Chapter 271
Chapter 271
I said with a sigh.
“It would be quicker to find the source of the leak and prove it.”
said Sergei.
“Right now, we are continuously checking to see if there was a connection to the server by hacking or an illegal route.”
“How likely are you?”
Ryan shook his head.
“Close to zero. All security is working normally. If there was a fraudulent connection, there would be a record.”
Taek-gyu nodded his head as if he understood.
“Well. If you delete the record, there will be a record that you deleted it.”
Karos originally started out as a company that made operating systems that control cars, including autonomous driving. As such, he has been thoroughly managing security issues.
If that had really happened, I wouldn’t have noticed it until now.
Technology is not over once developed. Karos’ autonomous driving technology is still evolving with machine learning and big data.
You can clone and sell Windows, but you can’t make updates or next versions. It would be difficult to guarantee that there were no problems during the copying process.
But China has a huge market of 1.5 billion. If Zhou starts mass-producing self-driving cars just like us and creates big data across China, it is highly likely to become a threat.
If technology leaks are true, we can’t stand still.
said Sergei.
“Even if the technology was copied, the price would be a problem.”
Even if you can make a car exactly like Karos, you can’t make it cheaper than that. If we hadn’t worked with Suseong Electronics, we wouldn’t have been able to offer the vehicle at the current price. Perhaps in terms of production cost alone, it will be more than 30% more expensive than ours?
However, from the point of view of Zhou tea, there is no problem even if it is sold at a loss.
“Because the Chinese government will support it.”
Even if it sells at a loss, it is enough if the government subsidizes it. From the perspective of the Chinese government, if it can take the lead in autonomous driving, it can spend trillions of won.
I leaned my back on the chair and fell asleep.
How did Zhou Cha steal Karos’ skills? And how can you prove it?
At that moment, something flashed in front of my eyes.
“… … .”
What is this? Does it have anything to do with the current situation?
When I woke up, everyone was staring at me. In the eyes of others, it would have seemed as if I was staring blankly into the air instead of talking.
I said calmly.
“Ah! I was thinking for a while.”
Taek-gyu smiled meaningfully as if he had noticed.
I asked Ryan.
“What kind of server do you use for Karos?”
“It’s a super nano.”
did you too?
“Is this a famous company?”
Taegyu said.
“It’s a Chinese server manufacturer. These days, I use a lot of the motherboard when setting up my computer.”
Ryan nodded his head.
“Yes. It is the largest server manufacturer in China.”
“What other company is using that server besides us?”
“Nplay, Gubble, AMZ, Face Note, etc. It would be quicker to ask which companies are not using it.”
Until just 10 years ago, Super Nano was only a small and medium-sized company in China. But at some point, it began to grow rapidly.
Most of the sales are generated by B2B and are supplied to companies and government offices around the world.
Some have excellent stability, but the biggest advantage is that the price is 20% cheaper than other companies. Super Nano used this price competitiveness as a weapon to dominate the server market.
But there is a spy chip on the server they made there?
As the name suggests, it is probably a device that secretly attaches to a device and extracts information. Could it be that you took away our technology with that?
I said with a tired look.
“I just arrived and I am a little tired. I take a 30-minute break and do it.”
“Okay.”
The staff led us to the break room. After confirming that no one was there, Taek-gyu immediately asked.
“Are you awake?”
I nodded and asked.
“Do you know what a spy chip is?”
“Something like a backdoor?”
Backdoor.
It’s literally the back door. In buildings where security is important, CCTV and door locks are installed at the front door to prevent outsiders from entering at will, and security guards protect them.
It is difficult for unauthorized people to enter, and if they break in, evidence will remain.
But what if the architect who built the building made an invisible back door without the owner’s knowledge and had the key?
“If you go through a backdoor, you can access the operating system or programs as much as you want, or leave no evidence, right?”
“right. You can sneak in through a window you accidentally open on the first floor, but that’s just a security loophole.”
The difference between the two is whether the developer has intentions or not.
“Is that even possible with hardware?”
“Perhaps it is possible.”
Taehyung asked me.
“What the hell did you get foreshadowing?”
I told Yeji I had just seen, and Taek-gyu was surprised.
“What? Is that real?”
“First of all, we need to check if Yeji is right.”
This is usually not a big deal.
If it turns out to be true, wouldn’t it be possible to blow it up properly?
The meeting started again, and I said to Ryan.
“First, we need to find the source of the leak. Check all the company server rooms and data centers.”
“I checked it several times and there was no problem. Hacking is impossible.”
I shook my head.
“Look at the hardware, not the software. Are there any unnecessary chips inserted in the server parts supplied by Super Nano?”
Everyone was surprised by my words.
“What… … ?”
“Are you suspicious of the backdoor?”
In fact, the controversy over backdoors in Chinese IT companies has not ceased for a long time. Intelligence agencies around the world are concerned about this and have banned the use of Chinese-made telecommunication equipment and electronic devices.
However, the reality has never been clearly discovered. Even if something comes out, it is bound to escape because it is a security loophole or a mistake in the distribution process.
Since it cannot be said that I saw it as foreknowledge, I attached a suitable reason.
“I can’t reveal the source, but I’ve heard some stories. Check it out.”
You have to shut down the server to take it apart and check it out. There is a backup server, so there should be no problem if you check them sequentially.
Ryan didn’t seem to believe me very much, but he faithfully followed my instructions. Inspection started immediately.
* * *
We washed and unpacked at a nearby hotel.
Taek-gyu asked.
“If you have already stolen Karos’ autonomous driving technology, why did you propose a joint venture with various conditions? Are you going to take out the OTK battery technology too?”
“It won’t be there, but… … .”
Wasn’t it necessary to justify that they received or developed technology in a normal way?
