New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 200
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 200. Infrastructure Construction (5)
MS executives visited Korea.
They had visited Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong, and finally stopped by Korea as their last destination.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jung-hoo, Branch Manager of Tiger Fund Korea Branch.”
“I’ve been wanting to meet you at least once. I’ve heard Branch Manager Lee’s name mentioned so many times since we started collaborating with Nexpin. It’s truly a pleasure to meet you. I’m Mark Stevenson, Vice President of MS Asia-Pacific.”
The MS executive team that moved this time consisted of four people in total.
The Vice President, Security Manager, Server Development Manager, and even the Korea Branch Manager.
I personally greeted them at the Gyeonggi-do Data Center construction site and slowly toured the nearly completed facility together.
“Not only this place, but the data center under construction in Gangwon-do will also be completed soon. Additionally, two more locations have just begun construction.”
“…The scale is truly amazing. I’ve never seen facilities with this level of performance and scalability in the Asian region.”
These weren’t just polite words.
The MS inspection team expressed admiration several times while touring the data center.
However, that didn’t mean they would choose Korea as their Asian hub.
“This is a data center with sufficient scale to handle all traffic in the Asian region and more. In terms of performance alone, it’s several times ahead of Singapore or Japan.”
“I acknowledge what you’ve said, but scale and performance aren’t our top priorities. What we consider most important is security. I understand that this center Tiger Fund is building is excellent, but… it hasn’t been proven in an actual operating environment yet.”
As expected, the inspection team brought up security issues.
From their tone, it seemed they had already almost decided which country to make their Asian hub, and it appeared likely to be Singapore, which they had been operating from before.
The larger the company, the more they dislike taking risks.
It was natural for them to be reluctant to change a structure that had been operating stably and well until now.
To change their minds, I first played the government support card.
“We have already secured full cooperation from the South Korean government. Corporate tax reductions, regulatory relaxation, site provision, IT special zone designation, and even priority supply of power infrastructure are all possible.”
“The conditions are quite good. Even if an Asian hub is difficult right now… designating Korea as MS’s official partner country and pursuing various collaborations seems fully worth considering.”
Their intention to simply tie South Korea as a partner country was clear.
Of course, even that alone would be a great help to Korea and Tiger Fund.
But since it was far from the level I wanted, I brought out the most decisive card.
“You seem concerned about security issues, but we have built the highest level security system.
We can fully supplement the areas where MS is currently experiencing difficulties.”
“Hmm… That sounds a bit sensitive. Should I understand this to mean our security system is inadequate?”
“Windows-based hacking incidents have been occurring steadily over the past few years. Even looking at annual statistics, the frequency of hacking attempts and successes is actually increasing.”
The inspection team frowned.
They seemed not to have expected me to touch on such a sensitive area like this.
In reality, MS security was a globally contentious issue, which was also why they placed even more importance on data center security.
“Then I’d like to see it directly. Can I verify with my own eyes what kind of security system is supposedly superior to MS’s?”
“I can only show you the basic things right now. But it should provide sufficient insight.”
The provocation worked perfectly.
The Vice President raised his voice as if agitated, and the other executives continued to watch me with frowning faces.
Calmly receiving their gazes, I took out a laptop from my bag and placed it in front of them.
“What is this?”
“MS server protocols contain quite a lot of legacy code. It’s a structure where old code and newly added code are forcibly patched together, so the gaps created in between haven’t been properly filled. So I completely integrated all those elements and rewrote them into a new structure that removes all gaps and flaws.”
The Security Manager and Server Development Manager said nothing for a while.
Their faces, which had been expressionlessly scanning the code, gradually hardened, then transformed into expressions mixing shock and confusion.
“…Is this really working code?”
“I’ve verified it dozens of times. It’s a method that can fundamentally improve existing vulnerabilities.”
“What about compatibility issues? Is there no possibility of conflicts with existing systems?”
“I’ve already completed testing on multiple versions. If you’d like, you can take this code back to headquarters and verify it directly.”
Both the Security Manager and Server Development Manager couldn’t take their eyes off the code.
However, the Vice President seemed displeased with such reactions and forced a laugh while snapping the laptop shut.
“I’ll admit that security problems have occurred frequently. But we’ve always solved problems through patches and upgrades.”
“The Red Worm and Nimda Worm that occurred in 2001. And the SQL Slammer and Blaster Worm that occurred this year. All of these are problems stemming from legacy system structures that have been passed down from before. Patches are only temporary measures; they don’t solve fundamental gaps.”
The Vice President still wouldn’t bend his position.
He even looked at the Security Manager and Server Development Manager as if asking them to take his side.
Instead, they took my side rather than the Vice President’s.
“Branch Manager Lee Jung-hoo is correct on this point. Unless we completely organize the legacy structure, the same problems will inevitably repeat.”
“I agree as well. If the current structure is maintained, there’s a high possibility that the same vulnerabilities will appear in different forms in the future.”
This was a technical issue, not a political one.
Since technical areas have correct answers, they didn’t cover for the Vice President.
