digital-sabotage

This chapter introduces the emergence and escalation of cyberwarfare through the activities of the Kremlin-backed hacker group Sandworm, highlighting their devastating attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure culminating in the global NotPetya malware outbreak in 2017. It contextualizes these events within a broader geopolitical cyber arms race, emphasizing the unprecedented scale and potential future consequences of state-sponsored digital sabotage. The prologue personalizes the impact by recounting a midnight blackout in Kiev, symbolizing the tangible human and societal effects of cyberattacks.

In this chapter, Tommie Parker leads a group in sabotaging the Librareome data storage by shredding and gluing the rescued data, aiming to disrupt Max Huertas's operation. The group is covertly guided by a mysterious entity communicating via a laptop, who warns them of dangers and manipulates their actions. The chapter culminates in a confrontation with a lethal robot that injures Tommie, forcing the group to carry him to safety while grappling with betrayal and the uncertain motives behind their mission.