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Brute-force hacking - one roll or two rolls?

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Tue, 2013-12-10 19:24
#1
zombiak zombiak's picture
Brute-force hacking - one roll or two rolls?
I have some trouble understanding the rules of brute-force hacking. I've translated the Hacking Cheat Sheet into Polish, and I've realized that 'ordinary' hacking requires two rolls, while brute-force hacking requires only one roll. Is this corrent? The confusion stems from the fact that an ordinary hack has to defeat the firewall first (one roll). If there is no active monitoring, then it gains either the Covert (Normal Success) or Hidden (Extraordinary Success) status. If the system is actively monitored, the hacker has to make an Opposed Roll against the monitoring party, which can lead to either of four statuses (Hidden, Covert, Spotted, Locked). Still, the section concerning brute-force suggests that the hacker makes a roll with +30 modifier (since they are facing the target head-on), but if the target is actively monitored, they have to make an Opposed roll, and they either end up with Locked status or kicked out of the system. Is the Opposed roll a SECOND roll, or is it the first roll (which would mean that it benefits from the +30 modifier)? Or are there two rolls, and do both benefit from the +30 modifier?
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Tue, 2013-12-10 21:55
bibliophile20 bibliophile20's picture
You're going to hate me, but:
You're going to hate me, but: It depends. If you're brute-forcing your way into a system with no monitoring agent, then it's one roll. If you're brute forcing your way into a system that has a monitoring agent--maybe a muse, security/kaos AI, or infomorph--you need to roll twice, once to breach the firewall, once to evade having the monitoring agent just lock you out. Here, I wrote this up for my PCs to use: [url=https://sites.google.com/site/talariusgroup/stock-settings/eclipse-phase... Force Hacking Cheatsheet[/url]. Hope that's useful.
—

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." -Benjamin Franklin

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Wed, 2013-12-11 05:56
zombiak zombiak's picture
Alright, so it can be either
Alright, so it can be either one or two rolls. The Cheat Sheet is useful, but it still suggests that in a brute-force hacking attempt, the roll against the firewall benefits from the +30 bonus, while the Opposed roll against the security does not. Is that correct? Also, regarding statuses and your Cheat Sheet - the core rulebook mentions the Spotted/Locked status only in regard to actively monitored systems; it seems that you can't be Spotted/Locked when no one's looking, which actually makes sense. Therefore, it seems to look like this: - no active monitor: one roll; Extraordinary Success gives Hidden Status, Success gives Covert Status, Failure simply does not let the intruder enter the system (which probably is logged, but has no direct consequences until a security audit or something like that). The roll is modified by the desired status (Security/Admin), Exploit quality, Firewall quality, brute-force hacking etc. - active monitor: two rolls; the first one is against the firewall, which can either end up as a Success (the intruder entered the system) or a Failure (they are still out of the system). The second one is against the system monitor, and only after the second roll you gain your status (Hidden, Covert, Spotted or Locked). BOTH rolls are modified by the desired status (Security/Admin), Exploit quality, Firewall quality, brute-force hacking (?) etc. That's how I see it, anyway. What do you think?
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Wed, 2013-12-11 11:59
bibliophile20 bibliophile20's picture
Keep in mind that as soon as
Keep in mind that as soon as you begin brute force hacking, the system will be alerted and will try to dredge up some sort of monitoring agent to be ready for you; it'll go on Passive or Active Alert, and will poke any transhuman authorities who own/operate the system for reinforcements. So the system will almost certainly be monitored by something by the time the hacking roll is complete.
—

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." -Benjamin Franklin

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