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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
This is a wake-up call to America. This should be a must read for every American, government official and corporation. Because it proves, in excruciating detail, how vulnerable our systems are to cyber attack. But more importantly, how ill-prepared we are to stop it.
informative
I listened to this after reading Nicole Perlroth’s This Is How They Tell Me the World Will End, and between the two, I’d recommend Perlroth’s primarily because it’s newer and covers more recent events. Many events are in both, which didn’t bother me, but might feel tedious to someone with more familiarity on the subject. Both are excellent.
David Sanger’s “The Perfect Weapon” is largely a compilation of reporting he and The New York Times produced over the past few years about American preparedness for cyberwarfare.
Sanger complains the America isn’t prepared, has no policy or dividing line between cyberespionage and offensive attacks, has greater vulnerability than other nations because of its advanced economy, and is regularly giving up secrets because of the porousness of its government’s own networks.
Really there’s little new here.
In spite of the lessons learned from the 9/11 attacks, it sounds as though the American intelligence community is once again at war with American offensive capability: the spooks fear sharing their knowledge of their foes with the defence establishment who want to intrude and cripple the enemy.
And the enemy is getting smarter. In addition to stealing American secrets, Chinese investment is buying into Silicon Valley startups and getting full warning about what is on the horizon.
What anyone will find alarming about this analysis is that few in Washington know when or if to use conventional weapons in this new environment.
The current confusion over Russian meddling in the 2016 election being a case in point. Donald Trump aside, America is unsure what the most useful response to Putin should be, what will be a sufficient disincentive to future meddling both in American infrastructure and those of its allies. (NOTE: As I write this Chinese countervailing duties target Republican strongholds in the MidWest. Why Russian trolls count as “political meddling” in internal US affairs and the Chinese blowback doesn’t escapes me.)
This is what Trump ought to be hashing out at NATO meetings.
If the Stuxnet attacks on Iranian centrifuges showed American and Israeli cyberforces on the forefront, much of that lead may have disappeared as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea throw greater and greater resources at the problem.
Korea has even resorted to cybercrime to finance their programs.
But these vulnerabilities raise an even more fundamental issue: think back to the invention of the Internet by contractors working for DARPA. The original purpose of the Internet was to distribute control of American defence command to withstand a debilitating nuclear attack.
It is the very structure of the Internet which is opening American vulnerabilities, giving safe haven to America’s foes, and is proving a fertile testing ground for new and diabolical weapons of mass destruction.
Here again technology is coming back on itself. America’s (and our) foes are throwing its weapons back at itself very, very quickly. When it took years for the Soviets to replicate the American Atomic bombs and delivery mechanism, and its hydrogen bombs, the timeline for stealing NSA weapons and throwing back against the allies has dramatically shrunken.
This has the potential to dramatically increase tensions and destabilize all of our societies.
Overlay these tensions with advances in AI, genetic engineering, climate change, and new techniques to 3D print and distribute weapons, and you get one heck of a toxic environment.
That really sucks.
Sanger complains the America isn’t prepared, has no policy or dividing line between cyberespionage and offensive attacks, has greater vulnerability than other nations because of its advanced economy, and is regularly giving up secrets because of the porousness of its government’s own networks.
Really there’s little new here.
In spite of the lessons learned from the 9/11 attacks, it sounds as though the American intelligence community is once again at war with American offensive capability: the spooks fear sharing their knowledge of their foes with the defence establishment who want to intrude and cripple the enemy.
And the enemy is getting smarter. In addition to stealing American secrets, Chinese investment is buying into Silicon Valley startups and getting full warning about what is on the horizon.
What anyone will find alarming about this analysis is that few in Washington know when or if to use conventional weapons in this new environment.
The current confusion over Russian meddling in the 2016 election being a case in point. Donald Trump aside, America is unsure what the most useful response to Putin should be, what will be a sufficient disincentive to future meddling both in American infrastructure and those of its allies. (NOTE: As I write this Chinese countervailing duties target Republican strongholds in the MidWest. Why Russian trolls count as “political meddling” in internal US affairs and the Chinese blowback doesn’t escapes me.)
This is what Trump ought to be hashing out at NATO meetings.
If the Stuxnet attacks on Iranian centrifuges showed American and Israeli cyberforces on the forefront, much of that lead may have disappeared as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea throw greater and greater resources at the problem.
Korea has even resorted to cybercrime to finance their programs.
But these vulnerabilities raise an even more fundamental issue: think back to the invention of the Internet by contractors working for DARPA. The original purpose of the Internet was to distribute control of American defence command to withstand a debilitating nuclear attack.
It is the very structure of the Internet which is opening American vulnerabilities, giving safe haven to America’s foes, and is proving a fertile testing ground for new and diabolical weapons of mass destruction.
Here again technology is coming back on itself. America’s (and our) foes are throwing its weapons back at itself very, very quickly. When it took years for the Soviets to replicate the American Atomic bombs and delivery mechanism, and its hydrogen bombs, the timeline for stealing NSA weapons and throwing back against the allies has dramatically shrunken.
This has the potential to dramatically increase tensions and destabilize all of our societies.
Overlay these tensions with advances in AI, genetic engineering, climate change, and new techniques to 3D print and distribute weapons, and you get one heck of a toxic environment.
