Operation IoTopia

By Bruce Allsman

Operation IoTopia, a Malaysian thriller novel by Bruce Allsman

A white hat hacker has to rescue two of his friends held captive by a mercenary at the behest of his frenemy, a diabolical billionaire technopreneur with a sinister plan.

White hat hackers, Din Kamal and his wife, are professional penetration testers, freelance cyber security consultants based in Penang, Malaysia.

When Gary Ang, a whistleblower at IoTopia Berhad, secretly copies his employer's top secret data and tries to escape with it, he finds a mercenary pursuing him. While speeding away in his car, realizing the urgency, he uploads to his personal cloud the most important encrypted file and sends Din, the only hacker friend he could trust, a link to the file. During the subsequent high speed car chase across the Penang Second Bridge, Gary crashes his car. He dives into the sea, manages to escape, and calls Din from a budget hotel at Batu Kawan. Unfortunately, the mercenary abducts him just before Din arrives.

Later, after failing to decrypt the file he had downloaded, Din realizes the gravity of the situation and enlists the help of Shila, his sister, a cyber crime investigator of the Malaysian government's cyber crime division to track down the mercenary's identity and employer. Further investigations reveal the identity of the mercenary and his employer, the founder and owner of IoTopia Berhad, a billionaire technopreneur from Penang and Din's longtime frenemy. Din enlists the help of Kumar, a hacker friend to hack into IoTopia Berhad's computer servers to uncover more information. Kumar attempts a hack but fails and suffers the same fate as Gary.

Consequently, Din organizes a team to help him rescue Gary and Kumar. While formulating the rescue plan they uncover a sinister plot, code-named Operation IoTopia. What is it exactly? What are its true objectives? How will Din and his team mount a rescue operation and foil the sinister plot?

Operation IoTopia, a Malaysian #thriller #novel

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bruce Allsman
• Release date: Jul 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005068516

Bruce Allsman

Bruce Allsman is a short story author and novelist. He writes in many genres, including literary, romance, science fiction, horror, fantasy, crime, mystery, thriller and suspense genres. He has work appearing or forthcoming in over a dozen venues. When he's not writing, he enjoys learning foreign languages.

Book preview

Chapter 1

GARY ANG SWORE THAT it was time to say goodbye to his well-paid job forever. It was also time to rejoin his group of hacker friends because soon they may need his help to foil his soon-to-be ex-boss's evil plan. He started the installation of the company's security app on his smartphone and glanced at the time. It was already 11:33 p.m. He must act soon.

He swiveled his chair around and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window at the dark scene outside. From his corner office on the top floor of IoTopia Berhad's iconic white building, the lights lining the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge, the Penang Second Bridge looked like a dragon's curving tail. Perched on the hilltop, the office building was only six stories tall, but six more floors penetrated deep under the peak.

Soon he will gain access to the deepest floor. As planned, he had been working late as always, a routine he had formed for years to prepare for this final moment. Now alone in his office, hunched over the keyboard and dual computer monitors, he had waited until everyone had gone home before carrying out his exit plan. After deleting all his e-mails and private folders from the servers, there was only one thing left to do. He watched as the app completed its installation on his smartphone.

Then he slid it into his black cargo pants side pocket, took his laptop, his portable hard drive, and headed toward the elevator lobby. He pressed the button to summon the elevator and it came within seconds. He stepped inside and used the app he had just installed to access the lowest level, B6. The app worked without a hitch.

When the elevator door slid open at B6, he headed straight to the servers room, a glass enclosed room. Its thick glass door was secured with an electronic lock. He used the same app to unlock the door and stepped inside. He went to the main computer terminal and used the app, through a Bluetooth connection, to log in to the database system. Then having gained access to the top security level database, he plugged in his portable hard drive and began copying folders of encrypted files from the database to his hard drive.

He glanced at the time on his smartphone. Nearly twenty minutes had elapsed since he started the copying process. It was taking much longer than he expected. Nevertheless, he was sure his unauthorized access to the database system wouldn't be tracked by the system's AI program or activity log since he had spoofed them.

In the end the copying took nearly an hour. After that, hurriedly, he left the servers room for his car, parked in the basement at level B1. He placed his laptop and portable hard drive on the front passenger seat, and drove calmly out of the building's compound, past the two security guards who said goodnight to him. They knew him and his habits. He was always working late, the last to leave. Tonight was no exception.

