Chapter 124 Establishment: Criminal Information Data Center
After losing money at the supermarket, Zhang Chunhua was temporarily suspended from her job. She was like a wandering ghost, grabbing anyone she met and telling them about her grievances and pain.
She couldn't understand it. After working in finance for over twenty years, she had always been cautious, careful, and dedicated to her job. Why was she suspended? The company's money was clearly lost by the bank, so why was she the one who suffered and bore the responsibility?
When Zhang Chunhua received a call from the municipal bureau's petition reception office informing her that the case had been solved and the money recovered, her legs were still weak. When Jiang Ling gently pushed a manila envelope containing five thousand yuan in cash in front of her, she didn't dare to take it at all; her haggard face showed unbelievable surprise.
“Sister Zhang,” Jiang Ling’s voice was gentle and kind, “the money you deposited in the bank has been recovered. Here is five thousand yuan. Please count it.”
"You...you caught it?" Zhang Chunhua slowly stretched out her hand, her fingertips trembling, tightly clutching the envelope containing the money, as if the money would disappear again if she let go.
Suddenly, as if she had just remembered something, she looked up sharply and grabbed the arm of the supermarket manager who had come with her: "Manager, you see? The money wasn't lost because of my negligence, it was the bank that lost it, but the police have helped find it! It's not my fault, it's not my fault!"
The chubby supermarket manager was also very happy and didn't mind Zhang Chunhua's attitude. He smiled and said, "Yes, yes, I saw it. This is not your fault. You can come back to work."
Zhang Chunhua turned to look at Jiang Ling, her eyes still filled with fear: "Officer Jiang, the money is back, but... but what about the future? Can we still deposit this money in the bank?"
This simple question points directly to a deeper crisis of social trust behind the case. It's not just Zhang Chunhua's question; it's the lingering shadow in the hearts of countless ordinary depositors who, upon hearing of the case, have been unable to shake it off.
Jiang Ling reached out and gently placed her hand on Zhang Chunhua's cold, trembling hand: "You can deposit it. The bank is still the safest place to deposit money. This time, it was the bank that allowed bad people to take advantage of the situation. But that loophole has been closed."
Seeing Zhang Chunhua's hesitant eyes, Jiang Ling slowed her speech and spoke clearly: "The bank is already conducting a thorough investigation and rectification, and has strengthened its security. We police will also keep a close eye on things and will not let a second criminal succeed! Rest assured, your money is safely stored in the bank, and no one can steal it."
"Really...really?" Zhang Chunhua's voice was still trembling, but the fear in her heart was finally soothed by the power in Jiang Ling's words, and she gained a glimmer of hope and trust.
“Really!” Jiang Ling nodded vigorously, her eyes leaving no room for doubt.
Zhang Chunhua stared intently at Jiang Ling for a long time, as if trying to find the final answer on the young policewoman's face. Finally, she let out a long breath, filled with immense exhaustion and a hint of relief, and carefully picked up the brown paper envelope with both hands, clutching it tightly to her chest.
Her voice was choked with sobs, as if she wanted to vent all the grievances she had suffered over the past few days: "Finally, the money was found! Officer Jiang, you don't know, after losing the money, I was suspended from the supermarket. I could feel people pointing and whispering about me when I walked down the street. I, I was wronged!"
Jiang Ling looked at the supermarket manager earnestly: "This money issue stems from a glitch in the bank's internal system, not from Ms. Zhang. Please handle the aftermath properly and reassure the long-time employees."
The manager, somewhat apologetic, nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, this time our supermarket misunderstood Ms. Zhang. I'll discuss how to appease her with the boss when we get back. Please rest assured, officers. We're very grateful to you all; we'll come to present you with a banner later. Thank you, thank you so much!"
After seeing off the profusely thanking Zhang Chunhua and the supermarket manager, Jiang Ling stood by the window in the corridor, watching their departing figures, speechless for a long time. Recovering the stolen money is only the first step; rebuilding the trust destroyed by the bank's loopholes requires the efforts of all parties.
