Digital Fortress
posted in Fiction |
This is the book about cryptology—how data is encrypted and how the governmental agencies work hard to break the codes so that they can catch the secret messages sent and received by people, so as to prevent terrorists and other antisocial elements from creating trouble.
The problem about code breaking and monitoring the message raises the issue of the intrusion of privacy of individuals. But when the security of the nation is at risk, the privacy of individuals takes second place. This is an issue of debate all over the scientific community and is forms the basis of this novel.
The question that needs to be answered is how ethical is the spying of the private lives of the citizens. Another issue that needs to be addressed is ‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?’ or ‘Who will guard the guards?’
Here the agency that does the spying is National Security Agency (NSA), which has the most powerful code breaking machine in the world. The agency’s stubborn second-in-command Strathmore has built the machine (named TRANSLTR) has no qualms in intruding the privacy of the individuals if it means thwarting the threats against the nation. But there are other people who do not agree with his ideas. Strathmore’s deputy and head cryptographer is a stunningly beautiful and extremely intelligent lady—Susan Fletcher. Strathmore is madly in love with Susan while Susan is deeply in love with Prof. David Becker, a brilliant foreign-language specialist.
The trouble starts when TRANLTR is faced with a mysterious code that it cannot break. The code has been created by a former employee of NSA who left the organization because he opposed Strathmore’s ideas. The key to breaking the code is with him. Strathmore sends David to find the key with an instruction to kill him once he has found the key.
Susan has no idea about the sinister plots of his boss and tries desperately to break the code, equally unaware of the fact that the code has been designed to put TRANSLTR out of commission. The rest of the story is how Susan, David and the Director of NSA tries to save the national secrets after Strathmore has committed suicide and the mysterious code (which turned out to a virus) wipes out the defenses that protects the national secrets.
Book Details:
- Author: Dan Brown
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
- Year: 1998
- ISBN: 0312995423
- Cover & Page Count: Paperback, 384 Pages
You can order online at Amazon.