Breaking Backbones

Deb Radcliff

Description

Cy and her hacking clan use a powerful AI to dismantle a criminal empire and reallocate criminal gains to worthy causes as their enemies pursue them.

In this exciting conclusion to the Breaking Backbones Hacker Trilogy, Cy and Ying are locked in a lover’s triangle while their respective governments try to exploit them for their access to a powerful new Artificial Intelligence (AI) named Telos.

From their hideout at the Russian River, Cy and her freedom hackers are using Telos to systematically dismantle Damian Strandeski’s criminal empire and redistribute the criminal gains to victims, the needy, and important social causes, reigning in a new era of innovation and sustainable technology. Ying, meanwhile, is using a copy of Telos at an estate in France to get revenge against those who interned her family in the work camps. She is also using Telos to find her missing husband, reported dead four years earlier, but who Ying discovers is very much alive—and with another woman.

With larger forces coming after Telos, a cyberwar erupts, taking out power in America, France and China, and pushing Ying and Cy closer together, ultimately forcing them to make the most difficult decisions of their lives.

Sujets

• Thrillers
• Adventure (Guyana)
• Adventure
• Hackers
• Thriller
• Fiction
• Action

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 02 août 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781665747264
• Langue: English

Extrait

The final book of the trilogy is by far the best. Weaving together several of the storylines from the first two books, we learn more about the band of off-grid survivalists and their efforts to counter GlobeCom’s former chairman, Damian Strandeski. Can Telos, the artificial intelligence more powerful than GlobeCom was, help? Or will it be overpowered by an even greater force? You won’t put this book down once you start reading it, and you’ll be astonished by the new revelations. You’ll also wish that this was not the end of the story. Or is it?
—Marc Sachs, former White House cybersecurity adviser under George W. Bush and currently deputy director for research, McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security
Deb Radcliff has written a thrilling and thought-provoking conclusion to her Breaking Backbones hacker trilogy. The plot is fast paced and full of twists and turns, and the world building is impressive. I highly recommend this book to fans of science fiction, thrillers, and strong female characters Cy and Ying, who are complex and compelling characters, and I found myself rooting for them both—even as they made choices that I didn’t always agree with. Cy and Ying are both strong and capable women, but they are also flawed and make mistakes. This makes them feel more human and relatable.
One of the things I enjoyed most about this book is the way Radcliff explores the complex ethical issues raised by artificial intelligence. Telos is a powerful tool that can be used for good or evil, and the characters in the book must grapple with the moral implications of using it. One of the standout aspects of the book is its emphasis on sustainable technology and social causes. Cy and her freedom hackers use Telos to dismantle a criminal empire and redistribute wealth to victims and important social causes. This unique take on the typical hacker narrative is refreshing.
The book’s author, Deb Radcliff, is a woman who found her own success in cyber and is extending her influence in the field to her published books, demonstrating her uncanny ability to write such a thrilling hacker series with needlepoint accuracy. She continues to inspire countless women to pursue careers in STEM and cybersecurity. Radcliff’s work is a reminder that gender should not be a barrier to success in any field. The Breaking Backbones hacker trilogy is not only a great read but also a source of inspiration and motivation for women in technology and cybersecurity.
—Alissa Knight, writer, director, executive producer, Knight Studios
A thrilling and exciting tale of romance and international intrigue set against the backdrop of the global struggle for power in the new age that is being ushered in by the artificial intelligence: Telos. As the world powers struggle for control of Telos, a high-tech battle unfolds, very effectively imagining the battlespace of the not-too-distant future. As many nations move into a surveillance state and the idea of privacy devolves toward a distant recollection, information becomes the new currency and defines the battlespace of this new era of warfare. Factors such as corporate interests, national interests, and the agendas of a super-wealthy/ultra-elite interact with emerging high-tech capabilities that amplify what is possible—both the miraculous and the terrible. We are now seeing artificial intelligence begin to emerge in a way that could destabilize institutions and even society at every imaginable level.
From Chaos to Order imagines how these factors could play out as the crescendo for the Breaking Backbones series, riveting the reader and enlightening us to the challenges and solutions of an uncertain future. This riveting story is a worthy conclusion for the brilliant and imaginative Breaking Backbones trilogy. From Chaos to Order satisfies the reader by carrying forward the characters we have fallen in love with, bringing the series to a powerful conclusion.
—Michael Manrod, chief information security officer at Grand Canyon Education
BREAKING BACKBONES: FROM CHAOS TO ORDER
 
