Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 122 - Know Thy Enemy

“This Shruti is really something.” Shehnaaz was impressed. “It’s not easy to crack the GSAT-7 system’s
channel coding.”

“Hehe, I’d be impressed too if she really cracked it from scratch.” Rohit shook his head is disdain. “It’s almost
a shame that she wasn’t able to.”

Shehnaaz caught onto his implication. “Brother Rohit, did you figure out something?”

“Yes.” Rohit sent Deepak the data on Shruti that the Special Ops had unearthed. “Look for yourself. Before she left for abroad, Shruti participated in the development of the GSAT-7 system under her mentor at T University. Although she wasn’t involved in the crucial components, she was able to understand the basic process and the general framework, as well as the coding rules. Additionally, the coding rules of the GSAT-7 system and the European Copernicus are the same in regards to their compatibility purposes.”

Deepak replied from the other side, “As far as I know, this lab at Harvard’s School of Engineering was able to crack the channel coding of the Copernicus Global Satellite Navigation System system six months ago. With the help of a GSAT-7 ‘insider,’ it’s not a surprise that they were able to figure out the pattern in the GSAT-7’s pseudo random passwords.”

Shehnaaz pat her heart in great relief. “That’s good, that’s good. I was really afraid that we were up against a genius here.”

“Yeah, right! Some genius. She was just a labourer.” Rohit opened the MATLAB software on his compter,

“See, they send test signals to the GSAT-7 system everyday, and when the signal is received, they import the data into their MATLAB for calculations.”

“According to his, they should be able to completely crack the code in no time.” Shehnaaz made an estimation with the amount of data and computing power of MATLAB, her face completely serious. “Uncle Sid, you musn’t use the GSAT-7 system again.”

Sidharth sat in front of the computer and moved the mouse with one hand, while the other was draped on the back of his chair. He appeared much more relaxed now.

“Sana, we really owe you this time.”
His voice traveled from the speakers, his deep tones flowed into her ears and burrowed deep inside her heart.

Her ears were tingling and she couldn’t help pinching her earlobes to soothe the feeling. She smiled. “Uncle Sid, I’m so happy to be able to help you guys,” she added, “Will you contact the India to change the channel coding for GSAT-7? Will it be a great loss?”

Deepak replied indignantly, “The biggest loss was to our operation; we fell right into the enemy’s trap. Other
than this, it’s not a big deal. The GSAT-7 civilian password was originally meant to be freely accessible to everyone anyway. But, whether the password was given or stolen, that’s a different matter.”

Shehnaaz snapped her fingers.”I got it! It’s like the neighbor got ahold of our wifi password and leeched off our internet?”

This was a fair analogy. Deepak and Rohit chuckled. “Yes, yes! That’s it! Greedy neighbors stealing our wifi! Such sh*tty neighbors!”

Shehnaaz giggled along with them, but she understood what Deepak had left unsaid—the true reason why he was so upset. Even though Shruti had led this
American group in cracking the civilian password, it still involved certain coding rules. It would’ve been disastrous if the Americans had gotten ahold of the India’s coding rules because Sidharth hadn’t figured it out in time. This was no small blow.

“This is a serious matter.” Sidharth did not join in their joking, but pointed at the data analysis on the monitor.

“They certainly won’t be able to crack the military password, because I was the one to create it. Of course, even the most complex password can be cracked if there’s a leak like this.”

Deepak and Rohit quickly nodded in
agreement. “Cracking the civilian password was a leak to begin with!”

If Shruti’s team took the credit for cracking the password, Rohit would be the first to challenge it.

Had she ask her father for permission to do this? Or had she asked her mentor?

“The data indicates that Shruti’s father is the director of the Indian H Provincial Police Department. That’s why she was able to have the opportunity to be involved in the
GSAT-7’s research and development when she was merely a junior undergraduate student.” Rohit angrily
tapped his fingers while reading the results from the Special Ops.

Sidharth looked at him through the webcam. “I’ve already ordered the special team of the 6th Military Region to investigate the overseas relations of all the research and development personnel for the GSAT-7 system. It will be on the record, just in case. As for Classmate Brala’s father, he’s no longer suitable to hold the position of provincial police department director.” Sidharth had issued an order to the national committee. “The military will investigate him and strip him of his rank.”

One problem was solved, but another emerged. Without the support of the GSAT-7 system, Sidharth’s operation
was now exponentially more difficult. There were still four targets to eliminate, but they had no leads yet. Without the guidance and locating functions of the GSAT-7 system, they
might as well have been deaf and blind. Deepak and Rohit were troubled; Sidharth discratedly lit a cigarette.

Shehnaaz watched them and noted the low morale. She said quietly, “Brother Deepak, get Uncle Sid a coffee. It’s not good to smoke so much.”

Sidharth heard Shehnaaz carefully remind him. He held the cigarette and knocked the desk several times before lighting it and ignoring her request. He calmly inhaled and blew out a ring of white smoke.

Shehnaaz pouted when he didn’t listen to her. She looked over to Deepak. “Brother Deepak, how is the operation
going?”

“That’s what we’re worried about. If it comes down to no other option, we’ll just have to power through.” Deepak ruffled his hair in frustration. He hadn’t been able to rest at all the past few days—there were bruises under his eyes and stubble growing on his chin.

Shehnaaz had been thinking about this problem ever since she’d considered the possibility that the GSAT-7 was being hacked. Now that she understood the research and development process, as well as the coding rules, she had a bold thought.

“Uncle Sid, Brother Deepak, how about this?” Shehnaaz coughed lightly to get their attention. “We can’t use the GSAT-7 system because we don’t want the Americans to track us. But, what if we used the Copernicus system instead?”

The European Copernicus system was developed before the GSAT-7 system and because of various reasons, it was limited to use in Europe even now. It did not have global coverage, unlike the GSAT-7 system. However, Sidharth’s mission was being carried out in Europe, so they only needed a navigation system for the continent itself.

“Use the Copernicius system?” Deepak jerked his head up, “That’s a good idea! However, we need to crack its code
first, then hack into it like the Americans did with our GSAT-7 system. Then we can use it for ourselves!”

“Crack the Copernicius’ code? Do you have time?” Rohit asked sarcastically.

“The team in Harvard took nearly six months and even had the aid of a spy. Do we have that long?”

Deepak was discouraged again.

Shehnaaz looked at the solemn faced Rohit, then the dejected Deepak, and finally the impassive Sidharth. She raised her hand bashfully. “Let me try, I should be able to crack the Copernicus code in one day and night.”

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I hope you enjoy reading it.
Love you all.