CypherGhost

Spies Lie #7

by D.S. Kane

She is a CypherGhost: An untraceable hacker, someone who can be anywhere and do anything using a computer. Can an aircraft be hacked? Can a human being be hacked? Don't be so sure...

When Ann Silbey Sashakovich enters Stanford University to study computer forensics, she gets far more than she expected. During the Thanksgiving holiday of her freshman year, she finds that the aircraft she is a passenger on has been hacked. Its engines have stopped and everyone aboard is screaming.

When Charlette De Spain's boyfriend is falsely accused of stealing secrets from the FBI and dies in prison under mysterious circumstance, it changes her life. Once an Art History major, now a budding computer hacker, she gathers the proof that he was innocent. When no one pays attention, she decides to become jury and executioner of all those responsible.

But the aircraft carrying one of her primary targets also carries Ann.

In an America whose government is silently at war with its hackers, who prevails and who fails isn't limited to the two young battling women, but might also involve the fate of the entire nation.

Genres: Thriller, Action

Paperback

Published November 26, 2016

About the author

DS Kane is the name I've chosen to write under. I worked in the field of covert intelligence for over a decade. During that time, my cover was my real name, and I was on the faculty of NYU's Stern Graduate School of Business. I traveled globally for clients including government and military agencies, the largest banks, and Fortune 100 corporations, and while in-country, I did side jobs for our government. One of the banks I investigated housed the banking assets of many of the world's intelligence agencies and secret police forces, including the CIA and NSA. Much of my work product was pure but believable fiction, lies I told, and truths I concealed. Secrets that—if revealed—might have gotten me killed. When my cover got blown, I fled the field and moved 3,000 miles.

Now, I'm a former spy, still writing fiction. Through my novels, I expose the way intelligence agencies craft fiction for sale to sway their countries and manipulate their national policy, driving countries into dangerous conflicts.

I've been published under my real name many times in financial trade journals on topics including global banking, computer fraud and countermeasures, financial forecasting, global electronic-funds transfer networks, and corporate finance, including one book on finance published by a major publisher. I've been a featured speaker at financial conferences and conventions. My children's book, A Teenager's Guide to Money, Banking and Finance, was published in 1987 by Simon & Schuster. I was once the CEO of an ebook publishing company.

I've been adjunct faculty at the Whidbey Island MFA program, and also teach a course at the Muse Online Writers Conference entitled Covert Training and Covert Operations for Fiction Writers, and taught one on a similar topic at California libraries, funded by a federal grant. I've taught a thriller-writing course at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference and was a featured speaker at a dinner meeting of the California Writers Club. I taught finance at the Stern Graduate Business School of New York University for over ten years, and am one of the co-founders of ActFourWriters.com, a unique email-based novelists' critique group.

Reviews

[DS Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent hacker vs. hacker and spy vs. spy conspiracy thriller.

[Cath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book seven of the Spies Lie series and continues the story of Ann Sibley Sashakovich, the adopted daughter of former spy Cassie, who was rescued off the streets. She is now studying computer forensics at Stanford University, having been trained up in computer skills over the last few years by William Wing, a famous hacker and computer expert that Cassie has used and been in contact with before. Ann picked up her IT skills really quickly and it made sense to study it further at college. She has enjoyed her first semester and on travelling home for Thanksgiving, the plane she is on, is hacked and starts to plummet to the ground, with no power! Luckily she has her laptop with her and tries to hack in herself to see what she can do. She manages to reset the planes electronic systems and the plane lands safely, but she ends up arrested for saving herself and all on board!

Unfortunately, in doing so, she has also made herself an enemy. A hacker known as CypherGhost, who has been operating for some ten years and is so far untraceable. She started on this path after her high school love interest was arrested for hacking into a government system and stealing secret data. He went on trial and was sentenced to a whole life term basically. Shortly after, he was found dead in his cell and a letter she was sent from a guard, stated that two dark suited men visited him just beforehand. She blames the government for his death and spends her time constantly moving from place to place, whilst also improving her hacking skills. She is seeking vengeance against all those involved in her boyfriend’s death. Starting with the judge for his trial, who is on the same plane as Ann.

