The tailors worked from checklists. If this, then that. Survey your target’s hardware, software, firmware. Identify known security holes. Check for antivirus applications. Push this button, run that scan, deliver the corresponding exploit. TAO slang for this was “popping boxes,” no harder than popping a door lock for a halfway competent burglar. Boxes were the computers, routers, and firewalls of a surveillance target. With aptitude and training, a newly enlisted cryptologic technician could do the job most of the time.
