Cory Doctorow's Attack Surface is a standalone novel set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Little Brother and Homeland.
Most days, Masha Maximow was sure she'd chosen the winning side.
In her day job as a counterterrorism wizard for an transnational cybersecurity firm, she made the hacks that allowed repressive regimes to spy on dissidents, and manipulate their every move. The perks were fantastic, and the pay was obscene.
Just for fun, and to piss off her masters, Masha sometimes used her mad skills to help those same troublemakers evade detection, if their cause was just. It was a dangerous game and a hell of a rush. But seriously self-destructive. And unsustainable.
When her targets were strangers in faraway police states, it was easy to compartmentalize, to ignore the collateral damage of murder, rape, and torture. But when it hits close to home, and the hacks and …
Cory Doctorow's Attack Surface is a standalone novel set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Little Brother and Homeland.
Most days, Masha Maximow was sure she'd chosen the winning side.
In her day job as a counterterrorism wizard for an transnational cybersecurity firm, she made the hacks that allowed repressive regimes to spy on dissidents, and manipulate their every move. The perks were fantastic, and the pay was obscene.
Just for fun, and to piss off her masters, Masha sometimes used her mad skills to help those same troublemakers evade detection, if their cause was just. It was a dangerous game and a hell of a rush. But seriously self-destructive. And unsustainable.
When her targets were strangers in faraway police states, it was easy to compartmentalize, to ignore the collateral damage of murder, rape, and torture. But when it hits close to home, and the hacks and exploits she’s devised are directed at her friends and family--including boy wonder Marcus Yallow, her old crush and archrival, and his entourage of naïve idealists--Masha realizes she has to choose.
And whatever choice she makes, someone is going to get hurt.
This is too close to reality to really be labeled speculative fiction. It's a brilliant story and a timely warning, and I'm not sure why I'm not giving it five stars.
We're back in the world of Little Brother and Homeland, where the state has assumed enormous powers and, aided by contractors, has developed tools that enable them to monitor and nudge all human behavior. Only this time, we're behind the screens and in the world of the high-tech contractors who design these systems - and, sometimes, on the streets with protestors whose dissent is being crushed by the police. Masha is the skilled hacker who floats between these two worlds, advising activists in an East European country on how to protect their privacy (while making it clear there's really no way to defeat the powers of the state's surveillance systems) while also working for the massive company that provides systems for clients worldwide. returnreturnBefore we're done, she's back in the United States meeting up with her old friends who are fighting police repression in Oakland. One of them remembers the …
We're back in the world of Little Brother and Homeland, where the state has assumed enormous powers and, aided by contractors, has developed tools that enable them to monitor and nudge all human behavior. Only this time, we're behind the screens and in the world of the high-tech contractors who design these systems - and, sometimes, on the streets with protestors whose dissent is being crushed by the police. Masha is the skilled hacker who floats between these two worlds, advising activists in an East European country on how to protect their privacy (while making it clear there's really no way to defeat the powers of the state's surveillance systems) while also working for the massive company that provides systems for clients worldwide. returnreturnBefore we're done, she's back in the United States meeting up with her old friends who are fighting police repression in Oakland. One of them remembers the trauma of being interrogated by Homeland Security all too well, but they are determined to somehow defeat the impressive powers arrayed against them. Meanwhile, Masha continues to work for a global corporation while her previous employer, the very scary Carrie Johnstone, tries to win her back. She's that good at her job, and it's the joy of code and, let's face it, the money that keeps blinding her to the moral catastrophe she's enabling. The conflict between her cynical side and her more idealistic side is the heart of the story, as she helps friends dodge the surveillance and control systems she creates. Meanwhile, there are some personal relationships that unfold in a time-syncopated fashion as we learn Masha's past and watch her decide what side she's on. returnreturnThis novel isn't aimed at pleasing everyone. For some readers, the technical detail will get in the way of the story, but for nerds, it's fascinating to see Masha think through the challenges and then help her dissident friends find work-arounds. This third book in what could loosely be considered a trilogy offers a meaty ethical challenge right up to the final pages. There's no need to have read the previous books, but if you have, this one is a treat. And it may make you feel differently about autonomous vehicles.
