Insecuring Security

General
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CALMIRÍË, ELIÉRA - Addressing current extranet rumors in a press conference given outside the Fortress today, a Daríë Qanlídár, speaking for the Imperial Security Executive, was unable to confirm or deny whether the JADE NEEDLE program - in any form described by the rumors - or indeed any usage of that cryptonym exists, has existed, or is planned to exist in the future.

For those who have not encountered this particular rumor, JADE NEEDLE is supposedly a sophisticated artificially intelligent worm developed by the Counterespionage and Counterasymmetrism Directorate and licensed to developers of slates, dataplaques, and other portable terminals. The JADE NEEDLE remains dormant within the security subsystem of such devices until an attempt to make use of data extraction software or perform a hardware security bypass is detected, at which point JADE NEEDLE activates. Once activated, it counterpenetrates the attacking host, both preventing successful data access by the hostile device and infecting-converting it into a zombie device accessible and controllable at will by ISS External Security Directorate.

It is unusual for the Imperial Security Executive to issue any statement regarding such rumors. From this, you must draw your own conclusions.

- Eye on Infosec, 7248 Calencail 4 ed.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://eldraeverse.com/2025/10/07/insecuring-security
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Outside “the Fortress”?

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The unnecessarily melodramatic - from its blank basalt walls to its eye-and-tentacle-carved lintels - headquarters of the ISS.

Maybe I’ll talk about it someday.

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No, that’ll be redacted for reasons of state security.

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Don’t most Eldrae think that “unnecessarily melodramatic” is a contradiction in terms?

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Well, that should give you an idea as to how far over the top the architect bothered to go, right?

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Huh. I could see many Eldraic entities wanting that kind of security available to them. Ring Dynamics, Probable Tech, crud, anyone working on things that they need to keep highly secure for various reasons.

And you got an official Glomar Response out of ImpSec, to boot? Definitely using something to the effect of those rumors.

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You don’t need to go that far to find a market. Let’s just say that the modal citizen-shareholder takes their right to “be secure in their … papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures” as our fourth amendment puts it, very seriously.

While recognizing the irony involved in JADE NEEDLE, the thought of a terminal designed to deliver pain to anyone invoking their “you don’t have any civil rights within 500 miles of a border, peasants” rule warms the cockles of a whole lot of hearts.

(Side note: the previous version of many secure data devices, designed without ISS input, had a simpler mechanism that, when unauthorized intrusions were detected, used the reserve power cell to turn the diamondoid substrate of the device into a large cloud of carbon dioxide and a small structural fire.

That wasn’t very popular with snoopers, either, especially those unlucky enough to be holding one at the time.)

1 Like
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Oddly enough, I suspect that system is still in use, just cued after the JADE NEEDLE fires.