Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know®

Dr. Singer's books are always engaging, and this book, co-authored Allan Friedman, continues that tradition. This book is written to be consumed by any thoughtful reader -- it is not a deep dive in UNIX system administration challenges, it not full of computer acronyms, it does not require an advanced degree in computer science. This book clearly educates the reader about cybersecurity issues, and then expands upon this discussion to enable the reader to conceptualize the challenges of the subject. A good example of this is their Short History of the Internet, which is a clear and concise and enjoyable read by itself. This history includes, in layman's terms, evolution, funding agencies, control entities, architecture, Al Gore, governance, cryptographic keys, and more. With this foundation the authors then expand into many cybersecurity challenges, like WikiLeaks and a variety of security threats. I particularly liked the discussions on attribution, cybercrimes, and cyber terrorism -- these are not simple issues, and the authors articulate some of the complexities of attribution that make cybersecurity so difficult. The authors wrap up the book by defining the Five Key Trends that Affect the Future of Cybersecurity – Cloud Computing, Big Data, Mobile, Cyberspace Demographics, and Internet-of-Things (IoT). These trends all increase the problem space of cybersecurity, and the authors define how these trends will drive an even higher demand for security in our future systems. With this history, description of threats, frameworks, and trends, the authors truly accomplish their goal of delivering a primer of what one needs to know about cybersecurity and cyberwar.

There were two types of book I was trying to avoid when looking for a book on cybersecurity: an overly technical IT-based approach that would lose me after the introduction and so leave me lost and bewildered; or, equally unhelpfully, a book so worthy but dull that it taught me nothing of value and left me none the wiser about the significance and importance of the subject. What Singer and Friedmann have managed to do with great style is to write a book that steers a middle way between these two possible pitfalls. The book rips along at a good pace, enlivened by many anecdotes and stories and interesting asides without ever straying too far from their main theme. For example, I had no idea that the days of the dominance of the Internet by cute cat videos may be nearing its end as, "Google researchers have noticed an explosion of cute goat and cute Panda bear videos that have risen in parallel with the greater number of users coming online in sub-Saharan Africa and China." On the face of it this is merely a whimsical aside but the authors have a serious point to make that up until now the Internet has been dominated by Western, principally US-based, users. This dominance is changing quickly, and the demographic of Internet users will change everything about the way cyberspace works, and particularly it will have huge implications for cybersecurity. Singer and Friedmann are very patient and thorough at explaining terms and concepts as they introduce them, so I never felt condescended to, or left behind in a welter of jargon. Given the amount of specialist vocabulary this was a notable achievement. I did find Part III: What Can We Do? to be hard going. The approaches and discussions are very relevant and entirely to the point, but that doesn't make the material easy to assimilate. The authors managed to make a potentially dull subject accessible and interesting. They also managed to provide a calm and lucid commentary on a subject that is all too often filled with hyperbole and a deliberate over-inflation of fears and threats. I felt at the end of the book that I was much better informed and, I hope, a little wiser about cybersecurity than I was at the start.

Like most people I was looking for answers to my personal LAN security issues and picked this book in the hopes of getting a deeper understanding of how to secure my network. But, I got an even better deal instead. This book covers the entire state of cyber security issues from car theft by network interference to Cyberwar. The issue of network security has become global in scope and there are no political boundaries in Cyberspace. Nothing separates us personally from being raided by a thief whether he be an individual using an electronic jamer to keep your car unlocked or an employee of the Chinese government using commercial routers to collect personal data against you. The misuse and abuse of Cyberspace is predicated on the natural openness of the design of the Ethernet. Education about the current situation is our primary defense against those who would use this valuable tool against us. And this book does an excellent job of appraising us about the dangers and defenses inherent in this communications medium. This is not a book about how to setup the network security switches on your operating system. This is the book to tell you what has been happening in the entire world of Cyberspace that can affect you directly. Before you can defend yourself you need to know what the threat really is. Most of the book is spent covering the current world level security threat complex. With the exception of Denial of Service and RoboLensing attacks, the book gives the reader very good advice on how to deny the attackers effective access to your computer network. The general answer lies here. As in personal self defense, the answer comes through more effective communication with the security community and application of proper security measures. Reducing your threat cross section by using the approaches detailed in the book will help you to protect your data and your sleep.

