Original subtitles

Danny can see us in 45.

I'll meet you there.

- We don't want to be late... - I'll meet you there. Okay?

Sure.

Hey, stranger.

I thought you'd gone to Harrogate?

I just got back. I'm on my way to work, but...

I wanted to see you.

Great.

- Go on, sir! Go on, sir.

So what was he like?

Like?

Yeah. What did you make of him?

Erm...

Er, he was young. About my age.

Dressed in a hoody...

He was... He was frightened.

Like he was...

And you'd never seen him before?

No. Never.

What should we do?

About his warning?

Something else hidden in the code.

That's right.

What do you think?

I guess that I trust Saara's instincts.

She's been right before.

Mm.

It feels like a provocation to me.

It's classic FSB mind games.

It's very vague.

There's nothing specific, there's nothing we can use.

Resources are tight, you know.

I can't keep throwing people at this thing, you know.

Not without something concrete to go on.

Look...

if you want to keep looking, that's fine, all right?

But in your own time, okay?

Okay. I better run.

That's it?

Apparently.

- Hey. - What?

Do you wanna get a drink after work?

Look...

what happened in Harrogate, it was a mistake, okay?

I... I don't usually drink alcohol, and I...

It was a mistake. That's all.

Sure.

How much do you know about what we do here?

Just what I've read online.

That we're Putin's poodle?

A propaganda mouthpiece?

Of course, the people who say that mostly work for media billionaires

and publish what they're told to publish.

So glass houses, wouldn't you say?

Or maybe you don't know that English expression?

No, I know it.

Steve Cleary, one of our shooting producers.

Hi.

I'm afraid that's the only Russian I know.

Nice to meet you, too.

- You ready to get out there? - Now?

Sure. Why not? Just do what he says.

He knows what he's doing. More or less.

Okay.

Are you Daz?

That's right.

Thanks for coming. I'm Kathy. Can I join you?

Be my guest.

I'm told you were mentioned at COBR recently.

Really?

Did they enjoy my Russian light show?

I think it got their attention.

And Putin's, probably.

It's hard to undermine the free world

when the lights in your office are literally on the blink.

Apparently, some people thought that it was us.

Is that right?

Well, you only have to ask.

Mm.

You know what, that is exactly what I've been sent to talk to you about.

I thought GCHQ didn't employ Black Hats.

Well, maybe not "employ" exactly.

More of an informal contribution.

On what basis?

On a patriotic basis.

That's how you describe yourself, isn't it?

Jolly Roger, the "Patriotic Hacker"?

Even patriots get paid, Kathy.

I'm sure we can come to an arrangement.

- This is it? - This is it.

Put them on.

You're joking, right?

No, I'm not joking.

I'm not in any danger.

Just do it, okay?

Who are they?

Now!

I never thought I'd have to dress in full riot gear here on the streets of the UK.

- But with this general election just days away...

Again!

I never thought I'd have to dress in full riot gear

here on the streets of the UK.

But with this critical general election just days away,

confrontations like this are becoming more and more common.

- There. That's great,

with the glass breaking. Use that.

Yeah.

We want an end to immigration...

But they don't care about democracy or free speech...

What's she saying?

Only electing a white populist regime can put an end to this chaos,

blah, blah, blah.

Okay, great. We'll take that. Have you got a good end shot?

The girl.

Perfect.

Great! Upload that and email me the metrics when they're in.

Great job, Marina.

Excuse me!

Angie!

- Steve. How did he know? - Know what?

He gave me the riot gear before there was any violence.

He knew it was going to happen.

Did we organise that counter-demonstration?

We organised both of them.

What?

Come on.

Right. Facebook page for Luton For Labour,

set up seven months ago by us.

We tweet about it with our fake accounts

and then the bots retweet it thousands of times.

And then like-minded people sign up.

So it doesn't exist. Luton For Labour? You made it up?

Well, it exists, on this page.

It's got 96 members.

And here's the message in the diary about today's event.