With Liang Jiushan's help, the bank quickly plugged the loophole, and Liang Jiushan's Star Shield Technology Company also made a name for itself in Yan City. Many financial institutions came to him for help in maintaining and repairing their existing systems.
Part of the embezzled funds was recovered, while the remainder was misappropriated by Wei Gao. The bank proactively took responsibility, and all depositors' money was returned to their respective accounts without exception. The Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a public notice, proactively explaining the case and reassuring the public through news outlets, newspapers, and other media.
A social crisis triggered by a financial theft case was successfully resolved.
The city bureau's small auditorium was temporarily set up as a celebration venue.
A red banner with yellow lettering exuded a festive atmosphere. Tea, melon seeds, peanuts, and apples were laid out on the table. The police officers who participated in solving the "7.16" series of financial theft cases gathered together, their faces beaming with excitement at cracking such a major case.
With a radiant face and a booming voice, Director Zhong began his speech, highly praising the hard work and outstanding wisdom of all the participating officers. He especially commended the psychological profiling team led by Jiang Ling and the unofficial technical advisor Liang Jiushan, who was appointed to the task in a time of crisis.
"...Faced with unprecedented new types of crime, our comrades did not back down or stick to old ways! In particular, Comrade Jiang Ling, with his keen insight, accurate profiling, and bold introduction of technical assistance, opened up new avenues for us to solve such cases. And our young colleague Liang, a truly formidable young man, used his superb technical skills to pull the 'ghost' out of that invisible and intangible electronic ocean! This fully demonstrates that our public security force is a team capable of fighting tough battles, daring to fight new battles, and skillfully winning battles!"
A round of enthusiastic applause erupted.
When Liang Jiushan, sitting in the back row, was called upon, he lowered his head slightly, a little embarrassed, his ears turning red, but his back remained ramrod straight. Jiang Ling, sitting in the front row, remained calm, only revealing a hint of gentleness when her gaze swept over Liang Jiushan.
It was Jiang Ling's turn to give a detailed report.
She didn't dwell on the hardships of the process, but instead focused on the profound lessons learned from the case itself.
"Distinguished leaders and comrades, the successful cracking of the July 16 case is certainly something to celebrate, but it is also a mirror, clearly reflecting the severe challenges we will face in the long term."
Jiang Ling's voice was clear and powerful, instantly silencing the venue.
“Wei Gaoli is not a robber or thief in the traditional sense. He exploits loopholes in the banking system itself. These loopholes may be worthless in the eyes of traditional criminals, but in the eyes of a technically skilled criminal like Wei Gaoli, they are like a key marked with a room number that the bank accidentally overlooked!”
"This marks the emergence of a completely new crime model. It is highly covert, has low costs, and a wide impact, undermining the foundation of trust in the entire financial system. Its threat far exceeds that of traditional crimes."
Jiang Ling's gaze swept across the entire room.
"In the face of this type of crime, our behavioral profiling technology must keep pace with the times and incorporate new content on technical personality profiling. What does this mean? It means that we must not only analyze the criminal's social relationships, behavioral habits, and psychological motivations, but also conduct in-depth analysis of his online operating habits."
Jiang Ling spoke faster, with a sense of urgency: "For example, does he prefer flashy attacks or pragmatic exploitation of known vulnerabilities? Does he have a particular signature habit when operating? Does he have a compulsive behavior of cleaning up traces? Does he show contempt or a sense of superiority towards the system during his operations? These technical behavioral characteristics, like fingerprints, will become key identifiers for us to lock down criminals in the virtual world."
She paused, then turned her gaze to Li Zhenliang and the others: "Of course, this does not mean that traditional investigations, visits, and social relationship surveys are no longer important. On the contrary, in this case, it was precisely these solid traditional methods—checking the list of former employees, verifying physical visit records, and visiting related individuals—that helped us pinpoint Wei Gaoli as our specific target, bringing the virtual criminal back to reality. In the future, there will inevitably be a deep integration of online technology tracking and traditional offline investigations!"
A murmur of agreement rippled through the room.