That really sucks.
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Eye opening to say the least. Rapidly, increasingly important. Good recommendation by Uncle Bill G.
Despite being a couple of years old at this point, Sanger's exploration of the worldwide cyber arms' race provides an excellent case study and look to the future. Not simply focusing on the major events of cyber incursion, the book focuses on the key thoughts, virtues, frustrations, and pathways of the players. For the time being, this is addition to anyone's reading list, if they're interested in the relatively current state of cyber espionage and warfare.
In a chilling new book, The Perfect Weapon, David Sanger details how more than 30 nations have developed effective cyber forces.
Financial Times
[Sanger] writes with persuasiveness and authority.
The Telegraph
[Sanger is] a shrewd and insightful strategic thinker.
New York Times
An encyclopedic account of policy-relevant happenings in the cyberworld … the most comprehensive, readable source of information and insight about the policy quandaries that modern information technology and its destructive potential have spawned.
New York Times Book Review
Sanger, The New York Times’ security correspondent, has catalogued the recent history of how cyber warfare has developed, how it needs to be confronted, and the intensely complex policy issues that arise.
Courier Mail
In his new book, The Perfect Weapon, Sanger offers a panoramic view of the rapidly evolving world of cyber-conflict. He covers incidents from the covert U.S. cyber-campaign to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program (a story we know about largely because of Sanger’s diligent reporting) to Edward Snowden’s epic heist of National Security Agency data. And yes, there’s also plenty of background on Russia’s active measures during the 2016 campaign. But there’s also a wealth of gripping material on stories that have probably been missed by the broader public … It all adds up to a persuasive argument for the truth of the book’s title.
Christian Caryl, The Washington Post
[The Perfect Weapon is] an important – and deeply sobering – new book about cyberwarfare.
Nicholas Kristof, New York Times
Anyone who doubts cyber’s unintended consequences should read David Sanger’s new book The Perfect Weapon. Sanger, a reporter for The New York Times, has been a dogged and diligent observer of cybersecurity issues for years. His book is a readable account of what went wrong.
Robert Samuelson, The Washington Post
This encyclopedic account by a Times correspondent traces the rapid rise of cyberwarfare capabilities and warns that ideas about how to control them are only beginning to emerge.
The New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice)
Sanger, The New York Times’ security correspondent, has catalogued the recent history of cyber warfare, how it needs to be confronted and the intensely complex policy issues that arise. This is the last word in the modern world of cyber warfare – until artificial intelligence takes over.
Mercury
The Perfect Weapon may be one of the most important, if chilling, books you’ll read this year.
The Saturday Age
The greatest virtue of Sanger’s writing is that it is clear-headed and morally grounded, not in any way breathless or apocalyptic.
Paul Monk, Weekend Australian
For the rest of the lay public, this very accessible book by New York Times journalist David Sanger is an outstanding volume to fill in the gaps.
Anthony Smith, NZ International Review
Financial Times
[Sanger] writes with persuasiveness and authority.
The Telegraph
[Sanger is] a shrewd and insightful strategic thinker.
New York Times
An encyclopedic account of policy-relevant happenings in the cyberworld … the most comprehensive, readable source of information and insight about the policy quandaries that modern information technology and its destructive potential have spawned.
New York Times Book Review
Sanger, The New York Times’ security correspondent, has catalogued the recent history of how cyber warfare has developed, how it needs to be confronted, and the intensely complex policy issues that arise.
Courier Mail
In his new book, The Perfect Weapon, Sanger offers a panoramic view of the rapidly evolving world of cyber-conflict. He covers incidents from the covert U.S. cyber-campaign to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program (a story we know about largely because of Sanger’s diligent reporting) to Edward Snowden’s epic heist of National Security Agency data. And yes, there’s also plenty of background on Russia’s active measures during the 2016 campaign. But there’s also a wealth of gripping material on stories that have probably been missed by the broader public … It all adds up to a persuasive argument for the truth of the book’s title.
Christian Caryl, The Washington Post
[The Perfect Weapon is] an important – and deeply sobering – new book about cyberwarfare.
Nicholas Kristof, New York Times
Anyone who doubts cyber’s unintended consequences should read David Sanger’s new book The Perfect Weapon. Sanger, a reporter for The New York Times, has been a dogged and diligent observer of cybersecurity issues for years. His book is a readable account of what went wrong.
Robert Samuelson, The Washington Post
This encyclopedic account by a Times correspondent traces the rapid rise of cyberwarfare capabilities and warns that ideas about how to control them are only beginning to emerge.
The New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice)
Sanger, The New York Times’ security correspondent, has catalogued the recent history of cyber warfare, how it needs to be confronted and the intensely complex policy issues that arise. This is the last word in the modern world of cyber warfare – until artificial intelligence takes over.
Mercury
The Perfect Weapon may be one of the most important, if chilling, books you’ll read this year.
The Saturday Age
The greatest virtue of Sanger’s writing is that it is clear-headed and morally grounded, not in any way breathless or apocalyptic.
Paul Monk, Weekend Australian
For the rest of the lay public, this very accessible book by New York Times journalist David Sanger is an outstanding volume to fill in the gaps.
Anthony Smith, NZ International Review
Way too dry and political. (Should have read the blurb first).