Villain’s Programming - Chapter 300



Only Noblemtl

Episode 300 National Intelligence Service

Dojun’s eyes shook.

‘What? You want me to hack North Korea? How did you know I could hack it?’

Dojun was known to the public as a game developer and investor, not as a ‘hacker’.

‘How did the Prime Minister know that? No way? Did the information leak from the US?’

Dojun, along with the NSA and Israel, hacked and destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Do-jun hid his identity as much as possible because if this fact was known to Iran, his life would be in danger.

“You want me to hack North Korea? I think you’ve come to the wrong place. I… don’t know how to hack.”

The Prime Minister spoke with an embarrassed expression at Do-jun’s words.

“Representative Hwang, I know everything. Please help me.”

Dojun gritted his teeth.

‘Fuck, where did that leak from? Was it the NSA? Or the CIA? If even the Prime Minister knows, it’s only a matter of time before Iran finds out… . . . ‘

Sally’s infertility was resolved, and Dorothy woke up. I thought I could now live a life of true happiness, but a bomb exploded in an unexpected place.

“Prime Minister, where on earth did you hear that?”

The Prime Minister smiled brightly at Do-jun’s words.

“It’s America.”

Dojun clenched his fist.

‘As expected… it was America.’

Then the Prime Minister continued speaking.

“A U.S. senator came to Korea recently, and I heard from him directly that GUARD CAT’s security system is applied to all administrative systems in the U.S.,” he said.

“What… are you talking about?”

“The CEO of GUARD CAT was originally a famous hacker. He was even able to hack into the Pentagon. But now he’s creating a system to protect the United States, so isn’t it similar to international relations?”

Dojun blinked. It was because something different from what he had thought was being said.

“Is that so?”

“So please don’t pretend not to know. I already knew that GUARD CAT was founded by CEO Hwang Do-jun. The Republic of Korea needs the help of CEO ‘Annie’.”

Do-jun let out a sigh of relief at the Prime Minister’s words that he wanted ‘Annie’ instead of himself.

‘Thank goodness my story wasn’t leaked.’

“Hmm. Sure, CEO Annie was a great hacker. But it’s been a while since she stopped being a hacker. She’s not a hacker anymore, she’s a businessman.”

The Prime Minister looked embarrassed.

“But… where would that skill go? Please, I beg you. Please help me.”

“I’ll try to contact them, but it’ll be hard. As you know, GUARD CAT is currently working for the US government. They contact me sometimes, but they say they’re so busy they’re dying. It’ll be hard until they finish their work.”

“ah!”

The Prime Minister looked very disappointed. After a while, he spoke to Do-jun.

“Representative Hwang. This is a very serious matter. Aren’t you also a citizen of the Republic of Korea? Please, I beg you.”

Dojun frowned.

‘When things don’t work out, I appeal to patriotism.’

Of course, it wasn’t that Do-jun didn’t have patriotism. It’s just that he didn’t like the way they only appealed to patriotism when they needed it.

‘By the way, seeing them beg to this extent, is there some huge secret in North Korea?’

The Prime Minister was not to his liking, but he was even more annoyed when he remembered North Korea being absorbed into China in his lost memories.

‘By any chance, this isn’t a story related to China or North Korea, is it?’

Dojun asked after thinking about it.

“Mr. Prime Minister, why do you want to hack North Korea?”

“Yes? Why? Do you really need to know that?”

“If we want to move Annie, we will eventually have to tell the US about the situation. Because we will have to stop working in the US.”

The Prime Minister thought long and hard about those words before answering.

“It would normally be confidential, but… I think Representative Hwang will keep it a secret, so I’ll tell you.”

As he spoke, the Prime Minister took out a photograph from his pocket. In the photograph was Kim Jong-un, with a middle-aged man standing next to him.

“Some time ago, the National Intelligence Service was hacked.”

Do-jun was surprised. Although it could not be compared to the NSA, the National Intelligence Service was still the best secret organization in our country. I heard that its capabilities were also very excellent.

“Could it be… that we were hacked by North Korea?”

“…yes.”

Only then did Do-jun understand the Prime Minister’s actions. It’s quiet now, but if North Korea were to release the National Intelligence Service information, the government’s reputation would completely fall to the ground.