Li Bin, a key member of the technical team, felt the most deeply about the situation. He couldn't help but raise his hand to speak, his voice filled with lingering fear and emotion: "Team Leader Jiang is absolutely right! If it weren't for Jiu Shan pointing out the key to the electronic key at the crucial moment and leading us to uncover that 9-second key-testing record, we old guys would still be blindly searching through those original logs. With our current rudimentary methods, we in the Economic Investigation Department are truly powerless against thieves hiding behind computers like this; we're completely clueless!"
His words resonated with many technical police officers.
"Comrade Li Bin's remarks are precisely the direction for our next steps," Jiang Ling continued, her tone even more resolute. "Faced with crimes in cyberspace, we urgently need powerful technical support tools and efficient analysis platforms. We can no longer rely on sheer manpower to review videotapes; we need intelligent screening programs. To this end, I will immediately compile an internal early warning report for the banking system after the case is closed."
She picked up a bound document: "This isn't a complex technical manual. I'll try to use real-life examples from this case to explain the dangers of several key vulnerabilities in simple terms. Access control is like a door lock; mismatched keys are a hidden danger. Log auditing is like surveillance; if it's unclear, it's useless. Lax internal controls are like opening a backdoor for insiders. I hope this report will serve as a wake-up call and push the banking system to strengthen its safeguards as soon as possible."
This report was later listed as required reading for internal security training by several banks.
Jiang Ling put down the report, surveyed the room, and finally delivered his long-awaited core proposal, his voice steady yet powerful: "It's better to be prepared than to mend the fence after the sheep are lost. To systematically address the new wave of crime represented by the July 16th case, relying solely on individual case investigations and external early warnings is far from sufficient. I hereby formally propose: the establishment of the Yan City Public Security Bureau's Criminal Information Data Center!"
A low buzzing sound filled the venue.
The proposal to build an information data center has not yet been formally submitted, and many people are unaware of it. Jiang Ling specifically brought it up at the celebration party for solving such a landmark case, which immediately sparked heated discussions among the crowd.
"I think I heard Director Zhong mention building a data center once, but... no decision has been made yet."
"A data center must cost a lot of money, right? Our bureau doesn't have enough funds. Just think, how expensive is a single computer? A data center would need at least a dozen, wouldn't it? Where would our bureau get the money for that!"
"Criminal Information Data Center? That sounds pretty high-end. After all, he's a graduate student from the Public Security University, his perspective is definitely different! There are some things Xiao Jiang is saying that I don't quite understand."
Undeterred by the buzzing below, Jiang Ling continued to elaborate on her vision: "The goal of this center is not simply digitizing files. It will focus on: First, systematically storing case information, especially the methods, patterns, and characteristics of new types of cybercrime, and establishing a searchable case database; Second, integrating social data resources, and exploring secure data sharing with departments such as finance, telecommunications, social security, and transportation, within a strict legal framework and under the premise of protecting citizens' privacy, to provide a broader perspective for investigations; Third, deploying preliminary data analysis tools, developing or introducing basic data mining, correlation analysis, and behavioral pattern recognition tools to enhance the ability to quickly discover clues from massive amounts of information; Fourth, building a technical case-handling support platform, making it the core of technical support for complex and difficult cases across the entire organization, especially cybercrime cases, providing technical support for frontline investigators."
After outlining these four objectives in one breath, she took a deep breath, her gaze intense: "The July 16th case is a wake-up call! It tells us that the battlefield of the future has extended into the unseen data space. Without a data center that integrates information collection, analysis, and early warning, we will become increasingly passive in the face of increasingly cunning and technologically advanced criminals! It will be the cornerstone for us to meet future challenges!"
The proposal was put forward, and the meeting room fell into a brief silence.
Although Lei Xiao, the captain of the criminal investigation team, admired Jiang Ling, he did not understand the meaning of "data," "storage," and "integration," and he was the first to raise questions.
