$WHACKD…root cause analysis.

 

Apple, Google, Microsoft, etcetera, employ thousands of

software engineers at the operating system level - the brains

of the system. An embedded agent at this level has

enormous power.

 

Personnel turnover opens hundreds of job opportunities

each year. It is these openings that are most valuable to

foreign agents.

 

The process of embedding agents into electronic firms

began in earnest in the mid 90's, mostly by China.

 

The process is simple but requires great preparation.

 

Candidates are chosen from the brightest and best and then

coached in fluent English if necessary. They are then

rigorously trained in all aspects of operating system

engineering and the magic of code deception.

 

The preferred source are Chinese candidates already

possessing US citizenships who are ideologically closer to

China than to the US. But they are not averse to waiting out,

sometimes for many years, the time consuming process of

immigration - aided by their embassies, human rights

organizations, etcetera. But sometimes by the companies

themselves motivated by acquiring that one ina million

combination of experience and talent that's exactly required

for some critical project. Immigration is more than happy to

help American technology gain an edge.

 

Now to the actual insertion process:

 

Hundreds of applicants per day apply for jobs at Apple,

Google, Microsoft, etcetera. The random probability of hiring

a disguised foreign agent given the number of applicants is

low but the Chinese don't believe in random chance. They

create their own probabilities.

 

Here's how it works:

 

Applicants are sent in. There's a good chance he or she will

be allowed to speak to at least someone. Let's say someone

in personnel. Let's assume they get no further.

 

The candidate returns to "the group" and describes the

encounter.

 

• What was their name, age and general demeanor?

 

• Were their pictures of their family on their desk?

 

• How many children? What ages and sexes?

 

• What specific questions were asked and what subtle

reactions were given to the replies? Etcetera.

 

Let's assume for example the candidate was a woman and

noticed that the interviewer spent more time looking at her

breasts then would normally seem polite. The next candidate

might be chosen with perfect breasts wearing a low cut

blouse. Or assume the candidate noticed a preteen boy in a

desk photo and a golf club leaning in a corner of the office.

The second candidate might mention he has a 12 year old

son who he's teaching to play golf. Etcetera.

 

Social engineering.

 

By this iterative process a candidate will eventually reach the

next level. The ultimate goal is to progress far enough that

they are interviewed by one or more members of the team

that the candidate wants to work with.

 

Game over.

 

The candidate if intelligent, prepared, charismatic, and

talented beyond belief (which they are), they will be a shoo-in.

 

It can be a slow and tedious process but its effective. The

above is of course an over simplification but you see how it

works.

 

But inserting individual developers pales in importance

compared to inserting managers. Development managers

have nearly god-like power to hire whomever they choose.

 

We'll discuss this process tomorrow.