‘Before North Korea makes an announcement, we also want to have a card to threaten North Korea. By the way, that’s amazing. Was there someone in North Korea with the power to raid the National Intelligence Service?’

While Do-jun was thinking, the Prime Minister pointed to the photo and said.

“And we believe that the hacker is this person. Ri Un-chol, Dean of the Computer Science College of Kim Il-sung University, North Korea’s best programmer and hacker. He was hacked… and given key national secrets.”

* * *

Gong Pan-seok, the head of the cyber terrorism response team under the direct control of the 3rd deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, left the National Intelligence Service building and smoked a cigarette in a shaded place.

“Phew.”

The judge looked up at the cigarette smoke rising into the sky and sighed as if the ground was about to collapse.

“This is driving me crazy.”

The judge turned his head and looked at the stone placed in front of the National Intelligence Service garden. Only the back was visible, so the letters could not be seen, but the spirit of the National Intelligence Service was written on the front of the stone.

“Anonymous devotion to freedom and truth. Damn it… devotion, then at least you should make them do a proper job so that they can dedicate themselves?”

It was then that a woman approached from the corner of the building. She was in her early thirties, wearing a black suit and her hair tied back.

“Team Leader. You’re here again.”

Gong Pan-seok took a deep drag on his cigarette and exhaled, saying:

“Then, where would I be? I see you’re here… Did the manager come looking for you?”

“yes.”

“why?”

“It’s obvious. He’s probably asking if I’ve finished my work quota.”

The judge’s face distorted at the woman’s words.

“Fuck. You really need to kick them out. Did I come into the NIS to leave a comment? I have to check and report how many comments you guys have left? Is that the job of our cyber response team?”

The woman did not answer. Gong Pan-seok threw away his cigarette, stepped on it with his shoe, and said.

“I’m sorry. I took my anger out on you for no reason.”

“It’s okay. They’re all the same, what is it? But there’s nothing I can do. If they’re going to criticize me, then I’ll criticize them. It’s just that this North Korean hacking incident is a bit unfair.”

The judge’s face distorted at the woman’s words.

“That’s right. It’s unfair. Is it our fault? You said that the system was unstable and that you had to protect the NIS system with GUARD CAT, but you were ignored. What did you say?”

“You said there was no budget. To be exact… there was one, but it disappeared. Into someone’s pocket.”

Gong Pan-seok, frustrated by the woman’s answer, lit his cigarette again.

“Fuck. Are you taking the NIS money because you really don’t have the money to take it? And you call this nameless devotion? Are you really going to throw me away?”

“Team Leader… Isn’t your daughter in her third year of middle school? That’s when she’ll need a lot of money.”

“Fuck.”

“So, stop talking like that and go in. Sir, please wait.”

“Just one more.”

The woman spoke as the judge lit a cigarette.

“But, Team Leader, this is a rumor I heard this morning.”

“Why? You’re increasing the number of comments?”

“No. That’s not it. Today… we have a guest.”

“customer?”

“Yes. This time… it was hacked. He said he was coming to check it out, a civilian.”

The judge’s face was distorted.

“No, why are you showing that to civilians? Are you saying we don’t believe it?”

“I guess so. I guess it’s because we didn’t do anything… … .”

“No, how can I do my work when all I want is comments all day long!”

The judge just kept puffing on his cigarette.

“But why are you bringing me here? Everything has already been hacked. What are you checking now?”

The woman asked cautiously.

“Team Leader, could this be us?”

“what?”

“Right now, the only people in the team who don’t listen are the team leader and me. Even when you tell them to leave, they don’t leave… … .”

The judge said, throwing away his cigarette.

“That’s right, that’s right! If that civilian says that this hacking was a mistake by the person in charge, the computer illiterate NIS chief will think so. In the end, our balls will fly.”

The woman asked with a worried expression.

“What should I do, Team Leader?”

The judge said through gritted teeth.

“That’s great. We can’t even crack the login password anyway. We can just watch from the sidelines and report that the person is incompetent.”

* * *

Do-jun was about to refuse the Prime Minister’s request, but changed his mind when he heard the name ‘Lee Woon-cheol’.

‘Lee Woon-chul, who staged a coup, is a programmer and hacker?’

