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Intercept: The Secret History of Computers and Spies
The computer was born to spy, and now computers are transforming espionage. But who are the spies and who is being spied on in today's interconnected world?
This is the exhilarating secret history of the melding of technology and espionage. Gordon Corera's compelling narrative, rich with historical details and characters, takes us from the Second World War to the internet age, revealing the astonishing extent of cyberespionage carried out today. Drawing on unique access to intelligence agencies, heads of state, hackers and spies of all stripes, INTERCEPT is a ground-breaking exploration of the new space in which the worlds of espionage, geopolitics, diplomacy, international business, science and technology collide. Together, computers and spies are shaping the future. What was once the preserve of a few intelligence agencies now matters for us all.
449 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 25, 2015
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394 people want to read
About the author
Gordon Corera
17 books156 followersGordon Corera is a British journalist. He is the Security Correspondent for the BBC.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 7, 2015
A highly revelatory work, Gordon Corera’s Intercept has a lot to say. Ostensibly a book about the use of computers by the espionage agencies (while he touches on other nations, primarily this book looks at those of the US and UK) it also has much to add on debates concerning the balance of power between the state and the individual, personal privacy, and economics.
An exhaustive history of the dawn of the computer age through the lens of the development of modern espionage, Intercept takes us from the censors tapping telegraph cables during the First World War, through the Enigma years of the Second, the dawn of cyber spying during the Cold War, and onto the age of hackers, zero day exploits, Wikileaks and Edward Snowden. Throughout revelations come thick and fast. We learn that during World War 1, Britain severed the telegraph cables into Germany; effectively isolating the enemy from the world and thus instigating the first ever act of sabotage against a nation’s communications infrastructure. Later we learn that most of the world’s telecommunications still travel via undersea cables, with most of the UK’s traffic landing in Cornwall. This has allowed GCHQ to simply sit on the wires collecting metadata on most of the transnational communications coming into the UK. Or how about the facility in London whose sole purpose is to reverse engineer all the components Hauwei plans to install in the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure? The Chinese telecommunications giant won the contract to modernise the system and such is the extent of the West’s paranoia concerning Chinese cyber spying and/or sabotage, every single circuit board has to be checked and double-checked.
Each revelation is more startling than the last, but there are hidden depths to Corera’s book. For example, we learn how the development of computers was pushed and even funded in part by the espionage agencies interests in them as tools. Would IBM have grown as large or as quickly if it weren’t for contracts from the NSA? We’ll never know for certain but the author outlines a strong case. In effect he argues what others have more explicitly elsewhere, namely that the idea of a completely free market is a myth. Rather than develop in a vacuum from the state, or worse, the state act as a hindrance, it is often state subsidies in the form of research grants, favoured status over competitors, intelligence passed on to aid in the winning of contracts, that has allowed industries and companies to flourish. There is certainly enough evidence here to demonstrate that the birth of the computer age was at least hastened by the largess of the defence and espionage agencies.
But perhaps the book’s greatest strength is when discussing the issues surrounding the power of the state versus that of the citizen and issues around personal privacy. I don’t know what Gordon Corera’s personal views on all this; he’s careful to remain neutral. For all I know he might be mortified to learn that for me his book acted as a reassurance. The Edward Snowdens of the world would have you believe that the mass collection of data by the NSA and GCHQ are the thin end of the wedge and that our civil liberties are at stake. But within the pages of Corera’s book is a strong explanation of why this material is needed. A strong argument is made that the agencies concerned have no interest in the average person’s data, but merely need to scan the data passing through the wires as a whole in order to look for the patterns criminals and terrorists leave behind. Should the agencies be stymied in this, we might all be more at risk. An analogy is made that in order for the security services to find the needle in the haystack (the needle being paedophiles, organised criminals, terrorists) they need to be able to gather and see the whole haystack.
All in all this is a great read and one that left me far more informed about the world we live in and the risks facing us as individuals and citizens in the digital age.
An exhaustive history of the dawn of the computer age through the lens of the development of modern espionage, Intercept takes us from the censors tapping telegraph cables during the First World War, through the Enigma years of the Second, the dawn of cyber spying during the Cold War, and onto the age of hackers, zero day exploits, Wikileaks and Edward Snowden. Throughout revelations come thick and fast. We learn that during World War 1, Britain severed the telegraph cables into Germany; effectively isolating the enemy from the world and thus instigating the first ever act of sabotage against a nation’s communications infrastructure. Later we learn that most of the world’s telecommunications still travel via undersea cables, with most of the UK’s traffic landing in Cornwall. This has allowed GCHQ to simply sit on the wires collecting metadata on most of the transnational communications coming into the UK. Or how about the facility in London whose sole purpose is to reverse engineer all the components Hauwei plans to install in the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure? The Chinese telecommunications giant won the contract to modernise the system and such is the extent of the West’s paranoia concerning Chinese cyber spying and/or sabotage, every single circuit board has to be checked and double-checked.
Each revelation is more startling than the last, but there are hidden depths to Corera’s book. For example, we learn how the development of computers was pushed and even funded in part by the espionage agencies interests in them as tools. Would IBM have grown as large or as quickly if it weren’t for contracts from the NSA? We’ll never know for certain but the author outlines a strong case. In effect he argues what others have more explicitly elsewhere, namely that the idea of a completely free market is a myth. Rather than develop in a vacuum from the state, or worse, the state act as a hindrance, it is often state subsidies in the form of research grants, favoured status over competitors, intelligence passed on to aid in the winning of contracts, that has allowed industries and companies to flourish. There is certainly enough evidence here to demonstrate that the birth of the computer age was at least hastened by the largess of the defence and espionage agencies.