A government which is secretly waging a war against hackers, has some parts of it with their own agenda, who will take extreme measures against all hackers, black hats, grey hats and white hats. Not differentiating between any of them. CypherGhost’s actions feed the ammunition that a certain senator is looking for, as one of the stages of a huge plot to the American government and replace it with a military takeover, but one that will be controlled by a secret organisation of business owners all around the world! It is just a year since American society almost fell after the attacks from China and Russia, now this. Two hackers have been identified by their online presence and skills, as being the perfect candidates to recruit to this secret organisation and pretend hacker forum, recruiting hackers from everywhere. One is Ann, who was obviously identified after her arrest for hacking the flight controls to save everybody on the same plane as herself. The other is CypherGhost, who they suspect was responsible, but who is untraceable.

A complex tale of modern warfare carried out over the communication and data highways of America, with computer, company and personal data being transferred between companies and individuals, open to access from hackers with little effort. Far too many places and people are open to attack and ripe for the picking. The youngest member of the team, Ann, is eager to join the others in Swiftshadow to trace CypherGhost, especially since it is her life at risk and it seems none of the others have the skills needed to find this hacker. Add in some nanotech being used to track hackers all over America and false imprisonment of millions, it may not be a good time to be a hacker! Very technical in parts, but there is a full description of all the terminology, the characters from the whole series and even links to articles with examples of cyber hacking and issues, all at the end of the book. Certainly a shocking look at what might be, especially if the wrong people can get hold of your networks or control parts of the country and government. All the main characters have dealt with difficult and dangerous situations, in each storyline, and they just get better and better! I love reading about them and hope to see them all survive for another adventure. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Jamie Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Female Hackers and a Bit of Sci-Fi

While thrillers aren't my main reading jam, I do enjoy a good techno-thriller every now and again. I was especially curious about this particular book when I saw that the two main characters were young female hackers. In a world where hackers seem to always be men, at least as portrayed in books and movies, I loved this idea. These two women are at cross-purposes when the book starts, though they don't know of each other or meet until later. The author has done a good job blending the technology, spy, and governmental aspects of this story. I found it to be a gripping and page-turning read. The author has a straightforward writing style that made me want to keep reading “just one more chapter” until I stayed up way later than I should have. The author has experience as a spy and working with a variety of businesses, and his expertise shows. The ending has some surprising twists, layering on a bit of sci-fi as well. I had read no other books in this series, yet I didn't feel lost in any way. If you enjoy techno-thrillers, especially with well-drawn, strong female protagonists, you may very well appreciate this book.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This seventh book in the Spies Lie Series by DS Kane was an intense story of suspense and then action-adventure takes over. The usual collection of characters of Swiftshadow, Cassie, Lee, Avram, Ann, William, Grace, Jon among them, were once again here for the reader to enjoy their continuing journeys of trials and tribulations that always seem to follow them wherever they might try to hide. This book utilized quite a bit more cyber technology and vocabulary than some of the others because it was completely encased in computer hacking and counter-hacking for both the good and the not so good other side. This was another scary case of the author's convoluted mind coming up with yet another way for the USA to no longer be by letting the reader see how it could happen in real life. I can't wait to see what terror he brings in book 8 of the series. This is a voluntary review of this book.

[David Spiselman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story tells the reader what happens when a black hat hacker and a white hat hacker - arch enemies - must work together to stop a coup d'état.

Technology plays a big role in this story, concerning the development of a nano device named Bug-Lok that - when ingested or injected - finds its way to the junction of the visual and auditory cortexes of the medulla oblongata, where it attaches itself. From there, the device can see and hear what the person it inhabits sees and hears, and it can hijack the nearest WiFi connection to report what it recorded to the person who caused it to be injested or injected.

This isn't the simplest story but it may be one of the best in the espionage technothriller sub-genre. Highly recommend.

[C.A. Knutsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast moving cyber tale

The book raises some unpleasant and plausible scenarios of cyber terrorism. The story moved fast and there was continuing uncertainty how about the trustworthiness of the major cyber opponent.

[Ex Aberporth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I am not very good at saying things but I had to comment on this book I want a film made so. I can watch it and read it at the same. Time I just loved it and will be reading all the other books I can find by DS Jane and I suggest you do the same

[Cath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book six of the Spies Lie series and sees Yigdal Ben-Levy now working as Israel’s Asst Foreign Minister, after being exiled and pushed out of the spy game within Mossad. Ben-Levy was the top Mossad spymaster, known by his operatives as Mother. One of his acts, almost five years before the main events in the book, is to fulfil a debt to two of his good friends, the Sommersteins, a husband and wife team who worked for him and were killed by Syrian assassins after one of his espionage cases went wrong. He had put them into deep cover in London under the name of Sommers, for over thirty years and their wish was for him to bring their son to Israel and give him a future with Mossad, if they died. He sends his niece Aviva to go over to London under a false name and get him to come back to Israel with her.

