TABLE OF CONTENTS By Jeff Moss as Tom
When Tim Mullen came up with the idea for this book during dinner at the Black Hat conference last year, I was pleased to be asked to contribute a chapter. When it came time for me to actually write it, I realized I was at a disadvantage. I had t created characters for the previous books, so my contribution would have to be fresh. There was the temptation to creat a story around an uber-haxor with nerves of steel, the time to plan, and the skills to execute. Such a character would have given me the most flexibility as a writer. After a 16-page false start about a small business owner, a bicycle community portal, and the ever-present Russian Mafia, my first draft hit too many logical problems, and I decided tio go in a different direction.
The adage write what you know came to mind, and I recalled a conversation I had a few years ago with a friend who found him self well positioned to possibly steal a lot of money. As professionals, we would never consider it, but it did trigger a two-pronged conversation. How much money is enough to be worth the risk, and what obstacles would stand in the way? It was an intellectual exercise over coffee, and quickly forgotten in the bubble of dot-com madness.
It just so happens that we have remained good friends. When I proposed revisiting...