Put there by you?

That's right. Okay?

And here's the Facebook page for "Take Back Control of Luton,"

a fascist group that thinks it's time we went back to the 1930s,

also set up by us.

And here's a message about a protest today

at the same time, on the same street.

So they all turn up,

completely unaware there's gonna be a rival group,

and then as soon as they see each other, they clash.

There's no need for us to provoke on the ground.

If we've attracted the right kind of people,

it'll kick off of its own accord.

So it's all made up. The whole thing.

Well, I prefer managed.

But what's the point of reporting something that's so obviously fake news?

Look, you need to forget all your previous experience

as a journalist, okay?

Whether it's faked isn't the point.

I mean, everything that's reported is fake, one way or another.

We know that people won't believe it.

It probably contradicts what we said yesterday. It doesn't matter.

The point is to get people used to the idea that everything's a lie,

that there is no truth.

And once they accept that, well, the biggest liar wins.

Shit.

Oh, Christ.

Where did you get all this stuff?

Back of a skip. When they were clearing out Oakley.

Is that for Morse Code?

Mm-hmm.

I'm... I'm sorry. I'm interrupting your meal.

No, no, no. Here. Here, have a seat.

Here. Try it.

Good?

I... I can't...

Oh, sorry.

Mm.

Hold on.

Now, go. Go on.

Me?

- How was that?

Borderline crap.

This must all seem very, very old fashioned to you

but this was...

this one, this was state-of-the-art.

State-of-the-art in its day.

You nicked it, didn't you?

No. No, no, I told you.

I found it. Back of a skip.

Where you found me.

I haven't got very much.

But if you come barging in uninvited,

you have to take your chances.

Well, like I say, I'm really not hungry.

Ha.

You'll eat what you're given. And you'll enjoy it.

- It's really good.

You needn't sound so surprised.

Anyhow, my, er, brilliant analytical mastermind

deduces that you didn't come here

for the pleasure of my company.

Come on, spit it out. If you see what I mean.

You're going to tell me I shouldn't discuss this with you.

Compartmentation and all that.

Probably.

Okay.

I think there's something else hidden in the BT malware.

A third stage.

And your suspicions aren't widely shared?

Everyone thought I was so clever, finding the hidden level.

But...

I'm wondering if we weren't meant to find it,

so that we didn't look any further.

I think maybe there's something else hidden in there.

It's the Nigerian prince.

What?

You get an email from a Nigerian prince.

He has £50 million and he wants to deposit it in your account.

Hurrah. What do you do?

Delete it. It's spam. Everyone knows that.

Exactly.

As soon as you see an email from a Nigerian prince,

without even opening it, you think it's spam.

Trouble is, the other side knows that's what you're going to think.

The Russians are always looking at probabilities,

they adore working out how one behaviour leads to another,

predictable behaviour.

They've been studying us, how we behave,

since... well, since before the war.

Sounds like you admire them. The Russians.

Hmm.

No, I don't admire them.

I respect them. As worthy adversaries.

So what are you saying?

What am I saying? I'm saying, yes,

what if the other side has already predicted

every step you'll take when you analyse the malware?

Okay, fine, but how does that help?

It's a mountain of code. I still have no idea where to start.

Oh, dear.

"A mountain of code." Do you mind if I...

Perhaps it will make you, er, check your assumptions.

Remember the Nigerian prince.

If you find yourself scouring through thousands and thousands of lines of code,

that's probably exactly what they're expecting you to do.

Don't.

Do something else, unexpected.

Okay.

Like what?

Check the comms.

Find out how it's communicating and you're halfway there.

But it doesn't. That's the point.

This malware doesn't beacon at all.

Well, I suspect it's how you define communicating.

Everything communicates, one way or another.

You'll have to think outside the box.

Mm?

Or if you can't, then you have to find someone who can.

Uh-huh.

Well, I don't know. I think...

I think there's life in the old dog yet.

Hey.

