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Reviews
Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon by Kim Zetter
shawnwhy's review against another edition
4.0
fun investigation into the state of cyber warfare, how its down, what for, and its posibliities in implementing geopolitical policies. emphasizes on the Iranian nuclear program, I finally know what the Iranian nuclear deal is about. supposedly, also , the most digitally connected nation is the most vulnerable to a cyber attack, so yay..
genia_sh95's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Could have given it a 4 but the end of the book just dragged, not adding new information
purelynicole's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book.
What should have been a dry story is presented as a techno-. An engrossing read for anyone interested in technology or politics, but written to be approachable by anyone.
Full review at:
http://www.puregeekery.net/2016/01/21/book-review-countdown-to-zero-day/
What should have been a dry story is presented as a techno-. An engrossing read for anyone interested in technology or politics, but written to be approachable by anyone.
Full review at:
http://www.puregeekery.net/2016/01/21/book-review-countdown-to-zero-day/
whizalen's review against another edition
3.0
Really interesting, but really dense and long, too. Yeah
haileybones's review against another edition
slow-paced
4.0
Countdown to Zero Day is an excellent resource if one is doing research on Stuxnet. But, as a result of being a useful reference text, it's pretty technical and specific. Despite a little IT and history background, I sometimes found the book hard to follow because the information was so "in the weeds" of the software and geopolitics. I think it's great for what it is, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend to a general audience or for casual reading.
mizzhill12's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book wanting to understand the Iran/US relationship. What a treat to find how technical this book was. As a railroad engineer who works on PLCs, I walked away from this book being terrified about the vulnerability of our infrastructure.
_sequel_'s review against another edition
5.0
A very well made and thorough documentation of how the world discovered the U.S. and Israel's cyber weapon, Stuxnet. It only paled in comparison to the humor and excitement of Stoll's Cuckoo's Egg, but It got so technical it was hard to hold focus at some points.
suzanneloving's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
4.0
Very challenging to read as it's technical and dry in many places, there are so many locations and people involved. While you're kept a bit on the edge of your seat learning along with the researchers, there are large sections where the footnotes are almost more than the text. Many, many long explanatory footnotes, not just references and citations.
This isn't a light read, it's a complex research report on cyber warfare, politics, geo-political concerns, the industry of anti-viral research, and the art of malware. The more information you have in your head on any and all of those topics, the easier the read will be, and even with that, it's sometimes deeply dry and factual and it's only your own experience with gaps, crises, and political pressures that will add flavour to what you're reading.
Also, it's only 411 pages, but it feels like 1000. There is an index, and it's 18 pages long.
This isn't a light read, it's a complex research report on cyber warfare, politics, geo-political concerns, the industry of anti-viral research, and the art of malware. The more information you have in your head on any and all of those topics, the easier the read will be, and even with that, it's sometimes deeply dry and factual and it's only your own experience with gaps, crises, and political pressures that will add flavour to what you're reading.
Also, it's only 411 pages, but it feels like 1000. There is an index, and it's 18 pages long.
bizlet's review against another edition
4.0
It's incredibly thorough and fascinating, although it gets repetitive at the end. With Solarwinds it's more important than ever to learn our cybersecurity history
tkadlec's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating and thorough account of the Stuxent virus. Frankly, the whole story would seem very at home some modern day action/techno-thriller movie. Zetter does an excellent job of walking you through the discover and gradual unveiling of Stuxent: detailing how traces of the virus was discovered, the clues each little piece left about its origin, functionality and ultimate goal. Given the depth she goes into regarding the functionality of the virus, she does a pretty good job of making it approachable even if you don’t have prior technical knowledge.
Somewhere around chapter 16 or 17 it does get a tab bit repetitive as she spends the bulk of the time putting things you’ve already learned into a clear chronological order. The final chapter, however, is a very important read. Once you get past the impressive workings of the virus, the messy follow-up discussion that has been largely lacking is the implications and consequences—ethically and technically—of opening “Pandora’s digital box”, as she puts it. Some think they're severe, some downplay the risk of a digital attack (personally, I think those folks just lack imagination), but no matter the stance, the discussion needs to be given much higher priority.
Somewhere around chapter 16 or 17 it does get a tab bit repetitive as she spends the bulk of the time putting things you’ve already learned into a clear chronological order. The final chapter, however, is a very important read. Once you get past the impressive workings of the virus, the messy follow-up discussion that has been largely lacking is the implications and consequences—ethically and technically—of opening “Pandora’s digital box”, as she puts it. Some think they're severe, some downplay the risk of a digital attack (personally, I think those folks just lack imagination), but no matter the stance, the discussion needs to be given much higher priority.