Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Vulnerability
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Lee Tae-ho asked from the president's office at THO Entertainment.
"What do you think of our company now that you've seen it in person?"
"It's great. The employees all look happy."
"Hahaha. The movie's a massive hit, so everyone's in a good mood. But the person who came with you..."
"He checked the security on Eun-ha's agency's server. The CF production company spotted the hacker attack thanks to the defense program Seong-hwan installed."
"Ah. He's quite the expert. I mistook him for a student because he looks so young. Hahaha."
"He is a student. Just started his first year of college."
Lee Tae-ho was taken aback.
"Pardon? He's only a first-year, so when did he pick up skills like that...?"
"They say he was famous since middle school."
"Mr. Na Gang-in, you have some incredible people around you."
"We have a few unusual ones..."
"And the best among them is Mr. Na Gang-in... Ah, forget I said that."
After finishing their coffee, Lee Tae-ho led Na Gang-in and An Seong-hwan to the computer room at THO Entertainment.
There were three staff members in the computer room. They handled everything computer-related for the company, from server management to fixing employees' PCs and laptops.
They were competent in their assigned fields.
But none of the three were IT security experts. That was why Lee Tae-ho had hired an external firm to bolster the company's network security.
Two employees from the IT security firm were whispering in one corner of the computer room.
"Where'd they come from?"
"I overheard some staff earlier. Sounds like they're celebrities or something."
"Why would celebrities be checking our work?"
"This is a film company. You think they don't know a ton of celebs? Probably close with the president."
The IT security firm employee smirked.
"Pulling strings to get someone on the job. Fine by us. If it's a celebrity, the inspection'll be a breeze."
"We snagged this company's security contract thanks to our connections at Cheon-in Machinery too."
Lee Tae-ho's family business, Cheon-in Machinery, had also hired this firm for their security setup.
But the teams deployed to each company were different in scale. Far more personnel had been assigned to Cheon-in Machinery.
The IT security employee shook his head.
"Our company hustled hard to land the gig, so it's different. And as pros, we don't just slack off like that."
The other employee tilted his head.
"But why bring in a celebrity specifically?"
"Maybe for some TV promo? Like bragging on a variety show about personally auditing a film company's server."
"Ah! That must be it."
"Ours'll wrap up quick anyway. Might as well play along."
Na Gang-in instructed the AI Jeon Ji-in to run the security check. The AI took control of his hand to operate the keyboard and mouse.
Na Gang-in asked.
"Find anything?"
"Is it common?"
"You said it was known?"
"How many?"
"In Korea?"
"That's not enough to blame the security firm for not knowing about it."
Na Gang-in rubbed his hands together. Control of his hands returned instantly.
"Still, we can't just let it slide. Let's breach it."
Na Gang-in coaxed Jeon Ji-in gently.
"This isn't hacking—it's a test for hacking defense. Don't touch anything else, just breach it and leave one text file. You can do that, right?"
The AI Jeon Ji-in easily bypassed the security firm's defenses. The newly created TXT file on the server contained just one line.
The security firm employees panicked.
"Huh? How'd it get breached so easily?"
"No, seriously, how the hell did they do it?"
THO Entertainment president Lee Tae-ho sighed.
"I'm no expert in this field, but it looks like it was breached pretty simply. And we paid top dollar for that firewall system..."
Na Gang-in explained.
"They exploited a vulnerability that's not officially known yet, so it's hard to blame the security firm."
"Pardon? If it's unknown, how did you know about it, Mr. Gang-in?"
"There are probably about ten hackers worldwide who know about it. They're still milking it for all it's worth."
"Ten in Korea?"
"No, on the whole planet."
"Whoa. Only ten across the entire world..."
One of the security firm employees asked urgently.
"Could you explain how you breached it? If we know why, we can figure out how to defend against it."
"So basically..."
Lee Tae-ho quickly interjected.
"Hold on. Asking us to spill that for free is a bit much, don't you think? You know how much we paid your company for the firewall setup."
The employees hesitated. Then one spoke up.
"We'll report to our company and negotiate compensation."
Lee Tae-ho whispered to Na Gang-in.
"Leave the negotiating to me. I'll squeeze them good."
Na Gang-in shook his head slightly.
