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The vast majority of people use the NET as it was intended to be used, as a means
of sharing knowledge and communicating with other users and networked computers
to carry out productive and lawful transactions. Most users just use Terminals,
not needing any greater functionality than what is provided by default. Even those
who have specialize computing needs tend to use Computers with fairly pedestrian
Software installed, such as word processors, Computer Aided Design applications,
Accounting Software, and similar practical utilities.
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Using the NET "creatively" is where Hackers come in. A skilled Hacker
maintains one or more Personal Computers (PC); almost always a Portable one; loaded
with custom Software that they have either designed themselves, or acquired from
others, with less mundane uses than a spreadsheet or database or document editor
that are designed to do things that range from the relatively harmless to the outright
malignant.
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Hackers can do a lot of amazing things with a good Computer and a few minutes of
open NET connectivity, particularly if they have had time to write tailor-made custom
applications in advance and just need to upload them and let them run asynchronously.
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PHYSICAL SECURITY
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Fortunately for Hackers there are numerous commercially valid reasons to connect
another Computer to the NET via a Terminal and in general public Terminals lack
much in the way of physical security.
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Businesses on the other hand typically have defacto physical security in the way
of whatever security their office buildings have. Further some go so far as to semi-permanently
secure all Ports to the specific Computer that uses it on a day to day basis, and
a few go so far as to disconnect all Computers from their terminals each night and
lock a faceplate over the Terminals to frustrate potential after-hours abusers.
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Regardless, the security of the NET is primarily to be found in the NET rather than
around how one accesses the NET.
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SECURITY MONITORING
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Each Terminal has a unique ID, and further all Computers that can connect to the
NET via Terminal also have a unique ID, which theoretically allows NET access and
traffic to be logged and monitored by Software specifically designed to handle such
tasks.
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Thus if Joe User uses their PC to plug into a NET Terminal and then access a hosted
EMail server and run a specialized EMail client from their PC, a piece of security
Software on the EMail server running in the background could ascertain the Terminal
Joe User is plugged into and the ID associated with the PC that Joe User is using,
in addition to whatever information is used to authenticate and access Joe User's
EMail account on the server.
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Of course, one of the first and most crucial things all Hackers must learn to do
is to defeat the Unique ID'ing of their PC. More sophisticated Hackers also learn
ways to disguise or obfuscate what Terminal they are using as well. Thus, this sort
of security is akin to the locks on a house -- they'll deter the casual miscreant,
but they will barely slow down a professional worth the name.
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SOFTWARE SECURITY
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Due to the lack of physical security and inablity of monitoring to prevent serious
Hackers, the primary means of security found on the NET is software based.
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EX-SCAPE
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In some Mindscapes Security features are handled entirely outside of the Mindscape
itself, at the hardware level (typically called "ex-Scape"). This type of security
isn't very sophisticated, but it is effectively beyond the awareness (or ability
to intefere with directly) of a user immersed in the Mindscape itself. Such security
typically enforces various rules or policies and logical checks against diagnostic
or emitted data at a very broad level; thus it is very effective at asserting absolutes
and fact-based rules against the running state of a Mindscape.
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However, due to running outside of a Mindscape's framework and not being integrated
with the NEC content directly, this type of security is not good or even capable
of interacting at real time speed with users of a Mindscape. Examples of ex-Scape
Security are jobs that periodically run in the background and check to see if connected
user's accounts are still up to date or if violation flags against a user have been
logged and initiate the appropriate action (like DISCONNECT USER or CANCEL ACCOUNT).
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IN-SCAPE
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More sophisticated security features are themselves NEC units that are part of the
Mindscape they are responsible for securing (typically referred to as "in-Scape"),
and are almost always designed to match the theme of the Mindscape they are in.
Due to being integrated, this type of security is able to react to events occuring
within the Mindscape and act on custom programming to take necessary actions.
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However, such security has no ability to enact machine-level or other security measures
outside of the Mindscape they run in (though they can raise alerts that some other
security software can take action on). Examples of in-Scape Security are "guardsmen"
or "cop" AI's or other AI representations of authority that enforce the rules of
the Mindscape.
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MODERATED
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In addition to programmatic security, Mindscapes generally have one or more "Mods",
short for Moderators, who are human users like other users but who have a suite
of administrative options available to them. Large commercial Mindscapes might have
dozens of Mods working in shifts for constant coverage, while smaller Mindscapes
might only have one or a few Mods who periodically check in and take action as needed.
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Moderated security requires less investment in software and at its best is extremely
effective. However, the human element is always unpredictable, and in some high-security
Mindscapes the potential for a mole or inside man (or a hacker!) with Moderator
access is too high.
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HYBRID
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Highly secured environments will employ in-Scape and ex-Scape, while most casual
or "entertainment" based Mindscapes will use one or the other with some degree of
Moderated support; low budget solutions tend toward ex-Scape and / or Moderated,
while high end NEC shops tend towards in-Scape as they have the talent in house
to develop such measures. Many online games prefer to rely heavily on the Moderated approach, particularly
those that feature "avatar progression" as the Mods serve a dual purpose of security
and tier 1 customer support.
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