He drove on, but not too fast and as soon as he had gone round a bend, he sped down the hill. Sensing the need to do an urgent task right away, he stopped at a scenic view parking area where he was sure that the location would have adequate 5G signal for his purpose. Using his smartphone and laptop, he connected to the Internet. He plugged in the portable hard drive to his laptop. Within seconds, he uploaded the most important encrypted file to his personal cloud storage and quickly got back on the road, speeding away from the hilltop office as fast as he could. They will come for him now, he knew.

Chapter 2

AS HIS SILVER AUDI TT coupé charged down the winding road, its tires squealing in the night, Gary gripped the steering wheel, focused, trying his best not to crash into the hillside wall of rocks or tumble into the deep ravine. For the first time, he had to rely on his driving skills to save his life. Fortunately, no cars or other vehicles were coming up the hill at this hour of the night, and he alone was going down the hill, using the only road, a private road that led up to the office of IoTopia Berhad, fort-like on a hilltop.

Seconds later, when he took another turn along the winding road, he noticed behind him white beams of light, definitely the large headlights of another vehicle. Damn. Where did it come from? So, he wasn't alone after all. The vehicle must be huge. And powerful too. It wasn't the usual company security patrol car. Who could it be? Although inching closer behind him, the vehicle didn't attempt to overtake. He realized it was following him, possibly waiting for the right time and place to force him off the road.

He knew what they wanted from him. He mustn't let them get his laptop and portable hard drive. What to do if he can't get away? He should have a backup plan, in case he lost the laptop and portable hard drive. Earlier, he had just enough time to upload the most important file to his own cloud storage. He must do one other thing now. He must get that file into the hands of someone he could trust, and he knew precisely who, the only person able to decrypt the file's contents, Din Kamal.

Using his right hand to steady the steering wheel, he pulled out his smartphone with his left hand. With voice recognition and auto-task execution, he composed a text message with a link to the uploaded file in his cloud storage. He recalled Din's phone number from memory because, for security reasons, it wasn't in his contacts list. After sending the text message, he felt relieved, certain that Din will know what to do with the encrypted file. He slid the smartphone back into his cargo pants pocket and continued to race down the hill.

When he reached the base of the hill, he decided quickly what to do and headed toward Lebuhraya Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu, the expressway that will lead him to the Penang Second Bridge. Within seconds, he was on the expressway, speeding past the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone Phase 4. Glancing at the rear view mirror, he saw that the vehicle, a black SUV, was still a short distance behind him. He planned to drive over to the mainland. After getting across the bridge, he hoped to get away from them over there, as there will be many roads to disappear into, roads that led to places such as Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam, Nibong Tebal, and other towns in Seberang Perai, Kedah, or even Perak.

He pushed down on the gas pedal, checked the rear view mirror, and saw that the black SUV had sped up too. And it was starting to get closer and closer when he entered the long bridge. He pumped the gas pedal, and his Audi roared, surging forward along the first span of the well-lit bridge. Seconds later, the black SUV came up close behind him, nudging his rear bumper several times. He raced ahead, but the black SUV kept on his tail. It swerved from left to right and back again several times, trying get alongside him. Damn. They wanted to force him off the bridge. He sped past the bridge's middle span, pushing his Audi near its maximum speed.

But the black SUV kept coming, gradually making headway, first on his left and then on his right, its engine's roar deafening. In response, he pulled back and raced ahead again and again, in tandem with the SUV, and he swerved repeatedly to avoid being slammed against the bridge's low side wall. At such a high speed, one direct hit would be enough to send him tumbling into the sea.

The black SUV edged over to his right side. He eased to the left, inching dangerously close to the sea below. Glancing at the side view mirror, he saw the SUV's window being rolled down. A hand stuck out with a gun, and fired off a couple of shots. The bullets slammed into his car, shattering the rear window, but he didn't slow down.

The black SUV rammed his right side repeatedly, forcing him closer to the low wall that separated the road from the sea below. Then the left side of his car grazed the concrete wall. Sparks flew as the Audi screeched. He jerked the steering wheel in the opposite direction and raced on.

Just when he had crossed the third and final span, almost reaching the other side of the bridge, he lost control of the steering. His Audi spun in circles, its tires smoking on the bridge's tarmac.

Still spinning wildly, the Audi's rear end crashed into the side wall, hitting a lamppost. The lamppost tottered and fell onto the road, almost slicing the Audi in half. The Audi screeched to an abrupt halt, its front end jutting, teetering over the edge of the low wall.