Not too long ago I read the book @War: The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex by Shane Harris, which was a great book and brought home to me the rising influence of private cybersecurity and cyberwarfare interests over the government's internet policies. Though I enjoyed that book a lot, I must admit that it was relatively biased in its coverage. In contrast, this book is a far more balanced look at the issues of cybersecurity and cyberwar. Co-written by P.W. Singer, who wrote Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century one of my favorite books, this book takes a question and answer approach to the topic. For example, a subsection will say something like "What is cybersecurity?" and the authors will spend the next few pages answering the question. In that way it is also a very accessible book for people as you don't need to read the whole book, but rather find the topic(s) you don't quite understand and read about it. This also helps make the book very balanced as it is more about giving readers an exhaustive look at all issues related to cybersecurity and cyberwar. Yet, this also means that it lacks a narrative drive to it. Though the authors try to make the subject more accessible through pop culture anecdotes and illustrations, it still can read like a reference book. Still, if you are interested in this topic, this is probably the fairest and most exhaustive book out there that is most accessible to the public.

Anyone interested in seriously large-scale cyber security and cyber war issues should find this book an informative read. Through a series of provocative questions and answers, the authors cover a wide range of topics from defining cyberspace, cyber security, how terrorists use the web, cyber counter terrorism, to the final discussions of where cyber security is headed next. Throughout the book, the authors craft their responses in an enjoyable and easy to understand writing style. They say the book is not just written for experts, but of course as you would expect from the title, there are tons of highly specialized technical terms used throughout the book. So in my opinion, the "non-expert" reader should at least possess some level of expertise beyond that of an armchair novice. That is, if you expect to fully understand the material. Both authors have a high level of professional involvement and sophisticated understanding of national and international cyber security and cyber war. After all, one is the Director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institute and the other is Research Director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institute. I have no problem with giving this book a five star rating.

I did not get through this entire book, and I will tell you why, and why books like this are IMPORTANT FOR US ALL- unless we ALL want to be COL. Hash Brown/ KFC- "chicken-fritter's1" I live in a very "affluent" AREA on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, and have had more computer and "electrical" issues than any-where I have lived in the WORLD to include COMBAT in the Sunni-Triangle in Balad Iraq. I was "HIGHLY" "dis-courage" from trying to "GET Smart-“er... on this by numerous "Wireless/ ISP" provider "technicians," and probably a good thing, in my INDIVIDUAL, "case-" as I appear to be on all the "WRONG" "radar's!" Guess kind of like "reverse" "RADAR LOVE" as the song goes and no THANKS to my close "RELATIVES!," which makes things all that much more difficult when they are HARD "wired" into the "SYSTEM!," either of their own "DE-accord" or "impressed" into "service!" Simply, if one is too SMART with this it can lead to the "impression" or "perception" one is "possibly" doing something they in fact should not be- which can SCARE a whole lot of people! Furthermore, "CORPORATIONS" do not possibly really want an entire "populace" "Ed-ucated" enough to "debate" their "technician's" or the pro's and CONS of their "product’s/ service1" The State of Alabama, for example no longer regulates ISP Provider's and offers no "assistance" to its TAX "paying" citizens in this regard. So on is simply left to deal with the FCC/FTC- which in my vast experience now does "little" to no "good" i.e. "less than helpful!" Take it one step further to the work-place. A lot of "civilian" Corporations do not let their employees have access to the internet, and have to utilize email through a self-contained operating system, so their communications can in fact be monitored and tracked- if the need arose. It is kind of like the US Army's old "Mil-Connect" System, that was done away with- supposedly due to Cost!?!? Furthermore, some of these "Corporation's" do not utilize email "client software"....as I have found it is in fact not alway's compatible with other Email "Domain" names..... I have "Friends" that DA- mand that they use only direct log-in to their various e-mail accounts....on no "second" Party email client! A-sf the US Department of Veteran Affairs (US BVA) is not bad enough, I have witnessed with my own "two" eyes, BVA employees "surfing" the internet all day with the phone "Ringing" off the hook, and never answered, let alone doing anything they are in fact paid "Tax-payer" money to do! So if "CIVILIAN" Corporations are requiring their "employees" to utilize a "standard" "self-contained" system at work, controlled by them-selves, and not allowing employees' at all level's to have access to the internet at work, then why is not our own US Federal Government, across the spectrum of "agencies' that Langley overlap, to a very great and costly extent, in Duties, roles and "Function's???" Furthermore, why a a whole host of exceedingly rich US Citizens, sending or "donating" "computer's" and setting up "schools" outside the United States, instead of "assisting" their own "Citizenry" in "getting SMART" so they too can "CRASH-SHATTER" the "Glasson -Plafond" or "Glass-Ceiling" of their circumstances across the divide of Rural "country-folk" to the "Inner-City!!!" of the United States!!!!! Goes back to the basic argument that per-dates "psychology"- is it nature or nurture or an "Aggregate" "FUNCTION" of both?????? Or are WE All willing to accept excuses by "corporations" that "squirrel's" and such- largely cause all the issues with the "power-grid?" Questions- I leave for ALL INDIVIDUAL"s to ask and decide/ “THINK" for themselves!?!?!? Perhaps just a simple “aggate1”???

