Media Journal: Digital Fortress

In an increasingly technological era, the ethical and moral implications of cybersecurity are questioned day in and day out. The ever-witty, Dan Brown, explores those themes in "Digital Fortress" forcing us to reconsider how we interact online and how we pick our representatives.

To begin with, Susan Fletcher, head of Cryptography, at a secretive governmental agency (NSA) uncovers a shocking truth that challenges the very core of the department and the agency. As the mystery unfolds, she realizes she is fighting for the agency, her life and also for the man she loves.

Digital Fortress is a very typical Brown novel. There is an audacious idea, the relatable characters and the unfathomably logical storyline.

What would happen if everyone, could access any and all secret files of the government?

Evidently it is an unthinkable notion. Yet as the story progresses, Brown cleverly points out simple yet effective ways to make it believable such the use of worm strings to corrupt government security firewalls. Furthermore, Brown keeps his charterers simple in all sense but one. Susan Fletcher, the protagonist, is a brilliant cryptographer but in her other aspects of life she is just like us. For instance, in her romantic life she is depicted as a simple woman who wants her loved one to be safe and nearby. It is this juxtaposition of extraordinary brains and ordinary lifestyle that connects her, and all other characters, to the audience.

Unfortunately, Digital Fortress falls short in terms of clarity. Perhaps the vagueness and obscurity in the book are to add an edge of mystery yet too the average reader they feel poorly written. There are multiple occasions during the book when the story feels like strung up words with no meaning. In addition, Brown often fails to set up appropriate foreshadowing clues for all the twists and turns in the book. The twists feel like an afterthought to keep the book interesting and going rather than a well-planned concept.

Dan Brown's Digital Fortress is a great book for those that are just starting their journey into reading technophilic books. This book offers drama, action and suspense with those hidden notes of romance which accommodates other types of readers, as well as opening them to this new genre of books.

Additionally, Digital Fortress made me reassess how I spend my time online, how freely I offer information. Although I am not a person of interest, it is about the principle.

Consequently, it awakened my interest in organizations that fight to maintain individual's right to privacy online. After all, there is strength in numbers. Likewise, it has added one more criteria that I check before politically backing someone; according to me, transparency is key to the functioning of a progressing state.

In conclusion, Digital Fortress by Dan Brown is a thrilling novel that subtly raises questions very relevant to our time,

-P