PIKE (24 page)

What do you call 1000 hackers assembled into one hotel for the weekend? A menace to society? Trouble waiting to happen? They call it a computer security conference, or really, a Hacker Con. A place for hackers, security experts, penetration testers, and tech geeks of all stripes to gather and discuss the latest hack, exploits, and gossip. For Paul, Chloe, and their Crew of con artist vigilantes, it’s the perfect hunting ground for their most ambitious plans yet.

After a year of undercover recruiting at hacker cons all over the country, Chloe and Paul have assembled a new Crew of elite hackers, driven anarchist activists, and seductive impersonators. Under the cover of one of the Washington DC’s biggest and most prestigious hacker events, they’re going up against power house lobbyists, black hat hackers, and even the U.S. Congress in order to take down their most challenging, and most deserving target yet. The stakes have never been higher for them, and who knows if their new recruits are up to the immense challenge of undermining “homeland security” for the greater good.

Inspired by years of author Rick Dakan’s research in the hacker community,
Geek Mafia: Black Hat Blues
opens a new, self-contained chapter in the techno-thriller series.

“Filled with charming geek humor, thoroughly likable characters, and a relentless plot…” — Cory Doctorow, co-editor of
BoingBoing
, on the Geek Mafia books"

“A first rate example of geek fiction getting it right.
Black Hat Blues
gives new meaning to the term ‘hacker con’—you won’t want to put it down.” — Heidi Potter, Shmoocon organizer

“Rick Dakan is one of the few fiction authors working today who tries to understand hacker culture not as a sideshow or scare tactic, but as a way of living a life. His words ring with honest research.” — Jason Scott, director of
BBS: The Documentary