Jon now works as a spy, with the cover of a banker, from his studies and work in Europe. A Chinese hacker Chin Ryu passes information to a Russian contact, but is killed for his trouble. His friend and lover Chow Sang finds his friends flat has been ransacked, but manages to find some more USB drives that have been hidden well and after checking what was on them, sends the information onto two contacts from his old spy days. One called Misha, a Russian contact, but when he can’t find that, he sends it to Crypto Monger. And the other known as Emah, in Israel. The drives contain information on power grids in the States, China and Combat readiness details for the Russian Army, and then emergency contacts details for some very important people! Information that someone obviously was happy to pay a large sum for, but has left a target on Sang’s back and he will no doubt be terminated as soon as anyone finds him.

The people that Sang sent the information to end up as being William Wing, under his hacker name of Crypto Monger, and also to Mother. Wing is back with Betsy, in Iowa and gets an offer to come visit Shanghai with his old friend Jon Sommers, who will be there on business. Once he finds out that some files he was sent had a worm attached, he needs to find out who did it and where all his data was sent and to who. Russian vengeance will create a plot to work with China, to try and take down America, splitting the proceeds between the two countries. Misha is working with his niece Cassandra in her independent intelligence agency Swiftshadow, in Washington, DC. Bob Gault is also a previous agent now working with Swiftshadow and has just had to stop groups of suicidal college students trying to take down the US President and Israeli Prime Minister.

This data on a possible past proxy war becoming real in the next few months, arrives on Ben-Levy’s computer as he returns from the doctor. He won’t be here for much longer and will soon join the ghost of his niece. The plot will have Chinese CSIS and Russian mafiya partnering up to destroy America and its infrastructure. The plot is too big for Mother to get Mossad to deal with, so he believes the only way to put a stop to it, is to address the UN General Assembly. He doesn’t know yet, but a Russian assassin has already taken down an American courier who works for Swiftshadow. He only has a few trusted operatives he can rely on to get the information across and that will be Jon, Cass, Wing, Avram and a few others. Some of them are already avoiding assassins in their paths, but the others will also be under threat by both Russian and Chinese operatives.

If they don’t succeed in convincing the UN of the threat and get it stopped, the Chinese will hack all the power grids and then both enemies will invade the US, splitting the landmass into two halves, at the Mississippi river. The spoils to the victors. Ben-Levy is dealing with enemies on all sides wanting him stopped, but he has his own personal fight against cancer to contend with and the memories and ghosts of all those he has sent to die or ordered to be killed himself, including the order to have his own niece killed for becoming a double agent. Jon for one, has never forgiven him for her death. A frantic race begins to get Ben-Levy to the UN, past Russian and Chinese hit squads, to warn of the invasion to come. If he doesn’t succeed, then even Israel may fall against these powerful enemies, if united for one cause. His past mistakes and actions are coming back to haunt him and everyone else.

One act can start an avalanche and Ben-Levy is finding that out for himself. Actions started over a decade ago, have cost him family and a promise to old friends, along with lots of colleagues over the years. Death has followed him and haunted him, but now his own death will hopefully not come before he stops two world powers from destroying another. Lots of action takes place as the story comes to its conclusion, with the added cyber bits and pieces always important to the battle. Great to see Cassie and Lee’s adopted daughter in the mix as well. A chip off the old block as they might say. She has definitely lived under the experience of many talented people. Another involved spy story with lots of twists and turns. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Shirley Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can wait for the next book

The Spis Lie series is action packed with lots of twists and turns. Can't wait to start the next book

[steve lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept.

[Suzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a promotional copy of this work in exchange for an unbiased review; I have reviewed other works by this author and other authors in this genre.

I originally became involved in this series when I was presented with the opportunity to review Book 5 in this series - Baksheesh. As a result of enjoying Baksheesh so much, I ultimately went back and obtained the earlier ebooks at my own expense. I was excited when I first picked up thew newest book - who doesn't love a chance to reconnect with great characters who have undergone many trials and tribulations.

