[ wp ] Hacking works like it does in movies . You work for a cyber security firm .

Ever since the widespread adoption of quantum computers, computer security was in a state of constant flux. Old security standards could be broken in mere minutes; new ones were constantly being developed and cracked. The entire infrastructure of the digital world was at risk, and the world was looking for any way to keep their information safe. 
 
 Enter the cybersecurity firm of Haines IV, Xavier, and O'Rielly. Originally a small startup company working from a rented storage unit, H4XOR had quickly become the most prestigious tech business in the world. The founders, now three of the ten richest people on the planet, attributed their success to their motto, which I saw emblazoned in the lobby every morning: 
 
 *The only way to stop a bad hacker with a computer is with a good hacker with a computer. * 
 
 I was one of those good hackers. Or, `` Programmer - Active Security Specialist'', to be technical about it. Basically, we were given access to the systems of anyone who bought our security programs, and in the event of an attempted hack, one or more of us would actively fight back against the invading hacker. It was one of those jobs that was mostly sitting around waiting for something to happen, followed by an hour or two of intense work. 
 
 To deal with the downtime, we had a sort of shift schedule within our typical shifts. Some of us would be on `` Active Duty'', where we simply say and waited for a hack alert to come in. The rest of us would be on `` Reserve Duty'', where we kept our skills sharp by having hacking tournaments, trying to hack each others computers before getting hacked ourselves, but always ready to jump in and help those on Active Duty if needed. The tournaments themselves had no prizes but bragging rights. The day-to-day tournaments gave seeding for the official quarterly tournaments, weekend-long events that brought everyone together all at once. 
 
 I was usually on Active Duty from 1000-1200. I especially liked that shift, because it was late enough that my morning coffee had kicked in, early enough that my mind was n't wandering, and allowed me some warm-up time in the tournaments before facing the real thing. 
 
 It was about 1030 when the hack alert went off. I quickly called up the menu option to patch into the system. In the ten seconds it took to load, I glanced at my leftmost monitor to see what I was working with. 
 
 *Typical, * I thought. *A big bank. Probably some junior in college who just learned about security and thinks she can make a quick buck. Not that easy, kiddo. * 
 
 A ping in my headphones told me I was connected, and my eyes snapped back to my other two monitors. On the right I saw the hacker's progress updates; the middle showed the security program as a whole, dynamically updating to show in real time what the state of the system was. It was the middle screen which took most of my attention, for it was there that I would make my stand. 
 
 I cracked my knuckles and began to type. 
 
 My fingers flew across the keyboard, typing commands, building walls, plugging holes. Quick glances at my right monitor showed me the code that the hacker was attempting to add to our systems to make an override. I had seen code like that before. One of the night shift programmers had beaten me with something similar in the quarterly tournament last June. It really was an ingenious piece of code, but we had spent a solid month developing countermeasures. 
 
 The countermeasures in place, I paused for a moment to stretch and shake out my wrists. I had a few minutes before the hacker would fall into my trap, and I did n't want to go on the offensive too soon. Let them think they're doing well, then hit them from multiple directions, that's the best way to force them to make a mistake. 
 
 A tap on my shoulder knocked me out of my reverie. It was Jess, who sat at the desk opposite mine. We talked a lot while we were on Active Duty together, and would often use each other as practice for the tournaments. 
 
 `` How's the hackin'?'' She asked. 
 
 `` Oh, it's good. Stopping evil, saving the world, typical Tuesday,'' I said with a laugh. `` They're smart though, trying what seems to be their own version of a Davis Hole. Should be finding themselves stuck in about...'' I glanced at the monitor. `` Two minutes. Wan na watch?'' 
 
 `` Sure. Just let me patch in real quick. But remember our deal, if I have to save your ass, I get your tournament seed.'' 
 
 `` Big if,'' I muttered as she settled in at her desk. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I glanced back at the timer. Still two minutes. The hacker had slowed, almost as if.... 
 
 My hands flew back to the keyboard and I began to type once more. The only reason they would slow down at this juncture is if they were expecting some sort of trap. They were certainly clever, but maybe I could force their hand. 
 
 `` What're you trying now?'' Jess's voice came through my headphones. Since she was patched in, we could communicate with each other. 
 
 `` They stopped their Davis, they've got ta know something's up,'' I said quietly, barely hearing myself over the tapping of keys. `` They're just sitting there not doing anything. I'm going proxy, starting an attack at their entry point. Figure they'll either come back to fight me off, in which case I can push back their Davis, or they'll think I have n't gotten to their Davis and fall into the trap.'' 
 
 `` Want me to help? There's something I've been working on that could...'' 
 
 `` Nah, I'm good,'' I cut her off. `` I like my tournament seed, thank you very much. Besides, I'm executing it.... now.'' 
 
 My finger hit Enter, and then everything happened at once. 
 
 My attack on the hacker's entry point started to run, which caused the hacker's program to fight back. Apparently they had included defensive fail-safes to ensure that they would have a way out. Smart, I'll give them credit for that. But then their Davis program split into two, then four. Within seconds, it had become a bomb that would keep dividing on itself, multiplying until it filled the entire system, bursting through the security through sheer force. 
 
 I had seen this type of brute force attack before, early in my security days. It was a last resort attack, hoping that the multiplying programs would break down the security before they could be stopped. In the past it would have worked, but not when there was a H4XOR hacker fighting against it. As I pulled up the procedure that would stop a code bomb like this, I saw the hacker's entry point fade from bright red to dark red to black, then light up in green. They had left. The system was safe. It was over. 
 
 Or so I thought. 
 
 `` Hey,'' I heard Jess's voice, `` Keep a copy of the code bomb, I think I see something in there.'' 
 
 As the system returned to normal, I pulled up the source code for the code bomb. Jess came up behind me. 
 
 `` Scroll through..... There!'' She pointed at a line of code, commented out, something that only we would be able to see. 
 
 *Nicely done. Best two out of three? See you soon....*