This book is a good high level overview of cybersecurity issues. The book is divided into three main sections: an overview of the internet, its history, and how it works, an examination of the various threats (from criminals to states to patriotic hackers) and both how and why attacks are performed, and then finally a section on what can be done from both a personal and policy level. All the information in the book is from a high level with only a basic amount of technical information. There are several sections that give some detail on particular incidents of hacking (such as stuxnet), but these too only give enough technical detail to help the reader understand what happened. I found the most interesting aspect of the book to be the policy-level discussions of hacking. If a state hacks another state and shuts down a power plant, what constitutes an appropriate response? Does it make sense for the victim state to move the conflict to the “real” world and bomb an attacker’s power plant in retaliation? Also, the difficulties of determining just who initiated an attack are explored. All in all, I recommend this book for the reader who want a good overview of an issue that will likely dominate geopolitics in the coming decades.

Not normally the kind of book I like to read, even for non-fiction, the topic just never blew my hair back. I picked it up at the request of a friend, and I'm actually really glad I did. I'm neither a technology whiz nor a policy geek, but still found this book not just informative, but engaging and well written. I now understand enough to know why I should (and do) care, and to understand what is going on in the field (or at least what the media says is happening). Honestly, it should be required reading for everybody in the position to set IT policy in government or commercial industries.... really, anybody who uses any form of computer or credit card. Ok, just everybody. It's well worth the time and money.

Uncritical and U.S.-centric positions, very unscholarly. Can still be useful, but I moved on to more insightful reads such as Technologies of InSecurities.

Utilissimo per il mio lavoro,scritto in un inglese di facile comprensione.Non eccessivamente tecnico e molto scorrevole. Lo consiglio a chi studia o lavora e vuole saperne di piu' sull'argomento

息子がいろいろな本やを探し回る手間を考えたら、アマゾンならプライム会員でもなくても、２、３日で届く。有難い。

Fantastic insight into the Cybersecurity and Cyberwar. I think the authors whilst highly respected have clearly edged back a bit after the Part I or one third of the book. As a subject matter expert i would struggle on the second and third parts - as its a trickly topic [educating the mitigations and techniques to nail those doing this is not a bright idea]. If you are a in business, concerned or a guru that aspires to become an ethical hacker this is a real gem of a book.

The book is very well written, easy to read and updated to latest news on that subject. Suggested to who needs a general overview of the topic.