My curiosity was piqued to the point of madness.

To the people of our country, and indeed to people around the world, North Korea has a negative image as a country where people cannot live well and as the only hereditary dictatorship in the world.

‘I think it’s natural for a country to have almost no computers or smartphones, and no software.’

But from a programming standpoint, especially hacking, North Korea was a country with incredible technology.

‘Because they hacked major organizations around the world, including our country, in that harsh environment.’

North Korea is the country with the world’s highest level of hacking technology, including DDoS and encryption decryption.

‘But… that peak is Lee Yun-cheol.’

A person who would stage a coup in North Korea in the future, a person who would sell the country to China. Do-jun was very curious about the fact that such a person was now a programmer and hacker.

‘I really want to meet this person, but it’ll be hard. But I might be able to find out what kind of code he writes.’

The hackers left their own ‘signature’. If we could confirm this ‘signature’, we might be able to prepare for future hacking by North Korea.

“I can’t give you a definitive answer, but… Could you please check the location where Lee Yun-cheol hacked? If I look at it, I might be able to help you.”

At Do-jun’s words, the Prime Minister immediately contacted the National Intelligence Service.

Once the Prime Minister stepped forward, everything went smoothly. Do-jun arrived at the National Intelligence Service in Naegok-dong the next day.

“Wow. I never thought I’d come here in my lifetime.”

Dojun looked at the white building in front of him and smiled.

“So this is the famous National Intelligence Service.”

There was a large stone in the middle of the lawn in front of the building, and Dojun read the inscription engraved on it.

[Anonymous Devotion to Freedom and Truth]

As Do-jun was reading the passage, the Prime Minister standing next to him spoke.

“This place was created through the sacrifice of countless people. I’ll explain in detail when you go inside.”

“yes.”

As the Prime Minister and Do-jun went inside, many people came down from the National Intelligence Service.

The person who came first among them was a familiar face to Dojun, who had been a brat in his previous life.

‘Isn’t that guy the head of the National Intelligence Service? He’s the guy who went to prison for a whole bunch of corruption.’

He was someone Do-jun knew because he appeared on TV and in the newspapers so often.

“Welcome, Prime Minister.”

“Ah, Director of the National Intelligence Service. Nice to meet you.”

The Prime Minister greeted the Director of the National Intelligence Service and pointed to Do-jun.

“Here, this person is CEO Hwang Do-jun. CEO Hwang Do-jun, this is Director Bang Se-ok.”

Do-jun held back his laughter at the mention of Bang Se-ok.

‘That’s right. This name also played a part in making this person famous in his past life.’

Bang Se-ok is a patriotic figure in Chinese martial arts films, but in Korean reality, he is a corrupt figure, so people often laugh at him.

‘By the way, should I help this guy? I don’t want to, but I have no choice… …. Finding traces of Lee Woon-cheol comes first.’

Director Bang Se-ok said with a bright smile.

“Oh, thank you for coming. Please come inside.”

Director Bang Se-ok guided the Prime Minister and Do-jun to a place. There were about ten people there who appeared to be agents, and they all stood up and looked at the group.

Director Bang Se-ok said, pointing to one of those people.

“This guy is Team Leader Gong Pan-seok, and he is the best agent in the cyber response team. He will help you with anything you are curious about, Mr. Hwang. Team Leader Gong Pan-seok, take good care of me.”

A man who looked to be in his early forties and wearing rimless glasses answered.

“All right.”

“Then, I will go and have an important meeting with the Prime Minister.”

As the director of the National Intelligence Service left with the Prime Minister, only then did the ten or so agents sigh deeply and return to their seats.

Team leader Gong Pan-seok approached Do-jun.

“Are you CEO Hwang Do-jun?”

Dojun said, holding out his hand.

“Yes. This is Hwang Do-jun.”

“I heard you wanted to check if your computer was hacked.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Are you a hacking expert by any chance?”

At Gongpanseok’s words, the woman next to Gongpanseok tapped Gongpanseok’s arm.

“No, team leader. It’s CEO Hwang Do-jun.”

“Huh? Are you famous?”

“Oh my, you work here every day, so even CEO Hwang Do-jun doesn’t recognize you. You’re the CEO of a game company called Black Cat.”