The dark sea loomed before him. He glanced around, trying to find his laptop and portable hard drive, but he was unable to find them. Shit. He must get out of the car soon, before it dragged him down into the sea. He unfastened the seat belt, kicked the door open, and dived toward the dark waters below.

Within seconds, he plunged into the cold water. Blinded by the cloud of mud, he kicked vigorously, and rose to the surface. They wouldn't be able to see him in this darkness. He looked around and found himself near the mangrove swamps of Batu Kawan. Looking up, he saw that his Audi was still stuck on the bridge.

Then he turned, swam toward the muddy banks, and crawled out to hide among the dense grove of mangrove trees. Reaching down, he checked his cargo pants pockets. Fuck. He had lost his smartphone. He checked his wallet. Fortunately, it was still in his right pocket. He guessed he could still use his credit cards. Too bad he had lost his laptop and portable hard drive. Anyway he was glad to escape unhurt. He supposed they won't be able to find him in the dark grove of mangrove trees. Nevertheless, he will have to find a way out, hide in a safe place, and contact Din for help.

Chapter 3

ONLY A MINUTE EARLIER, when Zain gave the order, one of his men, Kevin, had fired a couple of shots at the silver Audi TT coupé. And Zain chuckled as he watched the Audi swerving like an injured animal in pain and fear. He steadied the steering wheel of his black Mazda CX-5 and continued to dog the Audi. After easing into position one more time, he jerked the steering wheel, and the Mazda CX-5 rammed into the side of the Audi again. The Audi veered to the edge of the bridge, scraping the low concrete wall, its screech piercing the still night.

Sensing an impending disaster, he eased back on the gas pedal and watched the Audi expectantly. Seconds later it happened. From a safe distance behind, he watched as the Audi spun several times and slammed against a lamppost. When the lamppost came crashing down, he floored the brake pedal and halted at about ten yards away from the Audi.

He grinned, amused to see that the Audi had jutted over the edge of the low concrete wall, its front end tilting down at an angle. He watched and waited for the crippled Audi to stabilize, so that he could go retrieve the required objects. The door at the driver's side swung open. A head emerged. He gestured his two men, Kevin and Kang, to lower their guns. His instructions were to retrieve the stolen data, not kill the thief. He will deal with the thief later.

He watched as the thief climbed out of the car, apparently unhurt, clinging to the open door, hanging above the sea below. A moment later, the man was gone. Zain frowned. What a brave idiot. The thief had jumped. The moron will probably drown.

Zain stepped out of the black Mazda CX-5 and his two men followed. With him leading the way, the three of them strode toward the Audi, teetering on the edge of the bridge. The broken lamppost had landed close to the Audi, its power cables sparking, blocking the single motorcycle lane. He was relieved that it didn't obstruct the other two vehicle lanes. He sniffed the night air. No scent of any spilled gas. Good. The last thing he wanted was a fire.

When they reached the crippled Audi, they fanned out to examine the wreck. He scanned the driver's seat. No blood. Motherfucker. An uninjured man would be harder to track down than an injured man. Never mind. Deal with the bastard later. He searched under the front seats and found what he was looking for, a laptop and a portable hard drive.

Far away in the distance, a siren wailed and its volume grew louder by the second. He gestured his two men to move it. Kevin grabbed the laptop while Kang retrieved the portable hard drive. They got into their SUV, sped away, and drove past the expressway's emergency service car that came toward them from the opposite lane of the bridge. They didn't stop him, so he didn't slow down as he headed toward Batu Kawan.

While Zain drove, Kevin, sitting beside him, examined the laptop and the portable hard drive. Kevin told him that both items were not, in any way, damaged. He nodded. Good, his employer would be pleased. It was time to make the call. With his Bluetooth earpiece, he initiated an encrypted voice call using a special app provided by his employer.

As soon as the call was connected, his employer asked, Zain, what's the status report?

I have the laptop and portable hard drive.

Good, what about the thief?

He got away.

How?

He jumped off the bridge, probably hiding somewhere in Batu Kawan by now.

Find him, bring him in, I want him alive, unhurt.

Yes, boss.

But first, give me the laptop and portable hard drive. Where are you now?

I'm on the Second Bridge, nearing Batu Kawan.

Meet me at Teluk Tempoyak in half an hour.

Yes, boss.

Zain did a U-turn at the end of the bridge and headed back toward Penang island.