Three Teams. One Breach. The Simulation Just Became Real.
A gripping cybersecurity thriller that teaches real-world security skills through the eyes of red team attackers, blue team defenders, and forensic investigators.
A Fortune 500 defense contractor hires an elite red team for their annual penetration test. During the engagement, they discover something terrifying: another threat actor is already inside.
GHOST RIDGE combines a pulse-pounding thriller with a comprehensive technical field guide. Follow three teams as they hunt, defend, and investigate—and learn the same skills they use.
Master offensive techniques: reconnaissance, exploitation, persistence, and lateral movement.
Learn detection, response, and defense-in-depth from defenders under pressure.
Investigate incidents, preserve evidence, and uncover the full scope of compromise.
$ nmap -sV -sC 10.50.25.0/24
Starting Nmap scan...
$ grep -i "specter" /var/log/auth.log
[!] Multiple matches found
[!] Unauthorized access detected
$ timeline --actor SPECTER
First access: May 2023
Dwell time: 8+ months
[CRITICAL] Active intrusionLearn cybersecurity with AI assistants that embody each character's expertise and personality. Ask Kira for red team strategies. Get detection rules from Aaliyah. Learn forensics from Dr. Osei.
"The defenders of tomorrow won't be replaced by AI. They'll be the ones who learned to wield it."
Red Team Lead
Offensive operations, strategic thinking, exploit development
SOC Lead
Threat detection, incident response, log analysis
Lead Forensic Investigator
Digital forensics, evidence handling, timeline analysis
The contract sits in Kira Vasquez's inbox like a chess opening she's seen a hundred times. Meridian Technologies. Fortune 500. Defense contractor. Annual penetration test, full scope, three weeks. The kind of engagement that pays bills and rarely surprises...
GHOST RIDGE is currently in development. Sign up to be notified when it's available.
Status: 49% complete (78,000+ words written)