Do I know any hackers? Yeah, I’ve known a few. Some I’ve met in professional settings, others in my personal life. Most of them (as far as I can tell) are ethical hackers – they use their powers for good.

Probably because of my writer’s imagination, the whole world of hacking fascinates me. I don’t have a computer science background, so I can let my imagination run wild, which is kinda fun. Programming and pen testing and remote control of someone’s device – well, it all inspires me. Combine hackers with brain implants, and there are endless plot possibilities. A sci-fi writer’s playground.

The only trouble, of course, is that hacking isn’t fictional.

The cybersecurity industry is under immense pressure right now, and AI has supercharged what was already a burdensome job.

Just recently, AI uncovered two critical flaws in the PHP code that powers 70 percent (!!) of global websites. Combined with multiple other reported vulnerabilities, the effect was so severe that cybersecurity professionals are calling this month “Black October.”

So while you and I were going about our lives – buying stuff online, logging into our medical portals, posting our locations on social media – the cybersecurity pros and ethical hackers among us worked overtime to prevent widespread, worldwide damage.

And here’s the thing. Lack of public awareness is a huge problem.

We keep doing more and more online, depending on the Internet for the basics of life, feeding AI our personal information, and nothing is slowing it all down. The bad hackers have ample opportunity to cause trouble. Attack surfaces are everywhere.

A while back I was chatting w/ a friend who works in cybersecurity. She knows I write sci-fi horror about hackable brain implants. You know what she said? She point-blank told me I was doing God’s work by going to those dark places with my plot. “Terrify them,” she told me.

So if you know an ethical hacker or cybersecurity professional, give them a hug. Maybe say a prayer for them.

They need it.