The judge awkwardly smiled and answered the woman’s words.

“Ah, Black Cat… I know.”

The woman shouted with a bewildered face.

“Oh my, Team Leader. It’s so obvious that you don’t know anything! Oh! Team Leader, there’s something you should know! This person led Korea to victory in the Korea-Japan cyber war.”

Only then did the judge’s eyes widen at the woman’s words.

“Are you really the one who led the Korea-Japan cyber war?”

Dojun shook his head.

“No. He is separate. I just stood by and watched.”

At those words, the frozen face of the judge lightened up a little.

“I see you’re not a complete outsider. Alright. Let’s go this way.”

Dojun sat in front of the computer that Gongpanseok had guided him to.

“As soon as I realized the hack, I disconnected from the network and shut down my computer.”

“You followed the basic procedure. What’s next?”

“I thought it couldn’t spread any further, so I turned on the computer. But… … .”

Dojun booted up his computer while listening to Gongpanseok’s words. After a while, the computer booted up and a login window appeared.

Do-jun asked the judge.

“Hey, what’s the password?”

The judge said with a troubled expression.

“That’s… It seems like we got hacked and the password changed. We can’t log in even if we enter the password we used.”

“Oh, then there’s no way to connect.”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s why I’m secretly looking for a Windows login hacking expert. But it’s not easy to find someone like that.”

Do-jun laughed inwardly after hearing Team Leader Gong Pan-seok’s words.

‘He didn’t say anything, but he’s saying that since he can’t log in, he won’t be able to do anything either.’

Do-jun said to the judge.

“10 minutes.”

“Huh? Ten minutes?”

“I will log you in within 10 minutes.”

The judge said in surprise.

“Yes? In 10 minutes?”

“Yes. Let me ask you one thing. I see you’re using Windows 7. Do you frequently get security updates?”

“I do it periodically, once a month.”

“Once a month… so maybe that’s possible.”

Dojun said that and rebooted Windows again.

Dojun held down the power button for 3 seconds when the Windows mark appeared after rebooting.

Then the computer turned off. Dojun turned it back on. Then, instead of Windows, [WINDOW Error Recovery] mode appeared.

[Start boot recovery (recommended)]

[Start Windows in standard mode]

Dojun chose ‘Start Recovery’.

Then Windows started repairing, but a message popped up saying that the repair had failed.

Dojun pressed ‘View Information’ in the message.

At the very bottom of that information was a link to a text file. Dojun clicked on the link.

It was nothing special. It was just a link to a file that showed information.

But at that moment, everyone there opened their eyes wide.

“uh!”

“Notepad is open, right?”

“oh my god.”

Dojun chuckled.

‘Not everyone is stupid. You can tell by the way they notice things right away.’

Dojun clicked on the Open File button in Notepad. Then, a very familiar window opened. This was because it was a window that allowed access to all files in Windows.

[C:WINDOWSSystem32…]

Dojun changed the sethc file to sethc1 and the cmd file to sethc.

And after rebooting, logging in was a breeze.

The woman behind him shouted.

“That’s ridiculous! There was a loophole here?”

Dojun chuckled.

“It was a good thing I didn’t install the security update. That allowed me to exploit a security vulnerability in Windows 7.”

The judge asked.

“How on earth did you know this?”

Dojun shrugged.

‘I know, because in my previous life… it was a very famous method. I think this method will soon be spread all over the internet.’

“It’s a business secret.”

Dojun said that and started checking the computer.

‘Okay, let’s first check what security vulnerabilities this computer has.’

Dojun analyzed the computer. And after less than five minutes, he looked at the courtroom and asked.

“Is this computer really used by the National Intelligence Service?”

“…yes.”

Dojun tilted his head and asked.

“It doesn’t make sense. How is it that there is no security system installed on the National Intelligence Service computer?”

At Do-jun’s words, Gong Pan-seok bowed his head deeply.

“That… was there, but it’s gone.”

“It was there but then disappeared, what does that mean… … .”

At that moment, Dojun remembered the article he had seen in his past life.

Dojun looked around and spoke softly into Gongpanseok’s ear.

“Is this by any chance related to the Director of the National Intelligence Service?”

.