Breaking And Entering - The Extraordinary Story of a Hacker Called “Alien”

This taut, true thriller dives into a dark world that touches us all, as seen through the brilliant, breakneck career of an extraordinary hacker—a woman known only as Alien.

When she arrived at MIT in the 1990s, Alien was quickly drawn to the school’s tradition of high-risk physical trespassing: the original “hacking.” Within a year, one of her hallmates was dead and two others were arraigned. Alien’s adventures were only just beginning.

After a stint at the storied, secretive Los Alamos National Laboratory, Alien was recruited by a top cybersecurity firm where she deployed her cache of virtual weapons—and the trespassing and social engineering talents she had developed while “hacking” at MIT. The company tested its clients’ security by every means possible—not just coding, but donning disguises and sneaking past guards and secretaries into the C-suite.

Alien now runs a boutique hacking outfit that caters to some of the world’s biggest and most vulnerable institutions—banks, retailers, government agencies. Her work combines devilish charm, old-school deception, and next generation spycraft. In Breaking and Entering, cybersecurity finally gets the rich, character-driven, fast-paced treatment it deserves. 

This is the true story of how a young woman from MIT became one of the world’s most sought-after ethical hackers—and the hidden world she unlocked along the way.

A Gripping True Story: Based on the real-life career of a woman known only as Alien, from her high-risk adventures at MIT to her work for top cybersecurity firms. Social Engineering & Deception: Go inside the world of a professional hacker who dons disguises and sneaks past guards to test the security of the world’s most vulnerable institutions. From Physical to Digital Hacking: Discover MIT’s original “hacking”—high-risk physical trespassing—and see how those skills translate to the front lines of digital forensics and modern spycraft. A Woman in a Male-Dominated World: Follow the breakneck journey of an extraordinary woman as she navigates the secretive, high-stakes culture of hackers, from university labs to corporate C-suites.