Lei Xiao's voice boomed, with his usual directness: "Xiao Jiang, your idea is pretty good. But how exactly should this data center be built? It sounds a bit idealistic and too far-fetched. Our bureau has mountains of backlogged case files from previous years; just entering them would take forever, right? Besides, solving cases relies on experience and brains! Computers are cold and impersonal; can they keep up with a human brain? Can they match the sharp eyes of us veteran detectives? With all this manpower and resources, don't let it end up as just a fancy warehouse!"
Lei Xiao's doubts represented the sentiments of some veteran comrades, and a few whispers of agreement rang out in the meeting room.
"That's right. If everything relies on computers, what's the point of having criminal investigators like us?"
"After spending so much money, we hope it won't all end up being useless and just for show."
"We still need to be cautious; rushing into action is not advisable. Besides, it's just a financial case; how can we talk about a new wave of crime? That's alarmist!"
Jiang Ling did not immediately refute him. She understood the older comrade's concerns and his fear of new technologies.
She calmly looked at Lei Xiao, then her gaze slowly swept over everyone present, finally landing on Liang Jiushan, who was sitting quietly in the back row listening.
Liang Jiushan mouthed two words silently: "Keep it up!"
His eyes were full of trust and support for Jiang Ling.
“Team Leader Lei’s question is very practical.” Jiang Ling spoke, his voice low but clearly suppressing the discussion. “Entering basic data is indeed a massive undertaking that requires determination and patience. But if we don’t do it now, it will only be more difficult in the future.”
She abruptly changed the subject, her tone suddenly becoming sharp, "As for computers and human brains... Captain Lei, in the 7.16 case, Wei Gaoli, who hid in an abandoned training room in the south of the city and used a stolen electronic key to transfer people's hard-earned money, did he rely on human brains or computers?"
The venue fell silent instantly.
"He relied on the precise exploitation of computer vulnerabilities by the human brain." Jiang Ling answered himself, his voice clear and bright. "How did we catch him? We relied on traditional interviews to narrow down the suspects, but what ultimately nailed him down was the 9-second electronic footprint captured by technical means, and the technical personality traits in his operating habits that we analyzed!"
She looked at Lei Xiao, her gaze sharp: "Captain Lei, you're right. When facing cunning criminals, criminal investigation experience and a keen eye are always indispensable. However, times are changing! And changing so fast that it's dazzling to everyone. New types of crimes will emerge one after another. If we continue to rely on old experience and old methods, we may be forever led by the nose by criminals! I think this is a situation that none of you here want to see."
At this point, Jiang Ling deliberately paused, giving everyone time to think and process the information.
Lei Xiao's expression changed.
He recalled the confrontation between Jiang Ling and the old captain Qin Tieshan at the first special task force meeting.
Initially, Qin Tieshan insisted on using a large-scale manpower search method, but Jiang Ling stood up and insisted on using the three-fixed investigation method to analyze the situation first, and directly challenged him to adjust the direction of the investigation.
What was the final result?
It was Jiang Ling who achieved a great victory, and it was Qin Tieshan who accepted Jiang Ling's new ideas and methods. Before retiring to the second line, Team Leader Qin also expressed his feelings.
He said that solving criminal cases relies not only on experience, but also on the ability to learn, the courage to innovate, and the pursuit of truth and justice.
He instructed Lei Xiao and other middle-level leaders to be bold in providing platforms and responsibilities for young people, to take the lead in learning new knowledge and methods, and to act as guides and stepping stones.
Lei Xiao asked himself, had he fulfilled Lao Qin's instructions? Now, Jiang Ling was pointing out the development trend of new types of crimes, proposing to create a data center, and emphasizing keeping up with the times and staying ahead of criminals. Was there anything wrong with that?
Lei Xiao's expression was solemn as he pondered Jiang Ling's words repeatedly.
Before the other veteran comrades could speak, Zhao Tiezhu from the Economic Investigation Department took action first. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.
"Xiao Jiang is right!" Team Leader Zhao's voice boomed, his face showing no doubt, only a resolute determination to uphold his duty. "This case is a lesson, a bloody lesson! I, Old Zhao, used to be a bit out of touch, but I never want to experience the feeling of being 'blind and deaf' again. This data center must be built! And it must be built quickly! Build it well! I, Zhao Tiezhu, will be the first to support it. At the Party Committee meeting, if anyone dares to say no, I, Old Zhao, will have a serious talk with them. How will we fight future battles? We'll rely on these data 'eyes' and data 'ears'!"
