Freeman logged into the Dark Maven forum. He was looking for additional mods for further Colossal Machine exploitation. The developers had patched the game after that nasty dragon attack. Perhaps that was a bit too much, Freeman chuckled. But if the community was in an uproar after that last attack, they won’t be too happy with my next move. Freeman thought.
Still, Freeman thought he should have been subtler; dragons were not supposed to be released until the full expansion this spring. Freeman didn’t want the Colossal Machine’s game player monitors to go after him anymore than they already had. He didn’t see any mods that he could use, and he was about to give up on the whole idea when he saw another, more interesting post from a founder member that read:
Need help from fellow Dark Maveners. For anyone interested in exploiting some code for a popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), contact me. All necessary mods provided. I will pay services in Digibit.
Freeman was interested in exploiting the MMORPGs. I wonder if someone is targeting the Colossal Machine. Freeman typed up a message and posted to the hacking forum, introduced himself by listing his many hacking achievements, including his most recent attacks on the Colossal Machine, and describing the attack with the dragon. He also included his hacker handle: FreemanRising. He also suspected that the operator of the Dark Maven boards would be online, since it was very early in Hawaii. With any luck, Freeman would have some time to collect on the bounty before school resumed the following Monday.
Another chat promising mods linked to a shady-looking site with a black background and dark-blue and red text throughout. There were several links embedded in the website with friendly names like “Mods to make you a G-d” and “Subvert the System,” so he had to be careful. Freeman was careful not to hover over any link. He knew it was possible for malicious code to execute, even by just hovering his cursor over a link.
Not going to fall for this trick.
Freeman pulled up the developer mode on the MORP browser. Since all browsers used the hypertext markup language (HTML), he was able to examine each tag, element, and reference for any signs of compromise. He noticed that all data was removed for each hypertext referral (HREF) attribute link. This meant that Freeman couldn’t see the source address for each link. To do this, he had to copy the link then use a URL analyzer tool. He preferred to use a tool called “MaliciousTotal” because it was the one most used by security researchers. When he copied the URL, it came back with a score of 83/100, which meant that 83 percent of sites reported the link as malicious. That list had findings from several prominent anti-virus and anti-malware software companies, so Freeman was sure that the link was bad. Sometimes the analysis was poor, so he performed several verification steps to be sure.
Freeman heard a chime from one of his open MORP windows. It was a message from the Dark Maven site administrator.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Welcome, FreemanRising!
We’ve been tracking your online gaming hacking exploits for some time, and we are impressed. However, before we entrust you with the zero-day exploit for the Colossal Machine, we need you to do a coding test. To facilitate this, you will perform a hack that FreemanRising claimed. You must respond within sixty minutes of the receipt of this message.
Regards,
The Dark Maven Team
Freeman replied the moment he read the message. A few minutes after he replied, he received encrypted code fragments he first needed to decrypt. He used his encryption checker to see which level of encryption he was up against; knowing the encryption algorithm was helpful if he ever needed to brute force the encryption; he didn’t like this option, however, because it took a lot of time and resources to perform. A text-based file named “riddle_me_decrypt” was attached to the message. Freeman opened the file. The message read:
I am a lock with only one key.
Vast amounts of entropy you’ll see.
A message pad will align with me.
What Am I?
Toward the end of the file, in a smaller font, additional instructions were provided:
Click the following link and provide your answer.
Freeman clicked the link. The webpage it took him to had a black background with blue and red text, three blank boxes, and a single line of instruction that read: Enter three words for your answer. Freeman noticed a timer in red text counting down. The current readout was 121 seconds.
How long has that been there?
Freeman’s mind was racing. This was supposed to be a concept based on a gaming hack he had performed, but he couldn’t think of one. His mind was blank.
A loud clacking sound emanated from his browser. Large red numbers appeared, displaying 60 . . . 59 . . . 58. Less than a minute remained. The only hack that was similar involved a certificate from a web-based game called DuneScape. He had forged the certificate using a text file he had undeleted from the game’s web servers. Large red letters displayed the number 30, along with more loud beeping noises.
Then it came to him.
He typed three words in the boxes provided:
ONE TIME PAD.
He finished typing the final word and held his breath as web page went blank. After several seconds, a message appeared: Please wait while we authenticate. A minute later, the screen was still blank, and he was becoming so frustrated that he wanted to punch the screen of his laptop. Finally, the words ANSWER SUCCESSFULLY AUTHENTICATED appeared on his screen.
Now what?
As if on cue, a video of a man wearing an ornate metal mask appeared. The video was grainy and warped, as though it had been taped on some old VCR. Freeman’s eyes were drawn to the symbols and markings on the mask. There were also spikes on the mask’s forehead. Behind the man, it looked like there were several men dancing around a campfire with some goats.
What kind of screwed up shit is this?
“Hello, Freeman, I’m Lord Aldoor. I’m pleased that you solved my easy riddle. I had expected you to solve it sooner than you did, but you had to be sure, right?”
This is creepy!
“Are you ready for me to turn up the heat? You should be used to it, since you live in the tropics. Say hello to Ohana Joe for me!”
Freeman’s heart sank. He’d used the hacked Wi-Fi at Ohana Joe’s Coffee Shop only once.
How does he know where I live?
“You will be happy to know that you passed the test; now listen. A brown-and-red burner phone will be waiting for you at the bottom of a rubbish bin at the corner of King and Birch streets in Honolulu tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. We will place it inside of a bag with a dancing donut on it. Do not arrive early or late. I need you there at four o’clock,” Lord Aldoor said.