as the people in this office. So it’s not fun, right?”

Edward thought Dojun was lying. So he smiled and asked Director Keith.

“This guy is funny. But is this too much of a lie? How in one day… … .”

“Ah, it’s not a lie. This person is an outside director at Google and an outside director at Amazon. For your information, I am an Android developer and a YouTube developer. Moreover, the person who created AWS, which we use, is Dojun Hwang.”

At that moment, everyone in the office stopped. Edward also paused.

“no. Why did such a person come here? If that’s true, you’re a person who earns an annual salary, not just a month’s salary per day!”

“So, I ask for your cooperation. “Edward.”

Edward lowered his head at Director Keith’s words, then sighed and raised his head.

Then he approached Do-jun, held out his hand, and said.

“Nice to meet you. I never thought I would meet such an amazing person. “My name is Edward Snowden.”

At Edward’s words, Dojun’s face, which had maintained his composure until now, cracked.

* * *

For a moment, Do-jun thought he had heard wrong. Dojun asked, holding Edward’s hand.

“I am… Do you think I heard wrong? Edward… . “Is this Snowden?”

“You heard me well. “This is Edward Joseph Snowden.”

Dojun swallowed dry saliva without realizing it.

‘I was wondering where I saw it, but now I remember it. Oh my god, Snowden! Edward Snowden!’

Even Do-jun, who had little interest in worldly affairs, could not have known the name Snowden.

This was because the exposer of the ‘NSA classified data disclosure incident’ was ‘Edward Snowden’.

Dojun held Snowden’s hand while suppressing his trembling emotions.

“This is Dojun Hwang. “I think Director Keith told me everything about what he does.”

“haha. I think I met the richest person I’ve ever met in person. It is an honour.”

“I am rather honored.”

Dojun was truly happy. In his past life, the world only knew Snowden as a whistleblower, but hackers were different.

‘A genius programmer and a real hacker.’

Dojun held Snowden’s hand tightly, shook it, and then released it.

“If I retire later, will you accept me if I apply for a job?”

“Sure.”

Snowden smiled broadly and told Director Keys that he would guide Do-jun about this project.

But then Director Keith said:

“I guess I’ll have to do that a little later.”

“yes? “What’s going on?”

The director sighed and said at Snowden’s words.

“This morning, I received a call from Israel’s Unit 8200. “As this project is important, they want to create a group with only a few of the best talents.”

Snowden frowned at those words.

“Are you the most talented person? How are you going to judge that? no way? Are you saying you want to check our skills?”

the director said.

“It’s similar. They say we will break into the homepage created by Israel’s Unit 8200, and we will break into the homepage we created in Israel. The conditions are that only one person can attempt it at a time, and only those who crack it in time will join the project.”

Snowden’s face turned red.

“No, have you seen these helpless guys?”

“Israel is a bit like that.”

“Director, let’s do it now! “I’ll drill it right away.”

“I already told you the address from Israel.”

Snowden immediately went to his seat, sat down, and entered the ‘address’ provided by Israel in the Internet address bar.

I went straight to the site. There was nothing there.

“What? You can’t even log in? So, you’re saying that you should even log in yourself?”

Snowden began analyzing the site.

It was then. A timer appeared on the screen and started moving.

[00:59:21]

“You only give me an hour to hack the website? “I’ll finish it in 10 minutes.”

Snowden quickly found a way to ‘log in’.

Of course, I didn’t mean to ‘log in’. The site was accessed through hacking. But access was not easy.

“That’s it. It’s easy to hack packets.”

Snowden attempted ‘packet sniffing’ with a confident expression. But he frowned after a moment.

“what? Is this a new packet encryption algorithm? How dare you challenge the NSA to an encryption showdown?”

Snowden, as if his pride had been hurt, did his best to break the encryption.

Dojun was amazed as he watched it from behind.

‘As expected, it’s amazing. I think I know why he’s the best hacker.’

Although it was difficult to solve, Snowden eventually broke the packet encryption. But 30 minutes had already passed.

[00:29:43]

Snowden went straight to the next hack.

“SQL injection is all blocked. under. “Do you want to do something?”

But Snowden was Snowden. At about the 58th minute, he breached the site and left letters inside.

But his face darkened. He said that if he was this good, it would be difficult for other NSA agents to break into this site.

Snowden said, looking at the director.

“Director. These guys are pretty high level, right? Other agents will have a hard time breaking through.”

“I saw it too. But, if you tell the agents what you used… … .”

Snowden shook his head.

“The agents’ pride won’t allow it. Besides, even if I teach you, it’s useless.”

“What does that mean?”

“Algorithms are changing in real time. “I’m blocking it by improving the method I broke through, so it gets more and more difficult the further you go.”

“Oh my God, then what are you asking me to do? “These Israelis, are they really going to do this?”

It was then. Dojun said while looking at the director.

“Director, can you speak to Israel?”

“I see? “Do you have anything to say?”

Dojun said with a grin.

“Please tell me. “Let’s make a bet.”

“What bet?”

“It’s a bet to select people. “If this site is cracked within 10 minutes, the United States will select the personnel. If not, let Israel select the personnel.”

Director Keith shouted in great surprise.

“what? “No, it took Snowden an hour to solve it, so how did you do it in 10 minutes?”

Dojun grinned.

“I’m doing it because I’m confident. Honestly, even 10 minutes is a long time. “We can blow up this site in 5 minutes.”