Uncovering Secrets
Returning to Vienna, Dan finds himself again on the bus towards the AI Church, this time with a carefully planned disguise. To subtly alter his appearance, he places a small stone inside his shoe. The stone, intended to cause discomfort, changes his gait, making him less recognizable.
As he steps off the bus near the church, Dan feels the stone pressing against his foot, serving as a constant reminder of the role he needs to play. This time, he opts to blend in with the crowd in the church's large rest area, avoiding joining any tourist groups and feeling less conspicuous among the many tourists casually wandering about.
In this bustling atmosphere, Dan moves through the space, his altered gait making him appear as someone different from the man who had visited the church the week before. Now, under the guise of a casual tourist, he discreetly begins his mission to uncover the secrets hidden within the AI Church's walls.
Dan wanders around the church, using the ESP32 Marauder to discreetly scan for Wi-Fi networks. He quickly identifies two networks: AIFree, an open network, and AIStaff, a protected one. Surprisingly, he cracks the AIStaff password almost instantly—a simple numeric sequence "4815162342", revealing a glaring security oversight.
Finding a safe spot to establish a stable Wi-Fi connection on his budget tablet proves challenging due to its limited range and spotty connectivity, which explains the low price. Nonetheless, Dan manages to connect to the AIStaff network and navigates to the internal employee portal.
The portal, with its basic interface, offers access to a calendar filled with educational events and classes. At first glance, everything seems innocuous, even beneficial, particularly for students. The next link leads to an issue tracking system, unfamiliar to Dan but seemingly an internal tool for task management.
Dan's curiosity turns to shock as he opens various tasks. Each one includes a link to a news article and a brief for users assigned to comment on these articles. The pattern is unmistakable—orchestrated efforts to influence public opinion, mirroring the tactics of infamous troll factories.
Eager for more concrete evidence, Dan searches for tasks related to the Tesla incident. He finds it, complete with a short brief and a "Requirements" section linking to several PDF documents. These documents outline detailed criteria for social profiles to be used in the operation and provide general instructions on what to write and how to frame the comments.
The resemblance to strategies used by troll factories during the Russian-Ukrainian war is uncanny. "Holy shit," Dan whispers under his breath, realizing the extent of the AI Church's manipulation.
Aware of the sensitivity of the information he has uncovered, Dan hastily disconnects from the network and resumes his tourist facade, quickly deciding to head back to the center of Vienna. He wanders through popular spots, taking photographs to blend in and maintain his cover.
As he heads back to Budapest, Dan's mind races. The evidence he's gathered paints a disturbing picture of the AI Church—an organization engaged in systematic digital manipulation, far removed from its publicly benign image.