by Don Easton
Documents obtained by the CBC show the hackers managed to steal large amounts of classified data before the computer systems could be shut down.
Eighteen months later, those computer systems remain corrupted and unable to connect directly to most of the Internet without losing more data to the as-yet-unidentified Chinese spies.
More recently, a former executive of the now bankrupt Nortel has blamed Chinese technology theft for hastening the demise of the former Canadian telecom giant.
A link to the full article is available at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/05/15/pol-weston-huawei-china-telecom-security-canada.html.
Links to a website provided by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to inform the public about methods used in economic espionage are available at: https://www.csis.gc.ca/prrts/spng/mthds-eng.asp.
A detailed account of electronic spying is available in a cyber-security newsletter from the National Security Group at: http://www.ciu-local16.ca/Documents/CSN49.pdf.
Statistics collected in 2006 show that Canadians of Chinese descent, including mixed Chinese and other ethnic origins, make up about four percent of the Canadian population, or about 1.3 million people as of that time.
Canadians of Chinese descent have greatly enriched Canada’s development and heritage and continue to do so. The ramping up of political tension and spying by the People’s Republic of China is an unfortunate situation, but one that Canadians need to be aware of and respond appropriately to, including those who have made Canada their new home.
As of the writing of this novel, the government tabled legislation to give the police and Canadian authorities the power to conduct online surveillance. It was met with a public backlash and politicians, ever attempting to be politically correct, tried to pass the legislation off as a tool to use to catch child molesters. It is far more than that. Perhaps, if the public were aware of the outside political influences unfolding in Canada, it would assist them in making a more informed decision. We are a democracy and Canadians of all creeds need to take part when it comes to protecting our sovereignty and thwarting the unwanted advances of foreign powers.
More Jack Taggart Mysteries by Don Easton
Angel in the Full Moon
A Jack Taggart Mystery
978-1550028133
$11.99
In this sequel to Loose Ends and Above Ground, Jack Taggart continues as an undercover Mountie whose quest for justice takes him from the sunny, tourist-laden beaches of Cuba to the ghettos of Hanoi. His targets deal in human flesh, smuggling unwitting victims for the sex trade. Jack’s personal vendetta for justice is questioned by his partner, until he reveals the secret behind his motivation, exposing the very essence of his soul. This is the world of the undercover operative: a world of lies, treachery, and deception. A world where violence erupts without warning, like a ticking time bomb on a crowded bus. It isn’t a matter of if that bomb will go off — it is a matter of how close you are to it when it does.
Samurai Code
A Jack Taggart Mystery
978-1554886975
$11.99
In the fourth Jack Taggart Mystery, the implacable Mountie goes undercover to follow the trail of a cheap Saturday-night special found at the scene of a murder. He traces the gun until the trail leads him to a suspected heroin importer. Taggart poses as an Irish gangster and penetrates the criminal organization, only to discover that the real crime boss is a mysterious figure out of Asia. When Taggart and his partner find themselves alone and without backup in the lair of one of the largest yakuza organized crime families in Japan, the clash of culture explodes into violence when their real identities are discovered.
Dead Ends
A Jack Taggart Mystery
978-1554888931
$11.99
Intrepid Mountie Jack Taggart is hurled into a world where morality, justice, and the legal system are pitted against one another. Taggart investigates the murder of someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wiretap information identifies a shadowy gang member known only as Cocktail as being responsible. Taggart and his partner go undercover to join one of a coalition of gangs who are at war in British Columbia. Their mission is to identify Cocktail and gain evidence to convict him of murder. What they find is that Cocktail has lured them into a trap of torture and murder.
Birds of a Feather
A Jack Taggart Mystery
978-1459702196
$11.99
Lily Rae is on holiday in El Paso, Texas, when she’s kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel. El Paso borders on one of the most dangerous places in the world — Ciudad Juarez, Mexico — a city caught in the grip of a war between cartels. Her disappearance is investigated by undercover Mountie Jack Taggart, who discovers a Canadian link to the cartel and penetrates the organization. Taggart is sent to El Paso, where he is partnered with special U.S. Customs agent John Adams. Neither Taggart nor Adams know they have been paired together for a secret purpose. Taggart has strict orders to stay out of Juarez, but his gut instinct directs him otherwise. The investigation seems to be going smoothly — until the cartel discovers his true identity.
Corporate Asset
A Jack Taggart Mystery
978-1459708211
$11.99
Corporate Asset takes RCMP undercover operative Jack Taggart into the world of white-collar crime and murder. Insurance companies are being bilked out of millions of dollars. Multiple murders take place right under the cops’ noses but are thought to be accidental. Taggart gets a whiff of what is going on when he captures a drug trafficker willing to expose one of the murderers connected to the plot. The problem is the new informant is also a serial rapist. Taggart is put into the gut-wrenching position of having to let a rapist go in order to catch a serial killer. With his informant’s assistance, he sets himself up as bait to be murdered in a bid to discover who is behind the insurance scam. It is a race against time to catch the murderer before the rapist strikes again.
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Copyright © Don Easton, 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.
All characters in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Editor: Shannon Whibbs
Design: Jesse Hooper
Epub Design: Carmen Giraudy
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Easton, Don, author
The benefactor / Don Easton.
(A Jack Taggart mystery)
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-4597-1058-0 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-4597-1059-7 (pdf).--ISBN 978-1-4597-1060-3 (epub)
I. Title. II. Series.
PS8609.A78B46 2013 C813’.6 C2013-905471-5
C2013-905472-3
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