A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

The storm seems to have truly subsided.

The design fee was received, the copyright was returned, and a public apology was published in the local newspaper. Cotton Field Silk Road's sales began to rebound, and even improved due to the increased brand awareness gained from this rights protection incident.

"Shouldn't we be thinking about new products for the second season?"

At a team meeting a month later, Azgul suggested, "Strike while the iron is hot and establish our brand completely."

Guzalinur nodded: "That's exactly what I was thinking. This time we're doing a series on intangible cultural heritage preservation, incorporating more authentic traditional Xinjiang cultural elements. I already have some initial ideas for the design..."

She turned on her computer and brought up an encrypted folder: "This is the culmination of my hard work over the past two weeks, twelve new products, each corresponding to a Xinjiang intangible cultural heritage technique—Atlas silk weaving, pottery making, wood carving..."

The team members gathered around, their eyes lighting up.

"So beautiful! This is what real Xinjiang cultural and creative products should be like!"

"This time it's definitely going to be a hit!"

Guzalinur was also very excited: "I used the highest level of encryption for these designs, and I won't let anyone see them except our core team. We'll start prototyping next month and strive to officially launch them in three months."

However, an unexpected incident occurred just one week before the new product sampling was to take place.

That morning, as soon as Guzalinur arrived at the studio, she found Azgul sitting in front of the computer, her face pale.

Something's happened.

"What's wrong?"

"Guzalinur, look at this..."

Azgul trembled as she clicked on an e-commerce page.

The page prominently displays the words "Cotton Field Silk Road 2.0 - Intangible Cultural Heritage Series New Launch!"

The product images on display were surprisingly 80% similar to the twelve new products designed by Guzalinur.

Guzalinur almost shouted, "This is impossible!"

These designs are all in an encrypted folder, how could they possibly have gotten them?

"Not only did we get it..."

Turhong chimed in, "They even preemptively registered the copyright, and now they're turning around and accusing us of plagiarism on social media!"

The entire team panicked.

"Feed? Teacher Chang?"

Guzalinur spoke rapidly as she recounted the discovery of the Cotton Field Silk Road 2.0 and the theft of its design.

After listening to the call, Chang Peng remained silent for a few seconds before speaking in a calm voice: "Don't panic, stay calm. Listen to me, this is no longer ordinary business competition. The other party is using dirty tactics and is very likely prepared. Getting emotional won't solve anything right now."

Chang Peng's tone was even calmer and clearer: "First, you and everyone on your team must immediately stop discussing this matter on any network device in your studio, especially through WeChat, QQ, etc."

Second, do not delete any computer records, but immediately disconnect all important devices from the Internet by physically unplugging the network cable.

Third, we need to have a professional look at this matter.

Chang Peng's words were like a bucket of ice water, cooling down Gu Zaili's feverish mind a little.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to do as Chang Peng said.

"Teacher Chang, you mean...?"

"hacker."

Chang Peng said firmly, "Ordinary plagiarism and imitation could not be this precise, with such tight timing, and even your unpublished encrypted designs could be obtained."

This is definitely a cyber intrusion.

I know several professors and experts in cybersecurity at university. They are highly skilled and trustworthy.

I contacted them immediately and asked them to come over as soon as possible to conduct a comprehensive security inspection and evidence collection for you.

"Preserve the scene until they arrive; don't touch anything."

Chang Peng's decisive action gave Gu Zaili a bit of support.

She hung up the phone and immediately called Azgul and Turhong, conveying Chang Peng's instructions in as calm a tone as possible.

Chang Peng brought a young man with professional equipment to the Cotton Field Silk Road Studio.

The visitor, surnamed Chen, was a cybersecurity expert familiar to Chang Peng, specializing in electronic forensics and intrusion analysis.

"Mr. Chen, thank you so much. Please help us find out the truth."

Mr. Chen first inquired carefully about the location where the files were stored, the encryption method, and who knew the password or had access to the files before connecting the device to perform image backup and in-depth analysis.

On the afternoon of the third day, Engineer Chen, holding a thick notebook, gestured for Gu Zaili, Chang Peng, and several core members to come to the small conference room.

"The situation is more serious than expected."

Engineer Chen got straight to the point, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority: "It can be confirmed that your internal network has been subjected to a highly professional and targeted intrusion."

The attackers used a combination of methods, including spear-phishing emails and vulnerability exploitation, to ultimately gain high-level access to your servers.

He pulled up some complex log screenshots and path diagrams, pointing to the time nodes and code traces on them: "The other party's goal is very clear, directly targeting the encrypted storage area where you store the core design drafts."

The hacking tools they used were very advanced, not the kind you can easily find online, which means either they have strong technical skills or... they have a wealthy backer providing professional services.

Judging from the intrusion methods, the thoroughness of the cleanup, and the usage habits of the jump server, this doesn't seem to be the work of a typical corporate spy or a lone hacker; it's more like the operation of an organized, professional hacking team.

"Is it...is it possible to find out who did it? Even just the slightest clue?"

Guzalinur asked, clinging to her last glimmer of hope.

Engineer Chen adjusted his glasses and pondered for a moment: "It's difficult. The other party is an expert; they cleaned up very thoroughly, making direct tracing of the source almost impossible. But..."

"When I was tracking one of the overseas jump servers they used during their retreat, I found traces of similar attacks on that server over the past nine months."

Coincidentally, the targets of all three attacks were local creative companies or independent designer studios.

Engineer Chen pulled up another set of comparison data, "And shortly after these three companies/studios suffered network intrusion and design data leaks, counterfeit or competing products that were highly similar to their original new products quickly appeared on the market."

Through cross-referencing and tracing limited publicly available information, the source of these counterfeit products, or rather, the biggest beneficiary...

He paused, his gaze sweeping over every tense face in the room, finally settling on Gu Zaili's pale face.

"They all point directly or indirectly to the same company."

"That's the local cultural and creative company that copied your Xinjiang-themed series before, and fought you in a price war and tried to steal your distribution channels."

"Is it...New Arts Culture?"

Turhong spat out the name through gritted teeth.

Engineer Chen nodded slowly: "All the indirect evidence ultimately converges on them. Although there is no 100% direct evidence, in the industry, this connection is enough to explain the issue."

They must have tasted the sweetness of plagiarism and suppression against you, so this time they've gone all out, using even darker methods to try and fundamentally stifle your innovation and future.

Guzalinur looked at the stolen designs on the computer screen, the inspiration she had gained from visiting countless intangible cultural heritage inheritors, and the patterns she had spent countless nights drawing.

"Did you call the police?" someone asked in a low voice.

"I've reported it."

"But the police say that it's difficult to gather evidence for cyber theft, especially in cases involving trade secrets, and the investigation process can be very lengthy," Guzalinur said wearily.

"So we're just going to leave it at that?"

"Of course not. But this time, we're going to try a different approach."