Dangerous Pursuit
Serdar was the fleet manager of a large logistics company in Turkey. To ensure that daily operations ran smoothly, they relied on GPS devices, particularly the MiCODUS MV720 model. These devices allowed them to track the real-time locations and movements of all their vehicles, and Serdar thought everything was under control. However, the default passwords of the GPS devices had never been changed. After all, the system had worked flawlessly for years, and the possibility of a problem arising had never crossed Serdar’s mind.
One morning, as Serdar sipped his coffee, one of the vehicles in the fleet suddenly stopped. At first, he didn’t think much of it because small breakdowns sometimes occurred in vehicles. However, when reports came in from several other vehicles experiencing the same issue, he realized that things were not going smoothly. His eyes were glued to the screen, where the map was flashing red alerts. A growing sense of unease settled in his chest.
Serdar watched the fleet from his office window as another warning tone echoed in the room. A few more vehicles had stopped. His mind was racing, and the sight of the flashing red alerts made his heart pound. The sudden halt of multiple vehicles was a serious issue; there was an important delivery scheduled for that day. The anxiety in his gut was intensifying, but he still tried to rationalize it as a minor issue.
Meanwhile, Elif, who had just returned from a cybersecurity conference in England, was processing her thoughts. Elif was a cybersecurity expert born in Turkey and educated in England. While attending the conference, she had learned about security vulnerabilities in GPS devices, and immediately thought of Serdar’s company. She had discovered that the MiCODUS MV720 devices contained hard-coded passwords that hackers could easily exploit. Knowing that the devices were vulnerable to attacks, she felt compelled to inform Serdar.
Elif needed to reach Serdar as soon as possible because such security vulnerabilities could lead to serious consequences. However, Serdar didn’t seem to take these matters seriously; after all, the system had been running without issues for years. This oversight would soon come back to haunt him, although he was still unaware of it.
One day, as one of the vehicles on the road suddenly came to a halt, Serdar initially thought it was just another routine breakdown and contacted the fleet’s repair team. “It’s probably an issue with the fuel system,” the mechanics said. They intervened in the vehicle and replaced some parts, but the vehicle still wouldn’t move. Confused, Serdar tried to comprehend what was happening.
When the mechanics reported that there was no physical problem with the vehicle, a sense of panic began to envelop Serdar. His hands clenched tightly together as beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead. Elif’s warning echoed in his mind. This was no ordinary malfunction. It could be a cyberattack!
Serdar’s hand trembled as he quickly called Elif. “Elif, I need your help. We checked the fuel systems of our vehicles, but it seems there’s no problem. Are we under attack?” he said, his voice filled with desperation.
Elif immediately understood the situation and warned Serdar: “This could be a cyberattack. They may have infiltrated your GPS devices.” She quickly reached out to her colleagues, Tom in England and Khaled in Dubai. Tom sprang into action to examine the security of the devices, while Khaled took a broader view of the situation. “This could be the work of dangerous hackers like Ivan and Ravi,” he said.
At that moment, Russian hacker Ivan and his Indian partner Ravi had set their sights on the GPS system. Thanks to the hard-coded passwords of the MiCODUS MV720 devices, they had easily gained access. Their first step was to stop some of Serdar’s vehicles and send him a small ransom demand.
When Serdar read the message on his phone, the last shred of hope evaporated. “Ransom demand... If you don’t pay more, we will disable your fleet.” His throat went dry, and beads of cold sweat began to gather on his forehead. This had to be a joke, he thought, but his eyes were drawn to the staggering amount in the message. The figures danced before his eyes. Another warning sounded in the office, indicating that yet another vehicle had stopped. The tension in his gut was becoming unbearable.
Ivan and Ravi knew they were just getting started. After receiving the initial payment, they decided to increase the ransom. A sinister smile spread across Ivan’s face as he typed a new message: “This is just the beginning. We will demand more.”
Meanwhile, a vehicle in the fleet, under the hackers’ control, veered off course. A panicked voice from a driver crackled through the radio: “I can’t control it! The brakes aren’t working!” A crash echoed through the office, freezing Serdar in place. His mind went blank as fear settled over him like a heavy blanket. The realization that the hackers weren’t just stopping the vehicles but threatening lives sank in. “This is my fault…” he murmured.
Serdar fully understood that Ivan and Ravi posed a serious threat now. His trust in Elif had grown immensely. Elif, along with Tom and Khaled, devised a plan. The first step was to cut off access to the GPS devices. Tom developed special software to block the attack infiltrating the GPS devices. Elif aimed to track down Ivan and Ravi’s digital footprints to stop them. Khaled utilized his technical infrastructure in Dubai to manage the attack on a broader scale.
Even though Ivan and Ravi thought they had the situation under control, Elif and her team’s counterattacks began to take effect. Elif focused intently on her keyboard, wiping the sweat from her brow. “Okay, we’ve found the entry points for Ivan and Ravi,” she told Tom. Her mind was concentrated solely on that moment; one wrong move could ruin everything. Khaled quietly urged, “Now is the time.”
Elif held her breath and sent the commands. The computer screen hesitated for a moment, and the world seemed to freeze. A deep silence… Then a red warning flashed on Elif’s screen, indicating they had caught Ivan’s system. “We’ve got them!” Elif exclaimed. That sentence released the built-up tension in the room. A triumphant smile broke across Elif’s face after a moment of silence.
Ivan and Ravi had lost control of their attack. Serdar’s fleet was back under control. Serdar learned crucial lessons from this experience. He realized he needed to be much more cautious regarding the security of his fleet.
“Thank you, Elif. Without you, we could have lost our entire fleet,” he said. Elif smiled and replied, “Cybersecurity is just as important as physical threats. Don’t ever neglect changing those passwords again.”
Serdar immediately implemented Elif’s recommendations. The passwords for all GPS devices in the fleet were changed, stronger firewalls were added, and two-factor authentication was made mandatory for every device. Serdar’s company was now much safer, and he had become much more aware of these issues.
Elif, Tom, and Khaled knew how dangerous hackers like Ivan and Ravi could be, but they had successfully thwarted this attack. Ivan and Ravi were forced to turn their attention to other targets. Elif understood that the battle against hackers was far from over, but this victory signified her potential for greater achievements in the world of cybersecurity.