Zhao Tiezhu's support and resounding statement, like a boulder thrown into calm water, instantly stirred up a strong resonance in the meeting hall.
Lei Xiao remained silent for a while, then nodded: "Old Zhao is right, we old comrades also need to keep up with the times. I have no objection to building a data center!"
Director Zhong nodded approvingly, and Zhao Tiezhu clapped enthusiastically. Many middle-level managers who had initially been hesitant or even had doubts were also swayed by Lei Xiao and Zhao Tiezhu's attitude and nodded in agreement.
"Captain Zhao is right!"
"We can't let people like Wei Gaoli take advantage of this loophole any longer!"
"We definitely need something like this!"
The atmosphere in the venue was completely transformed.
Director Zhong exchanged views with several key leaders in hushed tones, then stood up and made the final decision: "Good! Comrades, the July 16th case has served as a wake-up call and pointed us in the right direction. Comrade Jiang Ling's proposal is highly forward-thinking and necessary. The Party Committee of the Bureau agrees in principle to list the establishment of the 'Yanshi Public Security Bureau Criminal Information Data Center' as a key construction project, and immediately launch preliminary planning and feasibility studies. Technology, personnel, logistics, equipment and finance—all departments will fully cooperate. We must build this center into a sharp sword and shield against new types of crime!"
Thunderous applause erupted once again.
Looking at everything before him, Jiang Ling was filled with excitement, brimming with anticipation for the future and determination to forge ahead.
The early autumn mornings already carried a hint of coolness.
The platform of Yancheng Railway Station was bustling with people.
Liang Jiushan stood in front of the train bound for Kyoto, carrying a bulging laptop bag on his back and a simple duffel bag in his hand.
"Sister Ling, I've put the first draft of the data center plan on your desk. It includes some ideas on infrastructure security and log analysis tool selection. It might not be fully developed yet, but you can take a look when you have time." Liang Jiushan looked at Jiang Ling, who had come to see him off, his eyes clear and gentle, carrying a hint of reluctance to part and lingering concern.
Jiang Ling nodded and handed him a thick file bag: "These are the official supporting documents for your assistance in this case, as well as the appointment letter and bonus for your role as a technical consultant at the Municipal Bureau. If there's anything you need to coordinate with the school, feel free to call me anytime."
Her gaze fell on the boy's handsome face, which was still showing signs of fatigue: "You've had a hard time this time. Go back and get some rest, and don't let your studies suffer."
“Yes, I know.” Liang Jiushan nodded vigorously.
Jiang Ling said gently, "When you come back from winter break, you should be able to get back in time for the data center equipment debugging. We'll have to call you in then."
Liang Jiushan's eyes lit up instantly, as if they had fallen into the stars. He couldn't help but smile up, revealing a big, bright smile: "Okay! It's a deal! Sister Ling, I'll be there whenever you call." His smile was pure and bright, carrying the unique enthusiasm and promise of a young man.
With a long whistle, the train slowly started moving.
Liang Jiushan stood at the car door and waved vigorously at Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling stood still, her figure upright, and raised her hand to wave gently.
The morning sunlight streamed through the platform's roof, outlining her in a golden silhouette. The train accelerated, carrying Liang Jiushan into the distance.
Jiang Ling turned around and left the noisy platform.
Passing by the newsstand next to the exit, a small TV on the shelf was playing the morning news, and the female anchor's clear voice reached my ears.
"The first National Conference on Informatization, held in 1997, defined informatization as a historical process of cultivating and developing new productive forces, represented by intelligent tools, and enabling them to benefit society. Therefore, our city..."
Jiang Ling paused slightly, her gaze sweeping over the images flashing on the screen.
The tide of the times is surging forward with unstoppable force, presenting unprecedented opportunities, but also harboring more complex undercurrents.
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