Strathmore tells Susan that the previous month Tankado had called to warn him that he was perfecting an algorithm that could create unbreakable codes. Tankado's capture and deportation was widely publicized and his reputation was ruined. He quit his job and threatened to go public about the NSA's top-secret computer. Tankado saw the NSA's ability to read private emails as a violation of human rights. He helped to build TRANSLTR but was outraged when he discovered that the NSA would be able to use the computer to read the emails of private citizens. Tankado was employed with the NSA on a work visa from Japan. Susan is skeptical until Strathmore informs her that the NSA's top-secret, multi-billion dollar decryption computer, TRANSLTR, has been working for sixteen hours and is unable to break the code. He tells Susan that a former NSA employee, Ensei Tankado, has designed a program called Digital Fortress that he claims can create unbreakable codes. When Susan arrives, she finds that Commander Strathmore is the only one working on the Cryptography floor. He informs Susan there is an emergency at work and she must report to the Cryptography facility immediately. As Susan waits to hear from David, she receives another call from her boss, Commander Trevor Strathmore, Deputy Director of the NSA. Susan's fiancé, David Becker phones to tell her that he has been called out of town unexpectedly and their weekend plans will have to be delayed. In a race against time, Susan uncovers the astounding truth about the NSA's deputy director as the nation's most classified information is in grave danger of being exposed to the world and the life of the man she loves hangs in the balance.

When Strathmore realizes he needs assistance, he calls in the NSA's head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher.

Commander Trevor Strathmore believes that a former NSA employee has successfully created an unbreakable algorithm, which threatens the security of the nation and the future of the agency itself.Īn ambitious man, Strathmore recognizes the opportunity to turn the situation around to his own benefit. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown is a novel of deception and betrayal in the nation's most secret and powerful government organization, the National Security Agency (the NSA).

Dan brown nsa