False Security

The story about exploiting human nature, and transforming it all into a lucrative career.

Dedicated to My Friend Shaun Thexton

"Good Morning, you have reached The Royal Bank. This is Director of Security Jack Longs office. How may I help you?"

I had heard the plan. I have absolutely no faith in it. But sure enough, b******s doing it.

I lit a cigarette with a wooden match. Thex reached over and took it for himself.

"Thanks bro!" He smiled as he took a long drag of the smoke.

I repeated my steps and lit another cigarette.

"Yes hello, good morning, my name is John Smith. I am an independent contractor in IT security. I am calling to inform Mr. Long there is a substantial weakness in his security method. And I am offering my services..." Thex smiled at me and his smooth as caramel bullshitting was working, firing on all cylinders. 

"So you said its a weakness?" The receptionist asked

"It is a vulnerability. Yes. Please pass along my message and my contact information. Tell him I can provide proof if that is necessary." Thex ashed his cigarette out. "Thanks a million Donna, you have a great day as well..." He smiled as he hung up the phone.

"Come over here and take a look at this. I did a little research on this big shot Mr. Long. You know how much money he made last year?" He stared in my eyes.

"I have no idea?" I responded

"3 and a half million dollars. And tomorrow morning I am going to cripple him with less then 50$ of hardware. Don't you think a guy like that could use a guy like me?" He laughed.

"So were you lying about the vulnerability?" I asked him genuinely.

"Absolutely not. You see my young friend, the issue with "Security" is there is nothing fool proof. There is always a back door. My art comes from the fact that I can pinpoint exactly which one of those doors to check." He smiled and did some writing in his black Moleskin notebook. I always wondered what he could possibly write so often about but I could never snoop. Also, I am certain I could not comprehend it either way.

We arrived at the closest Royal Bank to our house. It was 8:52AM when we parked.

"So, welcome to the bank. This particular bank opens in 8 minutes. And they have a staff of approximately 14 people. What are at least 10 of those 14 people going to do within 2.5 minutes of walking into that office?" He asked me.

"Well the people that have a coffee with them are going to sit down at their desks and...Turn on their computers?" I said.

"Yes! What a smart boy you are wow. Yes, they are all going to turn on their computers.

Thex pulled his sleeve back to check his watch. 

"8:57? Follow me son, it is now or never..." Thex opened his door and reached under his seat pulling out a bulging, sealed manilla envelope. He tore the top off of it. 

Now at this time in 2007, almost all banks were equipped with glass doors and within the door was a slot for paper mail and cheques and what not to be deposited after operating hours. Beyond those glass doors was the bank of ATM machines and beyond that was the curtain that sectioned off the remainder of the bank.

"Here, grab one. You know what these are?" Thex asked and I looked down at something familiar but I could not name it.

"These are USB flash drives. And I have written a program that has only one flaw in itself...I need someone to plug that program directly into a computer in the bank..." Thex emptied the USB flash drives, must have been 20 of them all identical, all over the banks clean floor through the mail slot. Thex said lets go back to the car and wait now.

As we watched the clock reach 9:00 AM, we watched in amazement as one by one, each and every single employee picked up a flash drive as they entered the building.

"S**t, we gotta get home. I need to be on my computer right away!" Thex smiled and peeled out of the Royal Bank lot.

As each unsuspecting bank worker plugged in the mysterious USB stick, the confusion started. Nothing was loading and eventually the screen was totally frozen. Every single PC in the building was locked. Thex had disabled a major bank with next to nothing. Before they even got the day off the ground!

At 9:13 the phone began ringing.

"Hello, Mr. Long I presume?" Thex was on top of the world. His smooth operating had worked exactly as he had foreseen.

"We need to resolve whatever this is immediately Mr. Smith! I can not have this infringing on regular business. And I can have no report getting out either. How much do you want? Just name it." Mr. Long was desperate. 

"I want a job Mr. Long. I want a suit, and an office. I want to make your bank stronger. But there is a simple passcode that will by pass the freeze and send everything back to normal. For that passcode, How about $100K?

2 weeks later Thex was dressing up in a brand new suit. We had cereal for breakfast and talked about baseball. He got up to finally leave when I stopped him.

"So Thex, I guess this means no matter what we think, we are never truly safe?" I asked him.

He smiled and grabbed my cheek.

"No my son. This means that sometimes in life you need to make your own breaks, and that we can always be stronger. And most importantly, do not let arrogance decide your fate. Nobody is perfect. No program completely secure. And those USB drives should be all you need to see to understand human behavior. Predictability = Insecure.

This amazing story is based on very real events. I have shaped it and added for context and laid it out in my own creation but I had a brilliant friend in my life that came up with this idea and went through with it. And he actually did land himself a very plush job as a result of it. My advice? Do not ever plug a USB stick into any PC unless you opened it from the package. They cost next to nothing and all it takes is some scum to write a malicious enough code and store it on there and your computer will get a grand slapping.

Author's Note

I am quite a novice writer. I know I need a lot of lessons on formatting and punctuation and blending ETC.
This is based on true events and I found it difficult to add much to the true story it almost felt wrong? Like lying. Anyhow, thank you so much for your time and I hope someone enjoyed it.

Ty