A job well done!
Gurnaaz Kaur
Three best friends go to Goa for a holiday. They decide to visit a casino and get hooked at the teen-patti table there. It’s when they are winning lakhs of rupees that the game turns into a deadly one and they wake up on a beach—looted and deserted.
They, then, embark on a harrowing journey of revenge where their life is at risk. At the centre of this plot is hacking, while it also explores modern-day college friendship and romance. With a blend of technology, hacking and a tale of college friends, the latest book by Ankit Fadia, The Casino Job, is sure to interest the youth or at least that is what this author and ethical hacker hopes.
“This is my 20th book, but the first in the fiction genre. Co-incidentally, it is also India’s first hacking themed thriller. Before this, all that I’ve written revolves around technology and hacking. I got the inspiration for this novel during my visit to a casino in Goa with my friends. I was surprised to see the amount of money people were willing to gamble. And I knew where there is so much money involved, there will also be criminals trying to steal it.”
As Ankit forays into fiction writing, he says he has wanted to write since the age of 14. That’s when he wrote his first book.
This Stanford University graduate has been surrounded by technology since his childhood. He has hosted a show on MTV called What the Hack!, where he shared tips and tricks with the viewers to help them make the most of technology. He was also appointed the brand ambassador of the Government’s Digital India initiative. From giving talks on ethical hacking and cyber security at various organizations to conducting courses on the same subject, Ankit has had his hands full.
But he does agree the risk that lurks beneath all the comforts we enjoy in the name of technology. “Google, Apple and latest Chinese operating systems all have access to our data on phones. From where you are to what you message, your pictures, they know it all. Unfortunately, there is no regulation to protect your privacy yet.”
He thinks that’s why the guidelines shared by ethical hackers and their ilk should be followed by masses.
Talking about the current scenario, Ankit thinks the next big thing is fake news and its influence on social, political and economic events. “What happened in the US during elections could also be the case in the upcoming elections in our country. I feel social media users need to be aware about it.”
gurnaaz@tribunemail.com
