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Saturday, February 27, 2016

Surveillance by Reece Hirsch

Surveillance has a fast-paced fugitive plot and a topic that concerns us all--the power of the government (or in this case, a shadow agency of the government) to monitor everything about our lives.  Even if we eschew social media, we are available online because banks, hospitals, libraries, and stores of all kinds are online.  

Plot:  Chris Bruen and partner Zooey Doucet are ready to open their new law office, but the first client who walks in changes everything.  

Ian Ayres, an "ethical hacker," is hired to do an online security check and discovers a secret government surveillance agency.  His life is quickly disrupted, and he is in danger.  He refuses to go into detail with Chris Bruen in the office, insisting that they walk outside.  Even as they walk, Ayres checks for parabolic mics.  Chris thinks Ayres is a nut case, but when they return to the office to find his receptionist and researcher dead, both Chris and Ayres are on the run.  Zooey, out of the office when the murders occurred, must also disappear.

The plot gets a little fantastic with hired assassins from the shadow agency monitoring every move that the two men make and Zooey seeking help from a hacker that plans to steal millions from a drug cartel (wish the author had left that part out).  

My main interest was in the tech involved and the means available to track any targeted individual through accessing phone calls, emails, and CCTV cameras.  

While I realize that this is fiction and that it would not be as easy as the book makes it seem, I know that when I Google something or buy a book or make an online purchase, that information is an open door for those who know how to gain entry.  Ads for items I have purchased show up on almost any page I view online.  If I research certain phrases like Sharia Law, that interest is out there.  

Does it make you uncomfortable, knowing how much information about you can be accessed?  For me, most of the time it doesn't make me uneasy--because I am not a criminal or a terrorist.  But the premise of the book is that even if you are innocent, you could be targeted for some reason, and like it or not, almost anything about your life is accessible.   

 Do I think this is a great book?  No.  I was much less interested in characters or plot than in the idea of cyber spying.  The book has, however, made me think a bit more about the NSA and the ability to abuse collected data.  

Reece Hirsch is the author of four thrillers that draw upon his background as a privacy attorney. His first book, The Insider, was a finalist for the 2011 International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel. His next three books, The Adversary, Intrusion, and Surveillance, all feature former Department of Justice cybercrimes prosecutor Chris Bruen. Hirsch is a partner in the San Francisco office of an international law firm and cochair of its privacy and cybersecurity practice.

I'm also adding No Place to Hide:  Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State to my list of nonfiction that I'd like to read.  

We all want to be safe, but the history of power and corruption is long and documented.  

:0 This is another example of a book that was just a few hours of escapism sending me off in another direction.  I was going to make this a really brief review--book was OK, kept me involved for a few hours...and look what happened!  
NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Suspense/Conspiracy.  March 15, 2016.  Print length:  299 pages.



10 comments:

  1. The first book sounds interesting as a "food for thought" read. I don't expect it to be amazing; I do find the topic relevant and quite realistic.

    I'm interested in Snowden's thoughts, but have seen many TV interviews about him. We should all be terrified of identity theft and also government corruption-- a.k.a keeping us safe by not letting us know about certain files that maybe we need to know about. One of the random files that Snowden released that whizzed by us and then wasn't mentioned again-- the government knew that we were using a pesticide that was wiping out the honey bee and thus many farmers' crops and the ecosystem balance, yet they sat on it and did nothing (still doing nothing, idk?).

    Now I sound paranoid, lol, but I did get my twitter hacked 2x in past couple of years, and my main blog email address hacked just recently, causing many headaches for me. I'm backing off social media and just using my blog and GR. I really don't need the others in my personal situation. I like your idea of returning to writing letters sometimes. The human touch, even if just through a piece of paper you can hold onto, is more satisfying than a flash of 140 characters.

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    1. The cyber world offers so much that I enjoy and appreciate, and there is no way to turn back the clock, but the possibilities for abuse are almost endless, aren't they?

      Letters are more satisfying in many ways, but less immediate. Sometimes we need the quick response and reply, just as we sometimes want the luxury of time to think and write in a more leisurely way. I've been surprised at how long some letters have taken to arrive, but the pleasure of a letter beats email any day. :)

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  2. The whole idea of cyber spying kind of creeps me out... I am not sure I want to read anything to make that idea bother me even more.

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    1. It is creepy. I try not to think about it too much--especially since I love my internet access like a friend!

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  3. Surveillance sounds like an intriguing read, in terms of the plot and the issues mentioned. The cyber world is both a fascinating and a scary place. While it makes things easier for us to explore, it also makes us vulnerable to those who meant us harm. I'm very careful with emails notifications which request us to update our info or anything goes else. I no longer trust them because some of these spams really look authentic.

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    1. The issues are so current--from common criminals to espionage to attacks on infrastructure like the electric grid. The topic really does make for a good plot set up!

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  4. Have you seen the movie CitizenFour? It is the one the journalist and the filmmaker Snowden first contacted made about everything that happened. The scary things Snowden says and the precautions he takes are real eyeopeners.

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    1. No, but I'm going to check on it right now. Thanks, Stefanie.

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  5. Surveillance sounds like a wild ride. It is scary to think of how much of ourselves is out there. Like you, it's not something I worry about so much because I am not doing anything illegal, but when I really stop to think about it, I can see how it can be a problem--just how vulnerable I really am.

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    1. It makes you think, doesn't it. Technology can easily be turned against you when all of your information can be gathered so easily.

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