Skadi: Threat Hunter

Cybersecurity can be confusing for adults, let alone children. That’s why the graphic novel “Skadi: Threat Hunter” is such a delightful addition to the growing list of children’s books aimed at fostering an interest in cybersecurity. At 49 pages short, it packs in a lot of cybersecurity concepts, wrapped up in a story with a charming heroine who works to overcome a dastardly cybercriminal. This book will appeal to younger readers, particularly girls, who love a good story with great graphics, and will give parents a way of explaining (and learning about) cybersecurity that is age appropriate and entertaining.

The Story

We are introduced to Skadi, a young girl who is a“cyber threat hunter, dwelling in the darkest corners of the internet’s underworld- Battling Malware, hackers, and, worst of all…screaming goat videos.”

She and her friend, Max, work together to monitor the internet. They identify a computer/cybercriminal named the Pupp3tM4ster who is controlling a botnet. With her keyboard shield and mouse weapon, Skadi is on the case (while her dad keeps messaging her to join him for movie night). Skadi gets help from Max’s friend Dani, a young person with lots of ambition but not a lot of experience. Skadi explains things to Dani as they go, giving the reader an opportunity to learn alongside Dani. As they hunt, they “go back” to an older part of the internet through a VPN tunnel, represented as a scene from the wild west (shout out to the “Wild West Hacking Fest” conference!). They discover the crypto miners and shut down the mining operation, although the criminals get away. The cyber criminals learn that Skadi was responsible for the intrusion that shut them down.  To be continued…

What Makes This A Good Read?

Throughout the story, Skadi introduces concepts like risk (“I can’t stop it all, so I hunt the big threats”) threat types (“denial of service attacks”) and common threat hunting terms (“C2,” “Botnet,” “Script Kiddy”) that will give readers the opportunity to learn the language of cybersecurity and engage with the subject. Key phrases are explained in simple language. The end of the book gives links to other cybersecurity resources. Combined, this makes a good primer for kids to get excited about doing “cyber stuff.” 

The graphics are excellent, and the story line is solid and age appropriate. The graphic format allows for bite-sized terms and concepts to be consumed, which makes it easier for adults to help a child through some of the material. This book sets up the characters but doesn’t resolve the story, which some (like this reader) may find frustrating – but the suspense is part of the enjoyment of the book. The authors make good use of kids’ humor, sprinkling jokes throughout to break up what might otherwise be a heavy topic.

“Skadi: Threat Hunter” is a book that will introduce a young person to the idea of being a cybersecurity threat hunter. It’s not a textbook, or a training book, or a reference book. It’s designed to capture the imagination of the reader, and encourage them to pursue the subject in their own way. This is a great first entry into what I hope will be an ongoing series that explores different aspects of threat hunting and cybersecurity in general. I look forward to the next installment.