hardcover, 528 pages
Published Feb. 9, 2021 by Bloomsbury Publishing.
Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero day has the power to silently spy on your iPhone, dismantle the safety controls at a chemical plant, alter an election, and shut down the electric grid (just ask Ukraine).
For decades, under cover of classification levels and non-disclosure agreements, the United States government became the world's dominant hoarder of zero days. U.S. government agents paid top dollar-first thousands, and later millions of dollars- to hackers willing to sell their lock-picking code and their silence.
Then the United States lost control of its hoard and the market.
Now those zero days are in the hands of hostile nations and mercenaries who do not care if your vote goes missing, your clean water is contaminated, or our nuclear plants melt down. …
Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero day has the power to silently spy on your iPhone, dismantle the safety controls at a chemical plant, alter an election, and shut down the electric grid (just ask Ukraine).
For decades, under cover of classification levels and non-disclosure agreements, the United States government became the world's dominant hoarder of zero days. U.S. government agents paid top dollar-first thousands, and later millions of dollars- to hackers willing to sell their lock-picking code and their silence.
Then the United States lost control of its hoard and the market.
Now those zero days are in the hands of hostile nations and mercenaries who do not care if your vote goes missing, your clean water is contaminated, or our nuclear plants melt down.
Filled with spies, hackers, arms dealers, and a few unsung heroes, written like a thriller and a reference, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is an astonishing feat of journalism. Based on years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, The New York Times reporter Nicole Perlroth lifts the curtain on a market in shadow, revealing the urgent threat faced by us all if we cannot bring the global cyber arms race to heel.
Read this book on the reccomendation of a friend. Frankly, this should be required reading for any CS student. Not overly technical, it focuses more on the people and social aspect, and brings attention to just how intertwined and vulnerable our digital lives are in the modern world.
Incredible book, but now I'm extra paranoid.
This is a great little bible of leaks & cyberattacks of the last decade that have shaped our modern world. Nicole's work at New York Times gave her access to curious set of characters. From Italian contractor-hackers for hire, through Argentine's old guard hacking for fun all the way to elite NSA hackers hacking for their country.
Most of the stories were not new for me, but she packaged them up for ordinary people. Accessible, readable and fun. Full of detail but short on technical jargon. There's a lot of notes in the back of the book to back up most of the stories as well. If you've never heard of Stuxnet, Petya, WannaCry and others, this book might make you throw away your iPhone/Android and any other electronic device.
I suppose a small consolation for people might be: Unless you build nuclear centrifuges or are a political activist in …
This is a great little bible of leaks & cyberattacks of the last decade that have shaped our modern world. Nicole's work at New York Times gave her access to curious set of characters. From Italian contractor-hackers for hire, through Argentine's old guard hacking for fun all the way to elite NSA hackers hacking for their country.
Most of the stories were not new for me, but she packaged them up for ordinary people. Accessible, readable and fun. Full of detail but short on technical jargon. There's a lot of notes in the back of the book to back up most of the stories as well. If you've never heard of Stuxnet, Petya, WannaCry and others, this book might make you throw away your iPhone/Android and any other electronic device.
I suppose a small consolation for people might be: Unless you build nuclear centrifuges or are a political activist in Saudi Arabia, Uighur in China or some high profile individual in politics - nobody will "burn" their expensive zero-day bug just to get into your devices. The costs have risen significantly over the years (to millions of dollars for each).
This book covers the big picture. Zero-days, nation-states spying on each other, industrial espionage, ransomware of the highest order and more. It might work as an overview for future policy decisions. What the book misses is the recommendations for the ordinary people. Can they avoid being collateral damage in this war of the titans?
Worst attacks happen because people run out of date software riddled with bugs that have long been patched in the new versions. There's a hint of this recommendation buried in the book in one or two places. But I feel like that was a missed opportunity.
Excellent read. Perlroth write for the layman to help her readers understand the seriousness of our cybersecurity problem.
