71: Chapter 71 The Reversal of Cyber Warfare: Luring the Enemy into the Trap
The "Fuxi" prototype's earth-shattering 3.27 seconds were like a bolt of lightning cutting through the night sky, instantly illuminating the path forward for the Dragon Country's information security department.
The phase of passive defense has passed; now it is time for those attackers hiding in the shadows of the network to taste what it feels like to be dominated by a higher-dimensional power.
"Hidden Dragon" Base, Cyber Security Command Center.
The atmosphere was completely different from the heavy, anxious tension of the previous "ten minutes of darkness"; it was replaced by a calm and sharp hunting posture.
Su Xiaowan stood in front of the main console.
On the giant screen behind her, there was no longer a red alarm for passive defense, but a clear global network topology map, where several continuously blinking light spots represented the core sources and springboard nodes of the "Ghost Protocol" attack traffic, which had been reverse-tracked and locked onto by the powerful computing power of the "fuxi."
"The 'fuxi' has already helped us tear away all their disguises."
Su Xiaowan's voice was calm, carrying a hint of murderous intent.
"Now, we clearly know where the attacks are coming from, what paths they take, and we can even roughly infer their command structure."
She looked at the person in charge of active cyber defense beside her: "Is the 'mousetrap' ready?"
A confident smile appeared on the person in charge's face: "Ready! Using the partial enemy communication keys cracked by the 'system' and the vulnerability information we've mastered, we have meticulously forged several seemingly high-value 'targets'—one is a vulnerability entry point disguised as the 'Golden Crow' power grid core control system, and the other is a test data channel disguised as an early, unencrypted Mozi Network."
"We have embedded multiple layers of 'logic bombs' and tracking programs inside. As long as they dare to enter, they will trigger a chain of traps that will not only reverse-inject viruses to paralyze their attack nodes but also firmly lock onto their real IP and physical locations!"
"Very good." Su Xiaowan nodded.
"Deliberately loosen a 'weak link' in our peripheral defense and release the 'bait.' Pay attention, the acting must be realistic; make them feel that they 'worked hard' to find the breakthrough."
As the order was issued, a subtle, seemingly accidental "gap" quietly opened on the "tortoise shell" of Dragon Country's cyber defense.
Inside the Pretty Country Cyber Warfare Command, the continuous setbacks in attacks and the inexplicable paralysis of their intelligence network had plunged the attack team into anxiety and exhaustion.
Suddenly, a monitoring staff member shouted excitedly: "Target found! A defense vulnerability has appeared in the Dragon Country's 'Golden Crow' power grid northeast regional node! It is suspected that a system error caused by long-term isolation has exposed an unencrypted temporary communication port!"
Another person also shouted: "I found one here too! It seems to be a cache area for their Mozi Network test data, and the protection level is not high!"
The news acted like a shot of adrenaline, reinvigorating the almost desperate attackers.
They immediately mobilized the main force of the "Shadow Demon" virus, swarming toward these two "unexpected" breakthroughs like sharks that had smelled blood!
"We've broken in!"
"Downloading data..."
"Found suspected core scheduling instructions..."
The attackers were immersed in the joy of the "breakthrough," but they did not notice at all that every step of their advancement was under the precise prediction and monitoring of the "fuxi."
The "core data" they stole was poisoned bait, meticulously concocted and mixed with a large amount of real, invalid information and deadly traps; the "vulnerability" they thought they had found was actually the entrance to hell.
Just as the majority of the attack traffic flooded into the trap, Su Xiaowan decisively ordered: "Close the net!"
The logic bombs hidden inside the "bait" were instantly detonated!
The first layer, the reverse-injected "Chain" virus, raced up along the attack path, quickly paralyzing several core botnet servers used as springboards.
The second layer, a more covert tracking program, like maggots on bones, firmly adhered to the attack traffic, penetrating layer after layer of proxies, pointing directly to the core command servers and operating terminal physical addresses located within the Pretty Country and several allied countries!
The third layer, based on the enemy communications cracked in real-time by the "fuxi," the Weaving Net AI automatically generated a large amount of false success feedback information, sending it continuously to the attackers to create the illusion that the "attack is still proceeding smoothly," paralyzing the opponent.
Inside the Pretty Country Cyber Warfare Command, the commander watched the false reports of "data downloading" and "permission acquisition successful" constantly appearing on the screen.
Just as a smile appeared on his face, it was interrupted by a sudden, ear-piercing alarm!
"Report! Our springboard server cluster in Lithuania has collectively crashed!"
"Report! The backup channel of the Iceland data center has been subjected to unknown countermeasures, and a large amount of data has been lost!"
"Report! ...We...we seem to have been reverse-locked! The opponent's tracking signal is closing in on our main server!"
The smile on the commander's face instantly froze, replaced by incredulous terror: "How is that possible?! Immediately cut off all connections! Initiate the self-destruct sequence!"
However, it was already too late.
The Dragon Country's counterattack, supported by the "fuxi," was far faster than they had imagined.
Many attack terminals were completely paralyzed by the reverse-injected virus before they could even execute the cut-off command, turning them into information islands.
Even more fatal was that those precisely locked physical addresses had already been transmitted in real-time to Long Zhantian's command console like clear coordinates.
The offensive and defensive momentum of the cyber war was completely reversed at this moment!
The hunter had become the prey that fell into the trap.
Su Xiaowan looked at the light spots on the screen that originally represented attack sources but were now marked as "controlled" or "located," and coldly spat out four words:
"Luring the enemy into the trap, closing the door to beat the dog."