The Whispering Web Evelyn's mind raced, but she forced herself to remain calm. In the world of cybersecurity, paranoia was a survival instinct. But this wasn't paranoia—this was a warning.
Her first thought was to disconnect her system, but she needed evidence. She initiated a deep scan of her network, layering her system with defensive protocols. Yet, no trace of the sender. No IP address. Nothing.
A second message appeared.
"We see you."
Her phone buzzed—an unknown number. Her fingers trembled as she answered.
"Ms. Harlow," a voice whispered, mechanical and distorted, "cease your investigation. This is your only warning."
"Who are you?" she demanded, voice steadier than she felt.
Silence.
But then, her system crashed. The screen went black, her firewall bypassed, her files encrypting in real-time.
But Evelyn was no amateur. She had a backup server—a secure, isolated system. A lifeline.
And someone had just declared war.