For any kids fascinated by computers and phones, maybe ten years old, this will be an interesting book as we kick off the series ‘Cyber Spooks’ with a bank hack in London.
THE CHINESE HACK starts as Recon, who works in Cyber Spooks, brings his young son Carlo to visit his workplace. This may seem unlikely, but it’s not MI5 here, it’s just an office, and they don’t know how much trouble is about to develop. Kali, another agent, takes care of Carlo when Recon gets an urgent call, so nobody expects the young lad to get involved in stopping cybercrime. Even though Carlo is just learning about computer safety (Kali has some good tips to share) and obviously can’t bring down the bad actors spewing ransomware messages onto a London bank’s servers, the boy’s sharp eyes and bravery can help them find the perpetrators.
Dan Harris illustrates this story, which is not a graphic novel, but a page of text and an illustration opposite. Recon looks too much like a big-chested superhero for me, so I much preferred the nippy Kali on her motorbike.
Author Anthony Sweeney tells us he grew up in Belfast and moved to London, working in the cyber-security field for some years. Certainly, he provides some great tips through the story, like not trusting anyone you don’t know but meet on line with a possibly fake photo, and only signing in to public Wi-fi if it is password protected. Who knows what the team will get up to next time, once they deal with THE CHINESE HACK? Young readers will enjoy following their exploits.
He wanted to be a cyber spy just like Dad. Does he have the skills to stop a ransomware attack?
London, England. Thirteen-year-old Carlo is excited to shadow his father at work. Looking up to him and his important job, the eager boy dreams of following in his parent’s footsteps. But no sooner do they arrive at Cyber Spooks headquarters than the adults have to rush off to deal with a major hack against the city’s banks.
Left in the care of another agent, Carlo wishes there was some way he could help. But when one of the team is kidnapped and his watcher is called into the field, the young would-be secret superhero finds himself in the midst of a mission!
No excerpt available.
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