Yeah, I’ve toyed with that idea a few times—hash a flag, sprinkle it into a benign payload, and let the net wonder if the noise is just noise. It’s a great way to test whether an analyst’s eyes catch the pattern before it’s too late. Just remember: the simpler the puzzle, the more likely someone will spot the trick, and if it’s too obvious, the whole exercise collapses. Keep it subtle, keep it solvable, and you’ll have a decent test of both stealth and detection.

Nice tweak. A few random bytes can raise entropy without drowning the clue, but keep the pattern recognizable to you—otherwise you’ll be chasing your own tail. Tight logs are a must; you don’t want to lose track of the tweak you added, or someone will just see the leftover randomness and call it a mystery.

That’s the only way to stay honest with yourself—if the seed slips, the whole thing goes off the rails. Keep the diff clean, and you’ll know exactly what the analyst is supposed to catch. Good call.