my team already forgave you, kudos friend

I happened to meet someone by chance around last year. As we got to know each other better, it turned out that this friend was interested in learning about hacking. So, before leaving for the UK, I decided to teach him the essence of hacking and cyber security.

To be honest, since I also study AI, I am well aware of how foolish and misguided the learning methods of many enthusiastic scriptkiddies in Korea, especially schoolers. Of course, I can't say that their approach is completely wrong. After all, I was ranked 2nd overall on the DreamHack leaderboard, and I achieved good results in international CTF competitions multiple times. But for me, it was just a hobby like eating lunch. However, no matter how many times you win first place in such CTF competitions, the prize money is hardly enough for pocket money (barely enough for transportation expenses), and even in society, such competitions are not highly recognized. So, for me, it was just a way to pass the time. In fact, achieving first place a hundred times in CTF is equivalent to winning the prize in an AI competition once (the prize money in AI competitions is at least several tens to a hundred times larger). However, the unfortunate thing is that many moron scriptkiddies in Korea, who have never even come close to the top ranks in those CTFs, tend to idolize such empty accomplishments. It's a pity.

Anyway, I told one of my team members that I was planning to teach this friend (free of charge). My team member responded quietly, "For free?" I replied, "Yes, I want to teach him for free." My team member asked, "Will that motivate him?" I answered, "If this friend genuinely wants to grow in hacking and cyber security, then it will be motivating. If not, I don't have any option." My team member asked, "Can he think in terms of application-oriented approaches? Has he worked with Docker?" I replied, "No, he hasn't. He hasn't worked with Docker, but he has some experience with virtual machines." My team member exclaimed, "Are you mad?" I said, "No." My team member continued, "He doesn't have application-oriented thinking, he doesn't know about containers or Docker, so naturally, his system-oriented thinking is also zero. What can you possibly teach someone who doesn't even understand what hacking and security are? " I was speechless.
Honestly, I didn't have a response for my team member at that moment. And over time, I realized how insightful my team member's remarks were. In reality, the friend I mentioned earlier, whom I wanted to teach hacking, had only dabbled a bit with source code and tried some web hacking on DreamHack. His skills were quite subpar. It turned out that the claims of certain enthusiastic scriptkiddies in Korea who bragged about their DreamHack experiences and considered themselves good hackers were actually true. They had no understanding of hacking, how to penetrate systems or how to defend them. Hacking and security had been distorted and misrepresented on HanGookU.

Well, it was clear that his skill level was quite low, and he seemed unaware of his own incompetence, which made the situation a bit more serious than I had initially thought. But, it didn't matter much. In the first place, no one is excellent from the start. No one is a prodigy. It's a natural process. However, the problem was something else entirely.

The friend I mentioned had not only received disrespect but also a greater insult. One day, while I was doing my research, I received a call from this friend and picked it up. After briefly describing the practical exercises he were working on, he asked if I could help him bypass it. I was taken aback and said, "Okay." He mentioned that it needed to be done within 30 minutes. It wasn't about the time constraint; hacking often yields meaningful results in as little as 5 or 15 minutes. It was the suddenness of the request, interrupting my ongoing research, and the fact that I had already received disrespect but laughed it off. These factors combined to make me feel like I was being treated like a dog.

Even in the face of such disrespectful treatment, I had no reason to teach this friend for free. I had already been disrespected, but I let it slide. However, an even greater disrespect remained. When a master discusses a theory and presents an argument, it is not insulting to logically refute or engage in a discussion. But commanding a master like treating a dog is indeed disrespectful. I ultimately became convinced that I didn't need to teach this friend, especially for free.

In the end, my team member was right. He lacked application-oriented thinking, container-oriented thinking, and he hadn't properly dealt with Docker. If he doesn't even know what binaries or systems are, what can I possibly teach him? I had to admit that my team member's remarks were accurate.