Unlike most of the other books, I ended up reading this in bits and spurts rather than two or three sessions due to work. Overall I enjoyed the story and trying to guess which minor characters would live and who would not survive contact with the enemy. I appreciated the deep backstory references and the multiple plot lines that moved at a fast pace. This is a good read if you enjoy a blend of intel, cyber, and tactical operations; it is also good if you have a background in critical infrastructure protection (but it is certainly not required) to get the most out of the story.

Ultimately, the fast pace of the book was a mixed blessing for me. On one hand, I absolutely felt the urgency behind all of the characters trying to coordinate movements across the globe. On the other, I was hoping for a bit more character development for many of the characters. While this book didn't have time to explore a lot of new for a broad range of characters, it did focus quite well on a few in a satisfying way. The only other potential drawback was that the suspense was primarily in the timing - and hoping that all of the pieces could be uncovered and maneuvered in time rather than from any surprising turn of events.

That having been said, it was great to catch up with Jon Sommers, Ann Silbey Sashakovichs, Avram Shimmel, Cassandra Sashakovich, William Wing, Betsy "the Butterfly" Brown and more as they waged a high stakes battle for the survival of the Western world. As usual, DS Kane wove tradecraft, current events, and tactics into a compelling story that has more basis in reality than most people would care to admit.

Now awaiting Book 7 patiently.

[Joey Held · Rating 5 out of 5]

The latest story in the Spies Lie series, CypherGhost primarily revolves around two young women, Ann and Charlette. Their paths unknowingly cross when Charlette, mad that nobody seemed to care that her boyfriend – who was already falsely imprisoned – dies mysteriously in prison, she decides to take it out on anyone she feels is responsible. She hijacks a flight and intends to crash it because of one person onboard, but she's thwarted when Ann is able to override the hack and safely land the plane.

And that's just early on in the book. The pace continues steadily throughout as other characters and subplots get introduced – and when Ann and Charlette actually meet in person. You find yourself empathizing with both throughout, and there are some good twists and turns. DS Kane's background was as a covert spy for more than a decade, and it shows, in a good way. There's a lot of manipulating and clever maneuvering by the characters, which gives an inside look at how these intelligence agencies operate.

Don't worry if you haven't read previous books in the series, either. I felt right at home paging through CypherGhost. Chances are you'll want to check out some of the other titles by DS Kane, as well. Looking forward to the next one!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
This is a timely novel involving international computer hacking and its consequences/retaliation by governments. It is very fast paced and kept me engrossed throughout the entire story. With what we are reading everyday in the news, it is scarily real. I see the author worked in the intelligence field for a number of years and I think that provides a feeling of believability to the story. I really appreciated the glossaries and appendices in the back ... I referred to them more than once. The science fiction component in the story was a little distracting but it was okay. I also liked the strong presence of the female characters. It made the book a little different. All-in-all, an interesting read that I would recommend.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sixth book in the Spies Lie Series by DS Kane does not disappoint the reader in terms of its action and suspense quota. The book also ties up some early plotlines from book 1 which started this series. The familiar cast of characters of the Swiftshadow group and alphabet agencies are once again put through their many trials and obstacles to determine not only who they are, what they are capable of, but also for their own personal survival. The author continues to propose plotlines that have all too much potential to become a reality that is often too scary to even consider, yet the author makes them work while at the same time giving the reader plenty of fodder to contemplate. I have already added book 7 to my TBR file. This is a voluntary review of this book.

[DS Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is, by far, the best in the series so far. If you like kinetic battles, espionage, hackers, and car chases, this one will rock your reading world. It turns tragedy into triumph, and will leave you thinking about our country's provocative behavior long after you've finished reading it.

Jon Sommers reappears in a starring role, and Ann Silbey Sashakovich takes center stage for a large part of the book. All your favorites, Avram Shimmel, Cassandra Sashakovich, William WIng and Betsy "the Butterfly" Brown play substantive support roles, and the antagonists are both Russian and Chinese.

It's a wild ride; one that could happen for real any day now.

[Bennett Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the 21st century cyberwar dominating recent headlines, "CypherGhost" is timelier than ever. Writer and former spy DS Kane’s continuation of his Spies Lie series (his seventh!) promises a fast-paced story with a deep knowledge of how the digital world is constantly manipulated all around us. The wars of the future will not be fought with soldiers, but with keyboards – "CypherGhost" delivers!

[Shirley Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Espionage at its finest

So many twists and turns, are they going to make it. You Wil be unable to put down this book till the end.

[DS Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent spy vs. spy, hacker vs. hacker conspiracy story.