We propose a gamified application of the Identifying Code problem on Interval Graphs, framed as a high-stakes Cold War counter-intelligence operation. We present a polynomial-time algorithm to assign "Listening Devices" (bugs) to "Safe Houses" (intervals) so that every safe house is uniquely identifiable by its bug signature. While the problem is NP-hard on several graph classes, including chordal and bipartite graphs, the interval-graph structure allows us to compute a 2-approximate solution efficiently.
Cordasco et al. (Thu,) studied this question.