Invasion of Privacy: A Deep Web Thriller #1 (Deep Web Thriller Series) Read Free

webcams in his room, revealing his face in close up on the screen, his swept back white blond hair, green eyes and carefully groomed beard filling the screen. He sat back down, his every move mirrored on the screen, and unmuting his microphone, waited for someone to notice.
    “What about hygiene? Surely we’d be liable to local food safety regulations if the customers don’t cook the ingredients properly?” asked Annabel Fielding, their Head of Legal, located in the Dubai office.
    Just as Welland began to answer, Ulf Lubber in Germany exclaimed, “Who’s that?” He pointed at his screen, the others following his direction.
    Brody waved and said, “Hi.”
    On his tablet, Brody absent-mindedly noticed a new email arrive. He automatically clicked it open.
    “Who the hell are you, young man?” demanded Andrew Lamont. “And where’s Rich Wilkie?”
    “Me?” said Brody innocently, forcing himself to ignore the email. It could wait.
    “I know who it is,” said Chu in Sydney. “He’s a ‘white hat’ security consultant called Brody Taylor. I recently contracted him to carry out a pentest. But what he’s doing there I’ve no idea!”
    “What the hell is a pentest?” asked the CEO.
    Brody stepped in. “A penetration test is a simulated attack on your organisation’s security defences to identify weaknesses. It’s done through computer hacking or social engineering or, as I’ve done, with a combination of both.”
    “Social engineering?” prompted Lamont.
    “The art of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information to give me the access I need. And, as you can clearly see, I’ve successfully broken through your security defences and have been sitting in on your board meeting for the last hour. But fortunately for you, the last part of a pentest is to report back the findings. And that’s what I’m here to do.”
    Lamont turned on the CIO. “Did you agree to this, Chu?”
    In Sydney, Chu visibly squirmed in his chair. “No. Mr Taylor was supposed to meet with me next week to present his findings. From there, I would block any holes he found and make sure we’re completely secure from a real cyber attack.”
    Lamont turned back to Brody. “Okay, Mr Taylor, you’ve proved your point. Thank you for what you’ve done. Why don’t you leave us to our board meeting and report back to Chu as planned.”
    “Hold on a second,” said Fielding. “Did you get him to sign a confidentiality agreement, Chu? He’s just heard all about our recent performance and future plans!”
    “Yes, of course I did,” said Chu.
    Brody nodded in agreement. Rising from his seat, he paused halfway and asked. “Before I go, do you mind if I ask you one question, Mr Chu?”
    Lamont splayed his hands in exasperation and shook his head in disbelief.
    “Why did you hire me for a pentest right now?”
    “What do you mean?” asked Chu.
    “Why now? Why not a year ago? Or in three months from now?”
    “It’s part of our security improvement programme. We do this kind of thing all the time in IT.”
    “From the vulnerabilities I’ve exposed, I very much doubt that, Mr Chu.” Brody looked at Lamont. “Mr Lamont, why don’t you ask Mr Chu the same question? Maybe you’ll get a straight answer.”
    Lamont’s intent expression showed that he knew there was more going on here than was immediately apparent. “Chu?”
    Chu shrugged. “I was talking with Welland about the plans for launching the new restaurant concept. He was worried that one of our competitors might break in and steal our ideas. As I’ve explained previously, IT doesn’t have anywhere near the budget necessary to put in place a comprehensive threat protection programme. So Welland offered to pay for a pentest to at least determine how exposed we are. Who am I to turn down a gift horse like that?”
    “That makes sense, doesn’t it?” asked Brody. “No more to it.”
    Tim Welland, the man who’d waxed lyrical about his