Amanda Yao

**Amanda Yao** is a civilian Specialist Technician in Central Police's Cyber Crime Unit attached to AC-12.

## Background

Yao is of Asian descent, and is shown to speak fluent Spanish in Series 6.

### Professional

Prior to the events of Series 5 she joined Central Police and was assigned to work in their Cyber Crime unit, which is located in the same building as AC-12. Her actual title within the Cyber Crime Unit is never verbalised, however is seen written on her Central Police Identification Card.

## Series 5

### Episode 4

Yao is brought to AC-12 by PC Tatleen Sohota to assist with enquires into the whereabouts of John Corbett. She explains to DI Kate Fleming and DS Steve Arnott that she has managed to trace the signal between John Corbett's laptop and a device used by an unknown user suspected to be H.

Yao explains that the laptop most likely accesses mobile data services via an encrypted dongle, and due to that encryption the content of messages cannot be deciphered. However, she explains that the internet protocol address of the unknown user is located in Spain. DS Steve Arnott points out that this does not necessarily mean the unknown user is located in Spain, which Yao confirms explaining that they could have just been using multiple Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to mask their location.

Yao goes onto explain that whilst they cannot trace the unknown user, they have enough information and metadata gathered from the Kingsgate Printing Services raid to be able to impersonate the user and send messages online to the Organised Crime Syndicate as if they were them.

Later, Yao succeeds in hacking the network allowing AC-12 to impersonate the unknown user and send messages to John Corbett and Lisa McQueen. The Cyber Crime unit also prepares a sequence of pre-scripted messages to ensure the impersonation is as accurate as possible as not to arouse suspicion. However, Superintendent Ted Hastings takes control and send messages himself against advice, requesting Yao step aside to allow him to do so.

## Series 6

### Episode 2

Yao is called into AC-12 again to assist enquiries into murdered journalist Gail Vella's recorded podcast on police corruption in Central Police after DS Arnott and DC Bishop interviewed her producer Haran Nadaraja, who revealed she was midway through its creation when she was murdered and had approached several senior police officers for interviews. Yao reveals that only a portion of the recording was found on a device used to copy the podcast over from Vella's laptop as the copier disconnected the device before it was completely downloaded, but confirmed she was looking into it further to try and recover more.

### Episode 4

After further investigations Yao uncovers a complete recorded phone conversation on Vella's hard drive between her and an unknown man whom she interviews about police corruption. This leads DI Arnott to discover the man in the recording is lawyer Jimmy Lakewell.

### Episode 6

As part of the AC-12 investigation into Operation Lighthouse and search for former DCI Marcus Thurwell in Spain, Yao serves as liaison and translator with the Guardia Civil due to her fluency in Spanish.