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Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon by Kim Zetter
adambawany's review against another edition
4.0
as someone who grew up hearing about stuxnet all the time on the news and various tech publications, this was a solid deep vibe into probably one of the most interestingly and meticulously crafted state-sponsored cyber attacks
chadstep's review against another edition
5.0
Really great. Really. I mean, it's not narratively great the way Jon Krakauer books are, but it wraps all the topics together--espionage, tech, socio-political, and meta-thinking--into a great package which tackles an event that garnered less attention than it does truly deserve. In today's IoT environment, with cities and factories becoming "smart", it does indicate the world ahead being frought with danger. Reminded me of "The Hot Zone" from years back--a lot of fact-based fiction to keep you mindful of how the magic of the future can bring larger, darker consequences.
eldiente's review against another edition
3.0
This interesting story contains information regarding the use of computer viruses to initiate damage to the nuclear weapons program of the country of Iran. It implies much, and at least in the audio version, doesn't contain exact supporting details. However, the general story has been reported widely, and there doesn't seem to be much reason to question the credibility of the author.
This seems to be a new method of "warfare" and has changed the way I consider my dependence on technology. Who knows what the future holds.
This seems to be a new method of "warfare" and has changed the way I consider my dependence on technology. Who knows what the future holds.
lamida's review against another edition
5.0
This is the story mainly about Stuxnet and then a little bit about Duqu and Flame. It feels so much distant but at the same time feels really close.
In the early days when we walk about malware, it is only when somebody defacing somebody's website. Later it escalates to somebody stealing your credit card detail or phishing you and drains some of your e-wallet. It felt so distant that one can use the power of malware as a cyberweapon. If you watched movies where hackers can destroy a power grid or some other industrial control system, it is a reality now. Stuxnet is proof.
Reading the book is like watching movies. The narrative is around how Stuxnet is first detected after being hidden for some time until later it involves multiple people and institutions to unfold who are spreading it and what is its goal. As the title suggests the book also shows what is actually zero-day means, for one that just starts familiarizing oneself with cybersecurity. Zero-day is unknown security bugs that can be exploited to do bad things. Anti-virus can't detect zero-day. Stuxnet use couple of zero-days to spread itself undetected.
Although it was not clear in the beginning Stuxnet main goal is to sabotage Iran's nuclear program. The malware disrupts programmable logic controllers (PLC) that control centrifuges in Uranium enrichment facilities. There is no official attribution about who is actually creating Stuxnet although the book and many expert things that the malware is made by USA and Israel.
In the early days when we walk about malware, it is only when somebody defacing somebody's website. Later it escalates to somebody stealing your credit card detail or phishing you and drains some of your e-wallet. It felt so distant that one can use the power of malware as a cyberweapon. If you watched movies where hackers can destroy a power grid or some other industrial control system, it is a reality now. Stuxnet is proof.
Reading the book is like watching movies. The narrative is around how Stuxnet is first detected after being hidden for some time until later it involves multiple people and institutions to unfold who are spreading it and what is its goal. As the title suggests the book also shows what is actually zero-day means, for one that just starts familiarizing oneself with cybersecurity. Zero-day is unknown security bugs that can be exploited to do bad things. Anti-virus can't detect zero-day. Stuxnet use couple of zero-days to spread itself undetected.
Although it was not clear in the beginning Stuxnet main goal is to sabotage Iran's nuclear program. The malware disrupts programmable logic controllers (PLC) that control centrifuges in Uranium enrichment facilities. There is no official attribution about who is actually creating Stuxnet although the book and many expert things that the malware is made by USA and Israel.
bookhawk's review against another edition
3.0
This book was recommended by a keynote speaker at a work related event as a book everyone should read to get an appreciation for the importance of cyber security in the wold today. This book documents the scary reality of the vulnerability of national resources tied to computer networks. The content and learning of the book is nearly 5 star quality and the writing is performed well. I gave this book a 3 star rating because it sometimes dragged a little and felt like it covered the same ground at times unnecessarily. Despite the 3 star rating, I would still recommend this book highly more in line with a 4 star review with the idea that there may be skim worthy portions related to redundancy and overly technical moments to still get the highly important material.
crbinz's review against another edition
3.0
Death by footnote... an otherwise interesting read made rather unpleasant by the constant interruptions.
rwarner's review against another edition
4.0
Now I know why the SecOps folks are so paranoid. This was an amazing look at what went on with Stuxnet, but also covers the bigger issues surrounding digital security, exploits, governments, war, and terrorism. Terrifying, really. I'm glad I don't run Windows, but even on Linux I feel far less safe than I did.
theonionboy's review against another edition
4.0
I read this because I wanted a technical explanation of what this virus did, how and why. I wanted to know if they really knew who made it. I got all that and a lot more. I became frustrated when the book spent so much time on Iranian politics, but later in the book I understood why it was necessary to explain that so thoroughly.
My only criticism of this book is that it was very, very detailed. It could be billed as "everything there is to know about Stuxnet." The author really did her homework, and wrote a very detailed, well documented account. I just suspect that it was a lot more detail than most people wanted.
The footnotes became frustrating. There were about 40-50 per chapter. I wanted to read them all, because sometimes they added interesting details to the story. But many times they were just citations. I settled for skimming through them after each chapter.
I don't mean to complain, only to point out my thoughts while reading this. As I said, the book delivered all I expected, was well written, well documented, and well researched. I just want to make potential readers aware of the level of detail you are going to get with this book.
My only criticism of this book is that it was very, very detailed. It could be billed as "everything there is to know about Stuxnet." The author really did her homework, and wrote a very detailed, well documented account. I just suspect that it was a lot more detail than most people wanted.
The footnotes became frustrating. There were about 40-50 per chapter. I wanted to read them all, because sometimes they added interesting details to the story. But many times they were just citations. I settled for skimming through them after each chapter.
I don't mean to complain, only to point out my thoughts while reading this. As I said, the book delivered all I expected, was well written, well documented, and well researched. I just want to make potential readers aware of the level of detail you are going to get with this book.
mikiher's review against another edition
4.0
Well written although a bit repetitive at times. Also succeeded to scare me more than a little bit. I now wonder what amount of undetected shit is currently hanging around in my computer, despite being protected by antivirus, firewall, and malware detectors...