"No need to go that far."
The security firm employee couldn't hear their exchange. He asked something else.
"One moment. Are there any other issues? If we can work out a deal, it'd be great if you shared everything..."
Na Gang-in agreed. He shrugged at the security firm employee.
"Vulnerabilities like this aren't common. And I never said I'd tell your company about it."
"Pardon?"
After the security firm employees left with pale faces, An Seong-hwan asked.
"Hyung, is Dawn Rabbit your code name?"
"Code name?"
"Famous hackers get nicknames. Code name sounds cooler."
"Just call it a nickname."
"Heh heh. Dawn Rabbit. Suits you."
Lee Tae-ho looked regretful.
"We could've gotten a nice payout trading that info."
Na Gang-in shook his head.
"I'll disclose this information publicly."
"Ah. As expected of Mr. Na Gang-in..."
"Expected of me how?"
"Nothing."
An Seong-hwan said.
"Hyung, what if hackers exploit it before it's patched after you release it?"
"I know. That's why I'll share it only on your security community."
"There could be shady hackers hiding there too..."
"Don't you know who the long-time active IT security company employees are?"
"Yeah, tons of them."
"Give me the nicknames of ones with verified identities. I'll DM them the info."
An Seong-hwan suggested another way.
"No need. Once you become a full member there, you get access to the vulnerability reporting board. Just report it directly there, hyung. Only admins can see it, and they're all IT pros."
"Even better."
"I know. That's why I'm releasing it publicly."
Lee Tae-ho watched from the side, his face full of regret and admiration.
"If you'd left it to me, I could've gotten a few million out of that company instead of letting them have all the honey... and you gave it away for free. Impressive."
Na Gang-in flinched inwardly.
'A few million just for that info? Not a few hundred thousand?'
"Hey, I've got pride. How can I backpedal like that?"
He felt regret too late, but he couldn't flip-flop right after hearing the amount just to save face.
Besides, networking with IT experts was necessary for the future.
"Can't keep gathering info just by web surfing forever. Time to tap into the pros' channels."
Na Gang-in explained to Lee Tae-ho.
"If only one security firm gets the honey, hackers will keep exploiting that vuln on servers worldwide. Better to disclose it."
"Got it. We need to hold those for emergencies so we can use them. I'd only reveal ones right before other hackers figure them out."
Na Gang-in logged into Hemosu, the IT security community where An Seong-hwan was active.
"Ji-in-ah, you checked this place out?"
"You skipped it, huh."
"My hands too slow?"
"Adding 'exactly' means I'm right. You just made excuses for me."
Creating an account on the site was simple. He set his nickname to [Dawn Rabbit].
Provisional members could only access certain boards. To use all boards, you had to become a full member first. The vulnerability reporting board was full members only for posting, and only admins could read it.
"Full member upgrade condition: Post answers in comments to other members' questions ten times? Piece of cake for you. Right, Ji-in-ah?"
"You think like a human, don't you?"
"Then show some human flexibility. You're great at hacking defense. This is defending against hackers too. Sharing here boosts Earth's overall defenses."
Na Gang-in quickly instructed before the AI could change its mind.
"Let's post those comments fast. Ten is the minimum, but exactly ten looks lame..."
He pointed to the Q&A board.
"From here to there. Cover them all."
"Yeah. That's the plan."
A commotion broke out on the boards of the Hemosu security community site.
But it wasn't just one post. While many answers matched known solutions, a few used different methods.
Some of Na Gang-in's answer comments revealed things even full members didn't know.
The Hemosu site had been created by IT security expert Heo Mun-seok using his own funds. It started on a small server he built himself and had grown into a respected name in the industry.
The site required solid basic IT security knowledge to use properly, so average folks didn't even sign up.
Heo Mun-seok checked the dozens of answer comments one by one.
"Just who is Dawn Rabbit? Never heard the nickname."
Only he, as site admin, could approve full memberships. Sub-admins recommended candidates, but he gave final approval.
"Can't deny this level of skill."
Heo Mun-seok approved Dawn Rabbit for full membership.
Back at the PC bang, the AI Jeon Ji-in reported.
"Good. Now we do what we signed up for—to access that full member stuff."
"I know, I know. Hurry up. Do it."