BOOK III OF THE HACKER TRILOGY
 
 
 
DEB RADCLIFF
 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2023 Deb Radcliff.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6657-4725-7 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-4727-1 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-4726-4 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023913426
 
Archway Publishing rev. date: 7/26/2023
 
CONTENTS
Cast of Characters
PART I: THE TRIANGLE
Prologue
Chapter 1Exposed
Chapter 2Games Week
Chapter 3Omen
Chapter 4Faint of Heart
Chapter 5Self-Learning
Chapter 6In State
Chapter 7Turned On
Chapter 8Operation Back Door
Chapter 9Takedown
Chapter 10In the Dark
Chapter 11Safe Room
Chapter 12Call to Action
Chapter 13Fry or Die
Chapter 14Big Guns
Chapter 15Connecting the Dots
PART II: CY’S OPS VERSUS PSY-OPS
Chapter 16Déjà Vu
Chapter 17Command and Control
Chapter 18Homecoming
Chapter 19The Plant
Chapter 20Broken Heart
Chapter 21Full Circle
Chapter 22Lights, Camera, Action
Chapter 23Homecoming
PART III: EQUALIZING
Chapter 24Operation Heartbeat
Chapter 25Down the Rabbit Hole
Chapter 26Snatched
Chapter 27Battle Ready
Chapter 28DEFCON 4
Chapter 29Waterfront
Chapter 30Outgunned
Chapter 31French Connection
Chapter 32Peacemaker
Chapter 33New Order
Chapter 34Final Goodbye
Chapter 35Old Ghosts
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Cy (short for CyAnthia), in her midforties, is den mom to UFJ hacker clan that relocated from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Russian River. Formerly Cindy Frank, cyber forensics investigator with the DoD and then the NSA.
d _ ArkAngl , a.k.a. Leonard Smith, fifty-one, formerly an involuntary spy for the DoD embedded in China Telecom, and father to Cy’s firstborn, Adam.
Ying Liu , in her late forties, Leonard Smith’s “widow” (who does not know he is still alive), daughter of N ǚ Jiāzh ǎ ng , former GlobeCom Chinese board director.
Honored Mother, N ǚ Jiāzh ǎ ng , Ying’s mother and powerful figure in China, former board member at GlobeCom.
Adam , twenty-one, son of d _ ArkAngl and Cy, the first of their clan born off-grid at their former hideout in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Michael , nineteen, son of Cy and Des (now deceased), born fifteen months after Adam when they lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Allure , fifty, is Cy’s friend and protector from their days in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Saoirse , twenty, daughter of Skew (now deceased), from the Cl0ver Clan, recently relocated with her three siblings to be with the UFJ clan on the Russian River.
Elven , twenty-three, Saoirse’s half brother with a Black mother and Irish father (Skew, who’s now deceased).
Liam and Shay , sixteen, Saoirse’s twin brothers who look like the spitting image of their deceased father, Skew.
Stonces , twenty-three, based in France, is son to Adrianna Dupres (now deceased) who was one of GlobeCom’s twenty-four board members.
Bilbo , in his midfifties, is a former UFJ clan member who escaped from Work Camp 74 in a daring prison break that was led by Stonces in book 2 of this series.
Geoffrey , in his midfifties, is Stonces’s most trusted business partner and security chief.
Malina Bennet , in her late fifties, is former pilot with the French Air Force, lifetime friend to Stonces and Geoffrey, who leads special ops when needed.
General Greene , seventy-two, former boss to Cindy Frank (a.k.a. Cy) when she was digital supervisor over Leonard Smith at NSA twenty years ago.
Colonel Charles “Chuck” Wilshire , in his forties, assistant to Jacob Michaels at the National Security Agency (NSA).
Jacob Michaels , in his fifties, in charge of Signals Intelligence at the NSA.
Damian Strandeski (now deceased), formerly the evil GlobeCom board director responsible for a host of crimes, who had organized the criminals operating on the dark web into a master syndicate called the Circle.
PART I THE TRIANGLE

PROLOGUE FROM THE DEAD
Ying can’t believe what she just saw. Her husband, who’s supposed to be dead, is very much alive— and with another woman. She just passed them as she was leaving the private plane terminal at the Orly Airport, causing Ying to stop in her tracks. He kept his head down and wore a baseball hat, but she’s almost certain it was him. Although why he’s with that woman, she cannot fathom. The woman, who appears to be in her mid to late forties (about the same age as Ying), has