THE STORY · EPISODE 13
If you had two keys, losing one would not matter.
Mana had thought so as a child. Watching the screen above the counter that morning, she remembered that her mother’s alarm when she lost the house key had been about more than being unable to get home.
New sign-in detected.
A sign-in she did not recognize had been detected.
The woman who used the account clasped her own hands in front of the screen.
“Yesterday it asked me to sign in again. I thought it was the usual place.”
The window had appeared around the time the invoice tool arrived. They did not yet know whether the two events had the same cause. Logrin recorded the times, and the doctor checked that the administrator had been contacted.
A black shadow crossed the wall. Several doors it touched opened, calling the user’s name.
A correct name did not prove the right person was there. Spoofon stood quietly beside Mana.
“Do you still have that screen?”
At Mana’s question, the woman began to offer her the terminal.
Error stepped between them.
“You don’t need to show us your secrets. Just tell us where you opened it from and what it asked you to do.”
Her words were sharp, but the woman’s shoulders eased a little.
Mana closed her notebook. Rather than being ready to write everything down, she needed to decide what not to record.
Episode 13, Illustration 1 | Waiting without looking at the owner's screen
Yesterday’s screen had looked very much like the legitimate service.
But the address it opened was different. It even had a padlock symbol. An encrypted connection was not the same as proof that the operator was who they claimed to be.
“There was a lock, so…”
The woman stopped halfway through.
“I almost looked only at that, too.”
Mana kept her voice as ordinary as she could.
They did not ask the woman to read aloud what she had entered. The administrator checked with her, within the necessary scope, that an unfamiliar session remained active and that she had used the same password for another service.
A Defense question lit up in the encyclopedia.
OPTIONAL QUESTION · 13-D1Stolen credentials and account controlWhat may happen if credentials such as passwords are stolen?Open illustration & choices
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“C. It could be used to impersonate her. We need to investigate how someone can open doors under the same name.”
The blue shield moved before a door that was beginning to open.
Knowing the answer did not settle Mana’s heart. Someone unknown acting under your name was a different fear from simply having something taken.
“Will people think I did it?”
The woman asked softly.
Mana wanted to say no at once. But she could not promise what every person would see or how they would judge it.
“They’ll investigate the visible actions separately from what you actually did. We’ll also keep a record that you reported what you noticed now.”
Error nodded.
“A name alone doesn’t decide it.”
The short words stayed beside the woman.
The first replacement password she considered was yesterday’s with one extra digit.
“That way I can remember it.”
Mana almost nodded. There were already so many things to remember: exam terms, companions’ names, the streets of this city. Keeping everything separate seemed a rather unkind assignment.
The shadow slipped into that feeling. Beyond the doors, even the new number hung from the same key ring.
The next Defense question called Mana back.
OPTIONAL QUESTION · 13-D2One compromised password, several servicesA compromised password was used across several services. What is an appropriate review?Open illustration & choices
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“A. If she changes the last number…”
A small crack ran through Securidon’s shield. The shadow knocked on the same door again and again, as though testing the number just changed.
Before answering the woman, Mana stated her own mistake.
“I thought a small difference would make it independent.”
The doctor did not make up a sample password for everyone to see. Choosing a secret was the owner’s task, not something for the whole room to join.
“Use something long that you haven’t used elsewhere, and manage it through a trustworthy method. You can choose ways to reduce the burden of remembering with the staff.”
The woman moved to a trusted terminal prepared by the administrator. Mana and the others stood back without looking at the screen.
With his back still turned, Securidon asked,
“What am I protecting now, don?”
“A place where she can make her own changes. So we don’t have to receive her secrets, too.”
He placed his shield beside the screen partition. Facing a different direction did not make it any less an act of protection.
“Reset the password from a trusted device.”
Mana read the heading of the procedure the staff had provided.
“Change the password using a device we can trust.”
Checking the safety of the screen they were using was part of the change. They did not simply follow another link in the warning.
An Attack question lit up in the encyclopedia.
OPTIONAL QUESTION · 13-A1Recover the account and remaining accessAn unfamiliar sign-in and fake login are suspected. What should the owner and staff do?Open illustration & choices
Interactive answer checks and saved progress load with JavaScript. You can continue reading without answering.
“B. Use a trusted device and the legitimate route. Revoke remaining sessions, and have the owner and staff check multifactor authentication and the other services using the same secret.”
Mana corrected her earlier answer, too.
“Just adding a little to a reused password isn’t enough. Change them to separate secrets that can be protected independently.”
Sessions that remained after the change were ended through the management screen. The recovery contacts were checked for unauthorized changes, too. The owner reviewed the necessary authentication settings herself.
The black shadow searched for doors that would still open. But the other services where the secret had been reused were being handled in turn. The staff set the necessary scope while checking the user’s needs.
“Spoofon, connect the reply through another route. Securidon, stand before the doors we’ve checked!”
At Mana’s voice, the shield’s light moved. Black signs bearing nothing but the name lost their power one by one.
When the last thread fell to the floor, Mana took up the Securies.
Out of it appeared a small blue padlock with a silver shackle. He held a gold key with a round head.
He started to offer the key, then drew it back to his chest.
“Who may I give this to?”
“The person its owner chooses.”
At Mana’s answer, the padlock looked at the key again.
“Keylockon. I won’t make spare keys without asking.”
COL-009 — Keylockon. The thirteenth companion’s name was registered.
Episode 13, Illustration 2 | The owner decides who receives the key
The woman did not reach for his key. Instead, she read her own verified account screen through to the end.
On their way back, Error pointed to Mana’s notebook.
“You were slow to close it.”
“Yes. I thought collecting everything would help me help her.”
“There are things you don’t need in order to help.”
Mana shrank a little at the blunt words. But Error made no attempt to look inside the notebook. That distance stayed with her before the words did.
“Thank you.”
“Notice it yourself next time.”
“What if I notice first next time?”
Error’s mouth lifted slightly.
“Then tell me, too.”
Someone she competed with could also be someone who told her when she was wrong. Mana thought about that in the wind on the way home.
That evening, a message came about another shared terminal: the user’s name remained on the screen after they had left their seat.
Changing a key did not close every door already open.
Before opening her notebook, Mana considered what she actually needed to keep.
END OF EPISODE 13