Stealing The Network by The Complete Series Collector's Edition

Author:The Complete Series Collector's Edition [Edition, The Complete Series Collector's]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-02-13T04:19:25.425000+00:00

In the Beginning… CHAPTER 21

497

It did not take long for her to begin the process anew with the top-tier boards, the regional and world headquarters for the groups everyone knew of but precious few actually knew.

When she fi rst caught a Razor 1911 courier napping and beat him to a release point, Forbes caught a few of the serious players off guard. She had previously earned half a dozen invitations to join couriering groups, but now the well-organized groups started sniffi ng around.

Preferring to play the lone wolf, she made a few similar moves to cement her place in the world. She could strike up conversation with just about anyone, just about any time. Soon Forbes found himself receiving invitations to long-standing teleconference bridges, reliable lines on stolen credit cards, newer boxing techniques, and a nearly endless stream of insecurity information. A decade later, this would all seem like child’s play in the face of the open source security model, but at the time it was about as close as anyone could be to living the cyberpunk dream. It was all she could do to keep her head straight, her machines working, and to weasel her way ever deeper into the elite ranks. Applying her craft and redoubling her efforts, Forbes quickly became the top courier in the western States.

Wannabe kids made intro animations as gifts, sysops beckoned to get her to sign in regularly and put their boards early in the distribution cycle so they could move up in the world, and she had a permanent invitation to join high-end conferences. Soon, even the face-to-face invites grew to span the globe. Wanting to build stronger relationships without risking her status, she hatched a simple scheme that would play into the male-dominated subculture.

Just as she had all along, she manipulated the system to keep Fay and Skara just one level down the ladder from the Forbes reputation. It was all too easy to offer free warez to the unsuspecting boards so they would take what they could get. A few carefully placed whispers at the higher level also implied a relationship between Fay and Forbes, enough that nobody would be surprised at her next maneuver.

Playing on everyone’s assumption that Forbes would be male just as surely as Fay would be female, she decided to use Fay’s public face. She concocted a long and semi-mysterious history of their relationship; enough to convince people she was out of reach, but also enough to hint at what the future might hold. No love at fi rst sight story, her lie read more like an employment resume. She fi gured this would set up a house of cards only she could take down.

From that point forward, whenever an invitation for a face-to-face meeting arrived, she merely sent Fay along instead. Dressing neatly in plain but tight clothes and bearing at least one fresh card or code, hackers welcomed Fay wherever she went. Any time Forbes came up in conversation, she redirected the attention to herself with a grin, giggle, or outrageous technical comment.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.