Alex Jacobson

Alex Jacobson is the UNATCO communications technician, coordinating of its security and cyberspace operations from UNATCO HQ on Liberty Island.

Background
A self-taught hacker, Jacobson lacks a college degree but honed his inherent computer talents by becoming a self-styled "hacker vigilante" in his late teenage years. With methods the authorities could only envy, Jacobson ferreted out all sorts of on-line criminals and anonymously turned the evidence over to the police. UNATCO eventually located him and made him an offer he couldn't and wouldn't refuse, providing him with a position in which he feels he's on a team, fighting the good fight in the best way he can.

As a communications technician, Jacobson handles the team's IT requirements and serve as its primary cyber-security officer. His gear includes an occipital jack implant. In his spare time, he corresponds with the Oracle, a nascent Internet AI, researching topics he comes across in his work such as the SH-187 and Majestic 12, and competes with other hackers from around the world, such as cRakS.

Working with JC and the resistance
When JC Denton first arrives at Liberty Island, Jacobson is tasked with supplying JC with information, geographical details, schematics, structural layouts, and enemy positioning details to assist him in the completion of his objectives. Jacobson communicates with JC, as well as Paul Denton, via the "Infolink," a piece of augmentation technology capable of providing a direct internal link to the brain of an agent. Jacobson sees everything JC sees, and he hears everything JC hears. As a result, he is privy to all information made known to JC throughout his missions.

Much like his colleague Jaime Reyes, Alex later finds his loyalty to UNATCO tested by the behavior of its agents and leaders. Becoming severely disillusioned with his employer, Alex accepts JC's offer to join Tracer Tong in Hong Kong to help uncover the truth behind the Majestic 12 conspiracy. Tong then sends Alex to the residence of Morgan Everett, former head of the overthrown Illuminati, in an attempt to verify Everett's alleged intentions to assist the resistance's war with Majestic 12.

Personality
Alex has a casual and easy-going personality, and is apparently not overly interested in the administrative and political machinations of UNATCO's day-to-day operations. He also serves as field advisor to the augmented agents during combat operations, although this position is not actually official as of yet, due to the fact that augmentation technology is still undergoing field-testing.

Quotes

 * "Like leading a mouse to cheese."
 * "You're certainly quicker on the up-take than your brother Paul ever was."
 * "I don't believe what I just saw. Those were innocents; you can't go in and just shoot everywhere."
 * "They'll have you killed. They won't even blink an eye."
 * "When you believe in something, you've just got to do it."

Trivia

 * Alex Jacobson is based on Warren Spector's own nephew, Alec Jacobson.