DIGITAL FORTRESS by Dan Brown

Finished Th 7/7/11

DIGITAL FORTRESS is a novel about computers and The Internet which is now terribly dated (it's set in the late 1990's), and comes across as quaint, or even, 'campy'. At one point near the end of the novel, one of the characters needs access to The Internet, and he is all but ecstatic to find that he has, "the best Netscape has to offer". Also, Dan Brown's writing is nothing to write home about, however he is better than James Patterson(with or without his collaborators), but not by much.

TRANSLTR is a multi-billion dollar NSA computer system which was designed to break encryption codes. The ethical quandary which the novel examines is the limitation placed upon Free Speech. How can a nation allow complete privacy if foreign enemies can use The Internet to communicate and plan terrorist operations? The novel positions The National Security Agency and Electronic Frontier Foundation on opposite sides of this question. The NSA wants access to everything, and EFF desires complete privacy.

"Digital Fortress" is the name of a piece of software which was designed by Ensei Tankado which is an encryption code which cannot be broken. Susan Fletcher works for the Crypto department within NSA, and her boss is Commander Strathmore, and they are working to prevent the release of this program. If this software goes viral then America's enemies will be able to utilize this program, and hide dangerous information at will. David Becker is Susan's fiance, and is sent to Spain by Strathmore to track down the key to Digital Fortress.

Several plot twists unfold, and in the end, all codes can be broken because all things encrypted can be unmasked after all.

"Who will guard the guards" is a worthwhile thought which is introduced to make the reader ponder this question. If the government has access to ALL correspondence, who will take steps to ensure that it doesn't misuse this power?

All in all, DIGITAL FORTRESS only rates a C minus.








Susan Fletcher

NSA NO SUCH AGENCY 1952 Truman

David Becker

Commander Strathmore

TRANSLTR multi-billion dollar NSA computer system which was designed to break encryption codes

DIGITAL FORTRESS is an encryption code which cannot be broken

Ensei Tankado

DaVinci Code Angels and Demons