You still here?

Working on the BT malware. In my own time.

So what are you doing?

Questioning our assumptions.

You've lost me.

Everything.

What we think its purpose is.

Whether it communicates with the outside world.

I thought it didn't communicate.

Exactly.

That's one of our assumptions.

Another is that it didn't run in the sandbox.

I'm going to try again.

Anything?

Hey. It was worth a try.

Why didn't he say anything else?

In Harrogate?

Why couldn't he be more specific?

Maybe he didn't know.

Or maybe Danny is right.

And it's just another provocation.

Another way to fuck with us.

Tie us in knots looking for something that doesn't exist.

I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing any more.

Yes, you do.

That is about the only thing that's for sure here.

You were born for this.

Don't stay too late.

You're not convinced, are you?

Why did you bring me over here?

Don't you know?

No, actually. I don't.

I read this.

Tell me why you wrote it.

To cause trouble.

No, I don't think so.

I think you were trying to make Russia a better place.

- Really? - Yeah, I think so.

And you risked your liberty and the safety of your daughter to do it.

I think you're a patriot, but you probably don't like to admit it.

That's what I'm trying to do here.

Make Britain a better place.

But you're supporting Putin. And we were criticising him.

Well, we're taking his money. It's not necessarily the same thing.

Look, it's very simple.

You pointed out everything that was wrong with your society.

And you were very good at it.

And I want you to do the same thing here.

But Putin wants to trample all over Britain, not reform it.

No, he doesn't.

He wants to overturn the world order and he's right.

Russia has to get out from under the domination of the West

if it's going to grow.

And we have to tear apart what we've got here from the inside,

so we can build again, better.

Why can't I come in the front entrance?

Our staff would be uncomfortable having you in the building.

Why?

Do I have "black hat" tattooed on my forehead?

Wait for me here.

What? Why? How long will you be?

I don't know.

Hey.

Can I borrow her for a minute?

Sure.

You know that we've been hunting the BT coders?

You found them?

The guy you met in Harrogate?

Is he one of these?

No. No.

Please. This is really important.

I promised.

I promised I wouldn't identify him.

He said his life would be in danger. I told you, he was terrified.

Well, we're about to publish their names and photographs.

You're what? Why?

As part of our response to the attack. To show that Russia was behind it.

Not him. Please. We have to protect him. I promised him.

Who?

Who, Saara?

Vadim Trusov.

Yeah.

How do you know?

I went to uni with him.

That's how I know he's genuine.

Please, don't do anything to hurt him.

I don't care about the others, but don't expose him. Please.

That would be even worse for him.

If we expose everyone else but not him,

it's just gonna throw suspicion on him,

it's gonna make it look like he's a British spy.

What, so this is everyone? The whole team?

- Is that what you're saying? - No...

So why can't he be one of the ones you miss out?

Because he's a key player.

All right, if he's not there, it's gonna look really suspicious.

It's actually safer for him if he's exposed as part of the group.

Saara.

He'll think I've betrayed him.

Are you okay?

- Can I say something? - Yeah, of course.

Doesn't this make it more likely that what he told her in Harrogate was true?

Vadim.

Well, he's one of the coders.

They wouldn't risk someone like that on a provocation operation, would they?

They'd just send someone expendable.

Someone like me.

Unless...

they knew their coder was at college

with a someone from our Malware Department,

so that sending him would make their provocation more believable.

Yeah. But how could they know that?

That she worked here?

And also, they had no idea who was going to turn up, did they?

But even if what he says is true, where does that get us?

I've had every hacker in this building tear that code apart,

and there's nothing. It's a dead end.

So, should I give them all to the Jolly Roger, him included?

Yeah. Do it.

- All good? - Fine.

Okay.

Sorry to keep you waiting.

Positions of power and influence.

One of the men named by the Jolly Roger website is Vadim Trusov,

the son of Felix and Ludmilla Trusov, owners of the Russian...

You're going to have to explain this to me.

