Chapter 14:
Phase 2: finding his vulnerable emotions
who I am is not who I want to be
In the Year 2017, Karma stepped into the City of " Kyoto" intending to take revenge on her Father. To stay unidentified as much as Possible, She dyed her hair and got rid of her long hair. It is the same year when Karma contacted me in August.
Back In July 2017, I received an acceptance letter from an organization that provides training to young hackers. My classes in the training camp of the organization were about to start in December 2017.
When I received that acceptance letter, I uploaded it on the Instagram story as an achievement. I was not able to believe that the acceptance letter has my name written on it. I ran to my Mom and said to her:
" Mom, Can you please read this letter for me?"
My Mom took that Letter from me and started reading it. After reading the Letter, my Mom said:
" Congratulations, Zack. I am so glad that you got selected for the training camp of certified ethical hackers. "
In August 2017, Karma came into my life. I still remember when I received that acceptance letter, I felt as if I won a trophy. The organization of "Cyber Detectives" was providing training under their experts. They had different training camps:
Cyber forensics training camp: A camp for teenagers that will provide training for cyber crime investigation.Cyber Security Analyst training camp: A camp for teenagers that will provide training for protecting a company's network and systems from cyber-attacks.
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) training camp: A camp for teenagers that will provide training for conducting advanced penetration tests on a company's system and identify any breaches or weaknesses in the security setup.
( NOTE: The terms digital forensics and cyber forensics are often used as synonyms for computer forensics. )
Sahu got his training from the Cyber forensics training camp. After completing four years of his training, Sahu started working in that organization. Akane was from the department of Certified Ethical Hacker. (CEH) She was almost at the end of her training, and that data breach happened. She needed one more year to complete her certification, but the organization decided to remove her from the training camp. Saho couldn't see Akane having the title of the certified ethical hacker at such a young age, so he planned a data breach that was against her.
While Karma was stalking me, before contacting me directly, That Instagram story made Akane think of me as a perfect bait. She couldn't let that chance go to waste. She wanted a person who belongs to the organization of 'Cyber Detective' that can let her know about inner matters of the organization. She came in contact with me before I joined the organization, so everything will seem natural. She made me attach to herself so that she can get to know about the inner happenings of the organization and can keep track of her enemies.
The only problem she was facing that how can she use me as a tool for the long term. All the other young hackers she contacted before contacting me weren't proved to be an efficient tool that could be used for longer terms. She came up with the idea of exploitation of human emotions when she found me. She failed to use any other young hacker as her bait. She came to realize that she can't use someone as a tool or bait unless that person's vulnerable emotions are attached to her.
In the Past, She became her father's tool as her vulnerable emotions were attached to Mr.Manzo. Her father was able to use her as a tool for the long term because her feelings were attached to him.
Karma started to connect everything that happened in her past and concluded that her brain was exploited by her Father. Every human is just a hackable machine. Once vulnerabilities of any human are Exposed, a human can be Exploited easily.
She concluded that to make any human your order obeying machine for the long term. The human must pass through the Five phases of hacking:
1. Reconnaissance 2. Scanning 3.Gaining Access 4.Maintaining Access5. Clearing Tracks
She started implementing all the phases on me. She started from Hacking Phase 1: Reconnaissance. She gathered all the information about me in the first Phase. In simple words, Reconnaissance means gathering information. This time she invested time in her targeted machine Zack. She does not saw me as Zack but as a Hackable machine. She spent five months for completing Phase 1: Reconnaissance.
( NOTE: Reconnaissance refers to the preparatory phase for hacking in which an attacker gathers as much information as possible about the target before launching the attack. )
After the attachment of five months, She stepped toward Phase 2: Scanning. To be more Precise, After I became attached to her and She had gathered my information, she stepped toward finding my emotional weaknesses.
When I talk about finding Psychological Weaknesses, I mean scanning. Gaining the person's trust first; only then will they begin to feel comfortable enough to share information that may be of use. She exactly did that. She did not jump to any conclusion after gathering my information but, Continue to Slowly figure out that what makes me emotionally weak.
( NOTE: Scanning is the stage in which the attacker uses the details gathered during reconnaissance to scan the vulnerabilities. Scanning is a logical extension of active reconnaissance, and in fact, some experts do not differentiate scanning from active reconnaissance. )
I was not aware at all. I was oblivious to the fact that Karma is finding my weaknesses to exploit me. Humans are naturally emotive creatures, so we tend to appeal to our emotions more than rational facts. I am the same as most humans. The best way to figure out the psychological weaknesses of humans is to figure out what they are afraid of and what they love.
Karma made her friendship stronger with me. She invested her time in our friendship and figured out that what my vulnerable emotions. Everything was going normal till she ended Phase 2: Scanning. The duration she spent on Phase 2: Scanning was almost a year.
Akane taught me many tricks for hacking. Although she was not able to complete her training as a certified ethical hacker still she was extraordinary. She knew about a variety of tools just like an expert.
Akane was just like wealth for me. I always considered my friends and family my wealth. I could never imagine losing one of my friends. It was like losing my wealth. Akane became my dearest friend. She became my emotional vulnerability. My biggest weakness was "Akane Toru."
She had no blank space left in her heart for new people and new emotions. She wasn't emotionally attached to me. It was only me who was emotionally attached to her. Space in Akane's heart was already filled with revenge. She was hollow and empty from emotions. She filled that emptiness with other people's pain.
I used to be pretty expressive whenever she was around me. I couldn't help it. There was no way that my emotional vulnerabilities could stay hidden from her. It was a piece of cake for her to find that my emotional weaknesses are attached to her.
Bingo!!!
She found out that she is her bait's emotional vulnerability. She didn't move to the next stage after finding my weaknesses. She stayed with me and spent some time with me. The more time I spent with her. The more vulnerable I became to her.
All the time, I was thinking that day by day, our friendship is becoming stronger. Akane was getting nicer to me.
She brought me handmade lunch so many times. Every Saturday, she started to bring lunch for me.
At a festival of the new year, she came to me in a rush. She was breathing heavily and gave me sushi.
I asked her if she has made it on her own.
She said:
" It does not seem fair that You are asking whether if I have made it or not. I wasted my 3 hours making this sushi for you. "
I said to her:
"There is no doubt in it. Obviously, You made it on your own. I was just kidding."
After eating that sushi, I said to her:
" WOW!!
You must have put a lot of work into this.
Thank you for doing all that. It really does remind me of the sushi that my Mom made. "
It made me feel so special whenever she brought anything for me. It almost felt as if she has learned to cook from some expert.
(Features of Zack Erwin:
Height: 5'9''
Skin Tone: Beige
Characteristics of skin tone: Light or fair skin, can freckle and can become light tan after repeated sun exposure (but the risk of getting a sunburn or skin peeling is high)
Hair: He had Auburn (reddish) hair and was a little bit Electrified.
Hair Texture: Soft and lush
Descriptive Hair Color: Auburn (reddish)
Eye: Earthy/ brown: The word “earthy” is associated with accessibility, being down to earth, and most importantly, the color brown. If you are also describing a person whose eyes seem kind, this can also be the most appropriate word to use.
Cheeks: delicately timid cheeks
Chin: Pointy Chin
Jaw: Triangular jawline
Nose: Turned-Up Nose )
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