Super God-Level Top Student-Chapter 922 - 349: Twilight of the Empire (Part 1)_2

But according to the law of conservation of happiness, when some people feel happy, there are bound to be others who are less content. Even if that happiness will eventually need to be returned, at this moment, someone is inevitably in trouble.

This time, the department in trouble is Data Security and Protection.

While most departments were in a semi-operational state, they were met with not a high-profile but an exceptionally stringent audit.

Stringent because it was conducted by professionals.

Data security and protection itself is a highly specialized field.

This department was usually not heavily emphasized—not because Langley didn't value data security, but quite the opposite; precisely because of their heightened focus on safety, they established a multitude of protocols and measures, including the physical isolation of critical confidential information and strict access controls...

They even spent tens of millions of US Dollars collaborating with security protection companies to design a complete set of intelligent security strategies.

Of course, whether the tens of millions of US Dollars were fully allocated to this project is not up for discussion.

With those measures in place, the need for meticulous monitoring of human-operated processes became less urgent. As long as the staff responsible for monitoring at the grassroots level followed the pre-established workflows, the likelihood of a data leak was virtually eliminated.

Even under less stringent circumstances, problems were generally rare.

After all, this is the birthplace of Earth's technology.

From hardware to software, everything came from the company's proprietary systems, making it exceptionally difficult for outsiders to steal data.

Especially since truly classified information, while still stored in devices, is physically isolated. To access it, one must navigate a labyrinth of cumbersome procedures. Without approval, one can't even step through the doors leading to the equipment.

Even with said approval, unauthorized access to data is impossible. Only the specific content stipulated in the application file can be retrieved, and all operations are logged and backed up for immediate review. Theoretically, leaks should be almost nonexistent.

But now that confirmed reports of leaked information have arisen, an investigation into the adequacy of these security measures becomes inevitable.

This includes George Garcia and his colleagues.

In fact, their work is inherently the most vulnerable segment of the entire process, especially as falsified records are often easy to identify.

...

"Mr. Garcia, please have a seat."

"I don't quite understand—why call me over at this time?"

"Alright, relax. Allow me to introduce myself first. You can call me John, from the Security Division. Today is just a routine audit of security operations. As long as everything is handled according to standard procedures, this will be over quickly. I just need you to casually answer a few questions to ensure authenticity. Which college did you graduate from?"

"Brooklyn College's Computer Science Department."

"See? Very smooth..."

"Honestly, there's no need for all this preamble. Just ask directly whatever you want. I've been through numerous audits—I understand your style very well. And you're younger than me; I can tell you've been on the job for only a few years, right? How did you get into this department? A well-connected father?"

John Belushi glanced at George Garcia briefly, chuckling... A not-so-old yet seasoned veteran.

Nonetheless, he decisively cut to the chase: "Alright then, George. Can you tell me about your work? For instance, do you perform your duties diligently?"

"Of course, but I don't see the necessity. All our work is thoroughly recorded and logged, strictly adhering to operational protocols."

"Alright. I believe you. As I said, it's just a routine audit. Here's the first question: Please tell me the security response procedure for handling firewall alerts."

"Hmm, the first step is to immediately assess the alert type—first determining whether the alarm is genuine, then promptly categorizing and logging the type of alert. The second step is isolation and damage control—which involves isolating the affected systems immediately and restricting network access permissions. Step three is promptly notifying internal departments and activating the emergency response team..."

George Garcia immediately began reciting the regulations that he had long memorized.

Assessment, restriction, response, and next comes technical investigation—especially this step, the most intricate of all. Following standard procedures, it requires a complete examination of system and network log files to detect any abnormal activities or signs of intrusion; then conducting discussions and analysis to identify intrusion pathways, pinpoint vulnerabilities or configuration errors, understand the attacker's intentions, and analyze their methods...

These are then fully documented and handed over to the team in charge of repairing and cleaning up, culminating in a final summary report.

A complete operational procedure ends here.

Theoretically, every firewall alert should be handled this way.

"Recently, specifically on September 26, September 28, and September 29, the firewall system triggered traffic anomaly alerts each day. We reviewed your work logs and found that your assessment marked all three as false alarms. Can you confirm that you performed evaluations and confirmations as per protocol?"

"Of course."

"Good. Now take a look—this is the compliance review for your department's daily operations and response history during incidents. What's your assessment of this report?"

With those words, a report was handed over.

George Garcia took the report, began flipping through it, and his face gradually turned pale.

Time and time again, it's been proven—there's no falsification that can't be uncovered; it only depends on how thorough the investigation is.