How Vadim's any different from you or me?

He does what he's told because it's his job,

just like you and me.

Oh, yes. There is a difference.

He took a massive risk to try to help us

whereas you and I just threw him to the wolves.

Saara.

- Jeremy,

this Jolly Roger, who is he?

See what you can find out.

Is he a front for the spooks? Does he even exist?

Quick as you can, yeah?

And prep a background piece on everything else he's done.

- Angie. - What?

Can I speak to you?

I'd like to try for an interview.

With one of the coders.

Well, the bids are already in. Might happen. Might not.

Depends which way they wanna play it.

Anyway, it's a job for one of the presenters. No offence.

I may have another way in.

I think Vadim Trusov would talk to me.

Why?

We're friends.

Hiya.

- Hey. - Tell me you're not going in to work now.

Yeah, afraid so.

What are you looking at?

What are you looking at?

You guys not going to do anything?

No can do, mate. It's a police-free zone, innit?

Can you hold that?

Mm.

You ready?

Okay.

Questions are here. Scroll like that, okay?

You okay?

I know you can do this.

Thank you.

Mr Trusov, you're accused of being behind the cyber attack

that caused billions of dollars of damage to another nation.

What's your response to these allegations?

I had nothing to do with this.

What about the evidence offered by the "Jolly Roger" website?

It's incontrovertible, isn't it?

What can I say?

I'm a computer engineer working in cyber security.

I know absolutely nothing about this.

Your parents, Felix and Ludmilla Trusov...

I don't have anything to do with my parents.

I make my own way in the world.

Maybe that's why I was targeted. Because of my parents. I don't know.

What about these people?

Who are accused alongside you?

I've never seen them before in my life.

So to your knowledge, you had never before met anyone,

dealt with anyone, from the FSB?

Is that what you're saying?

No.

Not until yesterday.

You met the FSB yesterday?

Why?

They had something for me.

What did they have for you?

Information.

Information?

About the people who did this to me.

About the people who tried to ruin my life.

What people?

One of them is an analyst at the UK's intelligence organisation. GCHQ.

Er, she's on secondment from the National Security Agency in the US.

The other is an illegal hacker who works as a freelance for GCHQ.

Known as "Jolly Roger."

The analyst's name is Kathy Freeman.

Er, the hacker is Darran Wiskowski.

Their addresses are written there.

So, can you explain how you...

The other is an illegal hacker who works as a freelance for GCHQ.

Known as "Jolly Roger."

The analyst's name is Kathy Freeman.

You still think that he was just doing his job?

I've had to search the whole building to find you.

So...

Are you leaving?

I haven't decided.

But are you... Are you safe here?

What about your flat? Won't you have to move out?

Danny's getting me packed up.

They'll find me somewhere else.

You could stay with us.

I mean, it's really tiny. You'd have to sleep on the sofa.

But it's safe.

Bedroom.

It's cute.

Yeah.

And then there's a dining table,

and then this is the kitchen.

You're welcome to use the fridge, stove, oven, you know, anything.

Thanks.

Like I say, it's small.

Well, it'll only be for a couple of days.

Stay as long as you need.

Oh... Oh, my God. What happened?

That's you.

Er, we work together.

Erm... She needs somewhere safe to stay.

I said she could stay here.

Okay.

What happened?

We were, erm...

We were attacked. On the protest.

I was arrested.

- God. - Yeah.

James, are you okay?

I... I should go...

No, no. No, no. She asked you to stay.

Stay.

So, what happens now? Will they want to retaliate?

Possibly.

I think we're more worried about what Russia's got planned for the election.

God knows what else they've got squirrelled away in our systems.

Yeah, but another retaliation can't be the answer, can it?

Outing our analyst was just them retaliating for us naming their coders.

If we attack them again, it's just an ever-escalating spiral.

Surely it has to stop here?

I hope you're right.

But we're four points behind in the polls.

A bit of sabre-rattling goes down well with our base.