The Terrible End of Santa Claus (English version)

It was Christmas Eve, and everything seemed to be going smoothly at the North Pole. The elves were running back and forth, putting the final touches on the sleighs, and the reindeer were getting ready for their big journey. But, for the first time in centuries, something was about to go wrong... and it had nothing to do with the weather or mischievous reindeer!

Santa Claus was in his office, reviewing his “Nice List,” when something strange happened. Suddenly, his screen flickered, and a pop-up appeared on his computer:

“Surprise! Your Christmas is at risk. Click here to save your gifts... or you won’t deliver anything this year.”

“What is this?” Santa said, scratching his white beard. “This can’t be good!”

Immediately, a larger message appeared:

“Your system is under attack. If you don’t pay 100,000 CryptoXmas, we’ll reveal all the secrets of how children around the world have behaved. And worse yet... we’ll make you the villain of Christmas!”

Santa stared at the message in horror. A cyberattack! And not just any attack—it was ransomware. But who could be behind such cyber malice? Santa was known for his generosity and festive spirit, not for being a villain.

Then it hit him. The Grinch! That green, grumpy villain who always had something to do with Christmas disasters. This time, he wasn’t stealing gifts but instead targeting the personal information of children worldwide!

“This won’t stand!” Santa growled as his computer displayed a photo of the Grinch with a malicious grin.

But just when it seemed things couldn’t get any worse…

...Santa woke up from his brief nap. Relieved, he realized it had all been a bad dream. He smiled as he remembered that, just a few months earlier, guided by his magical intuition, he’d anticipated that something like this could happen. To prepare, he had enlisted the help of ágata Smart, a superheroine and expert in intelligence analysis, trained at the prestigious UAI of ITE (just a commercial license from the author).

“Don’t worry, Santa! I’ll take care of this!” said ágata Smart. “With my service, we’ll adopt all the preventive measures needed to protect the Christmas system, safeguard sensitive data, and secure your reputation against the Grinch’s attacks. This will ensure that everyone can enjoy a wonderful Christmas in 2024.”

While the Grinch, confused and furious, watched his plans crumble, ágata Smart used her expertise in investigating the Dark Web and social networks to uncover the Grinch’s intentions. Operating under the pseudonym HackingNoel24, he had been plotting his cyber attack. ágata quickly alerted the SOC (Security Operations Center) serving the North Pole, equipping them with precise information about his malicious intentions to protect everything. She also implemented measures to combat the Grinch’s fake news campaign aimed at tarnishing Santa’s reputation, ensuring children worldwide continued to see Santa as the joyful and generous figure he’d always been.

Santa sighed in relief, smiling as he saw the elves working away without any issues. There was still much to be done, but thanks to his foresight, Christmas was safe. And as always, children around the world received their presents on time!

“This intelligence business really is modern magic! Ho, ho, ho!” Santa said, toasting to another year of peace, joy, and—most importantly—a Christmas free from cyberattacks.

As for the Grinch, he was swiftly arrested by the authorities, and Christmas once again became a time of joy and laughter, as it should always be.

And with this tale, I wish you all a Merry Christmas 2024! May your 2025 resolutions—whether it’s joining a gym, quitting smoking, or making more time for leisure—include hiring the intelligence services of ITE (a second commercial license from the author ;-) ), so that all your goals can come true.