If the technology and know-how had been learned in the process of the joint venture, no one would have doubted even if the results were similar.
But since we rejected it, did we just wrap it up with our own technology and release it?
While I was talking to Taek-gyu, I got a call from an unknown number.
I pressed the call button.
[Where are you now?]I know who you are just by hearing your voice.
I gladly replied.
“This is Detroit. Long time no see, President.”
[Why did you come without a word?]“Because of work. I couldn’t contact you because I was in a hurry.”
[How long are you going to be there? Now that you’ve come this far, why don’t you take a look at your face?]“I will see you at the White House soon. I have something to tell you.”
[I wonder what you’re talking about.]“I will meet you and tell you.”
If the spychip turns out to be true, there will be quite a lot to talk about.
Ronald said with a smirk.
[haha! Just talk before you come. I will open a state welcome event with hospitality.]“Oh, thank you.”
My hands and feet shrivel just thinking about it. Don’t ever tell me in advance.
While Ryan and the tech team were tearing apart the Super Nano server and inspecting each one, I called Zhou Cha’s Vice Chairman Wang Yi-Chang.
He welcomed my call.
[Nice to meet you, CEO Kang Jin-hoo.]After that, the call was made through an interpreter over there.
“I enjoyed Zhou Cha’s presentation. Congratulations on the new car launch.”
[no. We still have a long way to go to follow Karos.]“It was a pity that the last meeting ended early. I want to see you one more time. When are you free?”
Is it because you think that you want to meet urgently because it is a sad situation?
Vice-Chairman Wang Yi-chang gave a cool reply.
[Haha, anytime is fine. If it’s a meeting with CEO Kang Jin-hoo, we have to make time for it even if it doesn’t exist.]“Ah! And I’d like to meet Li Suwei, Commerce Manager, too. I have something important to tell you.”
It is known that Vice Chairman Wang Yi-chang is of Chinese descent from Changping and has been in politics, so he is known to be close with Director Li Suwei.
He thought for a moment and then he said.
[Okay. Let me tell you one more time.]* * *
At the same time, the head of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce is planning to visit Hong Kong and move to Macau. So we decided to meet in Macau.
Karos’s work was entrusted to Taek-gyu.
“You can’t go to a casino and gamble without me.”
“Why? Are you afraid of losing any money?”
“no. I’m afraid I’ll get mad while playing baccarat and say I’m going to buy the whole casino.”
“… … .”
it would be possible
I flew to Macau with the bodyguards and arrived at the Grand Dayton Casino Hotel, the meeting point the day before.
I looked out the window and saw a huge bridge across the sea in the distance.
It is none other than Kangjuao Bridge, which is about to open. It is 55 kilometers long and connects Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macau in Guangdong Province.
For the passage of ships, about 7 kilometers of this is connected by an undersea tunnel. There are two artificial islands in the middle of the bridge, and through them, you enter the undersea tunnel and then exit again.
It felt like a great wall or a pyramid.
What country in the world could make such a thing other than China?
Looking at this, the size is definitely a big country. But why are you doing this?
While I was thinking about what to say at the meeting tomorrow, I got a phone call from Taek-gyu.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
“How are you?”
Taek-gyu said in an excited voice.
[I found a spy chip!]“Is that really true?”
[It was randomly embedded in the motherboard. I’ll send you a picture now, so check it out.]I received the photo. I circled it, but I couldn’t see it properly with the naked eye.
[Hey! Somehow, if you said you copied it here and there, there must have been something like this.]“Everyone stay quiet until I tell them to. You can’t go outside.”
[Okay. Come back soon.]I hung up the phone and thought.
How can I actually use this?
* * *
At the appointed time, Vice Chairman Wang Yi-chang arrived first. And not long after, a middle-aged man in a suit and glasses came in. The suit had a badge in the shape of a five-star red flag.
This person is Li Suwei, director of the Ministry of Commerce of China.
Like President Zhang Pinghua, he is a member of the Prince’s Party, and his grandfather was with Mao Zedong until the end of the campaign.
It’s the first time we’ve met in person, but it’s often on the news, so it’s kind of familiar. Perhaps it will be the same for him.
Manager Li Su Wei seemed to be happy and grabbed my hand with both of his hands.
“This is Li Suwei. It is very nice to meet Professor Kang, who is famous all over the world like this in person.”
“I am also happy to have met the manager.”
After saying goodbye, we sat down.
Vice Chairman Wang Yi Chang spoke, and an interpreter delivered his words.
“The proposal I gave you last time is still in effect.”
“China hopes to open up the future with OTK Company.”
“i See.”
These children are so quiet that they look down on people.
“The reason I asked to see you two today is this. First of all, I would like you to lift the unfair sanctions against Suseong Electronics, Eunsung Motors, and OTK Company.”
At my words, Manager Li Suwei coughed as if uncomfortable.
“I don’t know what Professor Kang is talking about. The Chinese government only handles business according to established procedures and regulations, and never does anything unfair.”
Vice Chairman Wang Yi-chang also helped.
“Yes. It seems that CEO Kang Jin-hoo is misunderstanding something. As long as the mistakes are corrected, there will be no problem with business reopening.”
“Correcting mistakes” here means that it depends on my attitude, right?
“Nevertheless, since we had such a good meeting today, everything will be fine in the future.”
At Li Suwei’s words, Vice Chairman Wang Yichang lightly clapped his hand.
“Come on, let’s talk about work slowly, and why not have a drink while eating? When we have good drinks together, business is bound to go away on its own.”
I nodded.
“I will tell you one more thing.”
“What?”
I looked at the two of them and said.
“Zhoucha stole and copied Karos’ autonomous driving technology. Please promise me an official apology, compensation, and prevention of recurrence.”
