Hi there!
I'm looking for someone that has knowledge or resources on where to research how identities can be compromised or concealed, and personal data is accessed by ... well ... unscrupulous means. For my day job, I actually work in technology, so I have a strong sense of the legal ways we collect data (tracking pixels, retargeting, cookies, etc.). However, a central theme I want to explore in my novel is how and when we are giving away too much information online/via our technology use, and whether we can ever regain a sense of security and privacy. The plot centers around a rising tech executive who receives career coaching from a mentor that eventually begins teetering into stalker territory. There are a few key moments in the plot that I don't know how to make "technically" work. Can ya'll help with any of these?:
That's it ... for now.
Cheers and MANY thanks in advance!
I'm looking for someone that has knowledge or resources on where to research how identities can be compromised or concealed, and personal data is accessed by ... well ... unscrupulous means. For my day job, I actually work in technology, so I have a strong sense of the legal ways we collect data (tracking pixels, retargeting, cookies, etc.). However, a central theme I want to explore in my novel is how and when we are giving away too much information online/via our technology use, and whether we can ever regain a sense of security and privacy. The plot centers around a rising tech executive who receives career coaching from a mentor that eventually begins teetering into stalker territory. There are a few key moments in the plot that I don't know how to make "technically" work. Can ya'll help with any of these?:
- The MC's mentor is well known/has a good reputation, but there aren't a lot/any pictures of him that she can find. Ultimately, I want the mentor to have a double identity (someone she knows and would recognize). I'm trying to play off a lack of images as part of his character (reclusive, eccentric, etc.), but wondering how plausible that would be in today's world with all the cams and surveillance out there? Thoughts and/or technical feedback on feasibility of that ... or alternatives for concealing the visual identity of a character that, at the same time, should be publicly well-known? (not interested in masks, costumes, face change, etc.)
- In the opening scene, the MC will open an email from the mentor that contains a tracking pixel (aka read receipt). I want to contrast that piece of technology with something "darker," but I don't know what that would be. The goal is to illustrate that the MC isn't naive in accepting a request from a reclusive stranger by explaining that she knows she's always being tracked (as we all are) ... rather, that she's simply lulled by a false sense of security and belief that data privacy isn't a problem when you have nothing to hide. What could an email realistically contain that would "track" her (maybe keeping tabs on her keystrokes or granting the recipient access to her email)? Would these require that she download something and/or click a link? I can probably weave her opening either action realistically into her behavior, just aiming for accuracy
That's it ... for now.
Cheers and MANY thanks in advance!