Cyberspace

When you Hack something, you reach through cyberspace to make computers and networks do things they’re not supposed to do. To do it, you generally need a hacking suite, which can come in many forms: a personalised terminal, a cyberdeck with a holoprojector interface, or even a cranial implant. Regardless of its exact form, a hacking suite has the processing power and the specialised tools required to hack effectively.

You can use hacking to manipulate any computerised system that depends on code or software, as long as you can connect to it. If it’s mostly analog machinery or electronics, you might be better off tinkering or engineering with Rig. Areas that are more technologically sophisticated tend to rely heavily on computers and software, and will have lots of hackable infrastructure. Areas that are more rugged and low-tech are more likely to use analog systems with mechanical or electrical components.

The GM will ask you a few questions when you want to hack something:

• How do you connect to the system? Highly secure facilities often rely on hardwired systems and analog interfaces to make hacking harder. Less secure systems might be part of a wireless network, or even be accessible directly from the public grid. If you can’t connect to it, you can’t hack it.
• What do you want the system to do? Are you trying to operate a physical device, like opening a door? Are you trying to manipulate data, like falsifying records or looping a camera? Are you looking for something, like sensitive data or access codes? If you want total control over the system rather than a specific outcome, you will usually need to fill in a progress clock.
• What tools are you using? When you hack something, quality is usually the critical factor. Taking on highly secure systems often requires the very best equipment, cutting edge exploits, and the like. Hacking with a mere datapad isn’t impossible, but you will definitely suffer from reduced effect.

Hacking is usually pretty time-consuming, and most hacking action rolls will take somewhere between 10 minutes and 1 hour to complete. You might be able to speed this up with great effect, or you can use a neural interface known as a SenseNet to hack things at the speed of thought. Doing so carries risks of its own, however.

Some examples of consequences that might arise from hacking: the hack takes too long, you leave fingerprints behind, you cause a glitch or a malfunction, you raise an alarm, your location is being traced, you are forcibly disconnected, your hacking suite is damaged by black ICE. If you are using a SenseNet to hack, you could also suffer: your connection is locked open, you suffer physical harm from black ICE.

Security Levels

Just as other threats you encounter might be assigned a threat level by the GM, the systems you can hack are assigned a security level from 0 to 6. You can use the table below as a rough guide to the different levels of security a hacker might come across.

Quality	Security Level	Description
0	poor	Obsolete, poorly maintained, low hanging fruit.
1	adequate	Streetware, off-the-shelf, irregular updates.
2	good	Basic ICE, entry-level personnel, regular updates.
3	excellent	Enterprise-grade ICE, trained personnel, robust security protocols.
4	superior	Military-grade ICE, expert personnel, strict security protocols.
5	impeccable	Cutting-edge ICE, defensive netrunners, extreme security protocols.
6	legendary	Megacorp headquarters, military flagship, experimental AI - the best of the best.

When determining the position and effect of an action roll to hack something, start by comparing your Hack rating to the quality of the system you’re trying to hack. If you have 2 dots in Hack, for example, then you can go toe-to-toe with a quality 2 system as long as you have the right equipment.

Of course, that means that even a master hacker is going to be outmatched against quality 5 and 6 systems - this is intentional. Going up against megacorps, serious military encryption or artificial intelligence is always going to be shaky, and you’ll have to get creative if you want to be on an even footing:

• Potency: You might gain an edge if you have insider assistance, stolen access codes, an internal access point or some other advantage up your sleeve. Or they might have potency on you if they were forewarned and are on alert.
• Quality: You might gain an edge if you have a fine hacking suite or are willing to burn a cutting-edge zero day exploit on the target. If your hacking suite is damaged or you don’t have one, this could work against you.
• Scale: You might gain an edge if you get assistance from other hackers, or stage a diversion to tie up the system’s resources. On the other hand, this could be a disadvantage if you’re trying to pull off something ambitious.

As usual when setting position and effect, the dominant factor is what matters. Having potency from stolen access codes isn’t going to make a difference if the security level of the system completely outmatches you. Having a slight edge in terms of quality won’t matter if you’re trying something incredibly ambitious and far-reaching. If one factor overshadows the others, then the dominant factor is what determines the effect.

Experiencing Cyberspace

Cyberspace is the name given to the virtual world, invisible to the senses but everpresent whenever you find yourself in civilisation’s bounds. It’s synonymous with the public grid, the network that supports your region - whether that region is a planet, a space station, or an asteroid colony. The most developed planets have near global grid coverage, with relay satellites and access points providing connectivity to all but the most remote locales. On rugged frontier colonies, coverage is likely to be a lot more spotty and deadzones a lot more common.

In most places, access to the public grid is free and available to anyone with a datapad. Going online gives you access to almost everything an ordinary person would want to do: you can get paid, spend money, make calls, organise your daily life, and interface with the devices around you. You might use your datapad to unlock your front door, or to instruct your vehicle to park for you while you sign into the office. Most users don’t understand how it works behind the scenes and don’t need to; it just works.

When you interact with cyberspace, you might use one of three interface methods to do so.

Manual Operation. This is the simplest, most common and most accessible option. Whether you have a datapad, a stationary terminal, or an advanced and illegal hacking suite, it’s usually possible to interact with cyberspace the old-fashioned way - with buttons and controllers, a touchscreen, or a holographic interface. This approach is simple and reliable, but it occupies your hands and your attention.

Augmented Reality. With smart peripherals - like a pair of smart glasses or even a cybereye - you can use augmented reality, overlaying the virtual world over your vision. Your applications and programs coexist with your physical surroundings, and you can control them using gestures, words and even eye movements. This frees up your hands, and can make it easier to use your devices surreptitiously. In fact, lots of software requires AR to work properly - like smartlinked weaponry that displays tactical information as you aim, or real-time translation software that scrolls text over someone’s head as they speak.

Full Immersion. The domain of hackers and die-hard enthusiasts, full immersion is not common in day-to-day life but is indispensable to those who need to be on the bleeding edge. Your nervous system is connected directly to the fabric of cyberspace by a SenseNet - an electrode net in a headband. A mere datapad can’t handle the processing required; you need something like a hacking suite or a personal terminal to fully immerse. When you’re fully immersed, you can literally interface at the speed of thought - greatly speeding up tasks such as hacking or research. Being fully immersed also allows you to enter virtual reality constructs or to fully “embody” a device, controlling a drone or vehicle as though it were an extension of your own body.

However, full immersion does carry some risks with it. You are dead to the world while you’re immersed, totally unaware of what’s going on around you. If your connection is unexpectedly broken or someone pulls the headband off, you’ll suffer a condition from “dumpshock”. Finally, connecting your nervous system directly to cyberspace opens you up to more serious consequences when hacking. Standard ICE might lock your connection open and keep you from disconnecting while the system traces you; military-grade black ICE can even inflict physical harm on you through your hacking suite.