But the Vice President still didn’t properly understand the severity of the situation.
“I admit there are problems. But can’t we just fix them gradually? If it were really that serious, hackers would have already attacked.”
“…Branch Manager Lee. Is it possible to actually attack using this vulnerability?”
The Server Development Manager dropped a bombshell.
If actual hacking was possible, it could escalate into a tremendous problem.
“Theoretically, it’s possible.”
“Do you have a separate local server? Attacking actual MS servers would have legal issues, but testing on Tiger Fund’s internal servers would be fine.”
“If you give permission, I’ll demonstrate it right now.”
I had already conducted experiments multiple times on internal servers.
It was an essential process for discovering vulnerabilities and analyzing structures.
But since I hadn’t expected the MS executives to request an actual demonstration.
I hurriedly called the responsible personnel to instruct them to reset the test environment.
“All preparations are complete. I’ll begin the demonstration immediately.”
“…Please proceed.”
The conference room became so quiet that even breathing couldn’t be heard.
On the laptop screen was a test server configured identically to Tiger Fund’s internal network.
This was a Windows 2000-based server environment, a replicated system with almost no difference from the actual MS structure.
“This is the test internal server. It’s a version where vulnerabilities exist as-is, and firewalls or access controls haven’t been touched at all.”
I called up a simple script and displayed it on screen.
A few lines of code appeared, and I pressed the enter key.
One second of silence.
Soon after, beep-!
An administrator privileges window popped up with a warning sound.
“What just happened?”
The Vice President still couldn’t grasp the situation.
But everyone except him closed their mouths and stared intently at the monitor screen.
The test server’s log window began turning red continuously.
Privilege escalation.
System access.
Registry open.
Service stop.
All operations were being automatically executed every second.
At this sight, the Server Development Manager sighed and turned his head away.
“This is… complete remote code execution.”
“Are you saying it was hacked?”
“…Yes.”
“Is it possible to hack so easily with just typing a few lines?”
“It was possible thanks to the fatal problem of the legacy code structure. When the basic framework is vulnerable, patches can never fill the gaps.”
Only now did the Vice President recognize the severity of the situation.
His previous mocking expression disappeared without a trace, and he poured out questions with a pale face.
“What happens if this vulnerability is revealed to the world?”
“Millions of PCs worldwide would be immediately exposed to danger. It’s a structure where they could be infected instantly if an attacker decided to do so.”
“Have you just been sitting idle about this problem until now?”
“We’ve been investing a lot of personnel to steadily develop patches. But fundamentally, unless we abandon the legacy structure, vulnerabilities will inevitably remain, just changing forms.”
The Security Manager also shook his head.
Though he had expected it, he even let out a sigh at the more serious vulnerabilities than anticipated.
“Sigh, most of the worms and viruses that have emerged so far have targeted this structure. The patches were merely emergency treatments.”
“Then if we apply this new code that Tiger Fund created, will all the problems be resolved?”
“I need to verify more to say for certain, but… from what I’ve seen so far, the possibility of resolution looks very high.”
The Vice President quickly turned his body toward me.
I could see his face, pale as ash as if he was about to cry at any moment.
“…Are there perhaps other vulnerabilities as well?”
“I’ve identified many vulnerabilities, and I’ve already prepared solutions that can resolve all of those vulnerabilities.”
“Could you… could you possibly share those materials right now? The situation is extremely serious. We need to take action as quickly as possible, even if it’s just one day faster, no… even one hour faster.”
It was a shameless request.
He was demanding that I just hand over the solution I had painstakingly discovered and barely created after dozens of verifications.
Of course, it also meant that the Vice President was taking this matter very seriously.
However, that didn’t mean I had any intention of handing over the solution I had worked so hard to create without any conditions.
“We can’t proceed without any discussion, can we?”
“I was too hasty. Please wait just a moment. I’ll contact headquarters right now.”
The Vice President hurriedly took out his mobile phone.
He forcibly calmed his trembling hands and pressed the numbers.
Soon, a familiar voice flowed out through the speaker.
“Chairman, this is the Korea Data Center site. I have something to report. It’s a very urgent matter.”
[What’s the matter? If it’s Korea, are you with Mister Lee?]
“That’s correct. Branch Manager Lee Jung-hoo has discovered a critical vulnerability in Windows… it’s at a serious level.”
It was the Vice President talking with Bill Gates.
The Vice President, with even his upper lip trembling, conveyed everything he had just witnessed without omission.
A moment of silence.
Then the Vice President carefully handed me the mobile phone.
“The Chairman… wants to speak with you directly.”
I took the mobile phone.
Soon after, Bill Gates’ calm yet firm voice came through the mobile phone.
[Mister Lee. I fully understand that this is a serious situation. If possible… could you come to the United States right now?]
“I’ll go right away.”
Things flowed much better than I had expected.
Since Chairman Bill Gates had personally made a request to me, the initiative in negotiations had now completely tilted to my side.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Sovietrev
Could you please continue translating this novel.
Thanks🖤