But perhaps the book’s greatest strength is when discussing the issues surrounding the power of the state versus that of the citizen and issues around personal privacy. I don’t know what Gordon Corera’s personal views on all this; he’s careful to remain neutral. For all I know he might be mortified to learn that for me his book acted as a reassurance. The Edward Snowdens of the world would have you believe that the mass collection of data by the NSA and GCHQ are the thin end of the wedge and that our civil liberties are at stake. But within the pages of Corera’s book is a strong explanation of why this material is needed. A strong argument is made that the agencies concerned have no interest in the average person’s data, but merely need to scan the data passing through the wires as a whole in order to look for the patterns criminals and terrorists leave behind. Should the agencies be stymied in this, we might all be more at risk. An analogy is made that in order for the security services to find the needle in the haystack (the needle being paedophiles, organised criminals, terrorists) they need to be able to gather and see the whole haystack.
All in all this is a great read and one that left me far more informed about the world we live in and the risks facing us as individuals and citizens in the digital age.
January 6, 2016
I really wanted to give this book a higher rating, but I just can't.
The subject is interesting, but Gordon drags on... a lot. And there's a bunch of stuff being repeated as well. He explains one thing on one page and then two pages later he explains the same thing again.
I can really only recommend this to anyone who's really, really into spying and hacking throughout history.
The subject is interesting, but Gordon drags on... a lot. And there's a bunch of stuff being repeated as well. He explains one thing on one page and then two pages later he explains the same thing again.
I can really only recommend this to anyone who's really, really into spying and hacking throughout history.
July 25, 2024
Where There's Lies, There's Spies
This is an excellent book on the history of computers and spies.
A truly important and timely read - especially today in this intense cyber-threatened world.
Corera is a powerful writer, and you will get a lot out of this book's research, history, and case studies.
Recommended Reading
Books that I also enjoyed, and I feel are similar - that I recommend reading alongside this book:
Spies and Lies: How China's Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World
Chinese Spies: From Chairman Mao to Xi Jinping
Chinese Communist Espionage: An Intelligence Primer
China and Cybersecurity: Espionage, Strategy, and Politics in the Digital Domain
A great book.
Definitely check it out.
4.8/5
This is an excellent book on the history of computers and spies.
A truly important and timely read - especially today in this intense cyber-threatened world.
Corera is a powerful writer, and you will get a lot out of this book's research, history, and case studies.
Recommended Reading
Books that I also enjoyed, and I feel are similar - that I recommend reading alongside this book:
Spies and Lies: How China's Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World
Chinese Spies: From Chairman Mao to Xi Jinping
Chinese Communist Espionage: An Intelligence Primer
China and Cybersecurity: Espionage, Strategy, and Politics in the Digital Domain
A great book.
Definitely check it out.
4.8/5
January 9, 2017
Excellent book which doesn't take a significant political position. The research was top notch. I enjoyed the format and writing style as it was easy to read without excessive technical language. It was balanced and fair exploring many sides of the questions of espionage, privacy and the use of data and computers. Enjoyed his book immensely and recommend it to anyone with an interest in the topic of computers, "spying" and so many other inter-related topics and issues.
January 21, 2016
The Computer is one of the truly great inventions of modern life and the Author takes us through the early days up to the present with a vast array of very interesting information. Nation States while observing the niceties of Diplomacy are spending lots of time and money spying on each other using the ever evolving Computer technology and Human nature being what it is this will go on. Great read.
March 2, 2017
Not a great fan of the constant use of "cyber" here, but this is a fascinating deep dive, mostly focusing on the current state of play from Stuxnet on (though the book isn't quite recent enough to have any IoT coverage). The technical side seemed well researched and the author clearly knows his military players.
February 4, 2017
This is the secret history of technological interception of communications, spying, country-espionage, terrorism and counter-terrorism. Interesting - particularly the more recent bits, although a bit repetitive and rambling
December 22, 2016
A must read for anyone who does not understand what is going in the cyber-security world with a rich description of how we got here.
April 13, 2021
A good read
Very enjoyable and informative. A concise piece about the future of our data and espionage online. Thrilling and scary read.
Very enjoyable and informative. A concise piece about the future of our data and espionage online. Thrilling and scary read.
February 3, 2021
Frightening: again, this is not light reading. My highlighter pen and notebook had work aplenty.
Everything I will ever need to know about how vulnerable states, organisations and individuals are and how that is so unlikely to change.
I was telling my mother of the ‘intercept towers’ at the airports – when you leave the plane, walk to the terminal and turn your cell phone on, you are connected to a tower operated by the states intelligence/security service. That tower, after a short delay, redirects you to the public service tower. But your phone and all that is within is now being read by ‘state security.’
“What?” she says. “Never?”
“Who cares?” You might say. “I’m an innocent civilian. I’m no foreign agent.”
Correct. If you were a ‘person of interest’ the algorithms used by these agencies would place you on the ‘Immediate – Track and Follow’ list. But you’re not, so, you get dropped into the ‘Data to be stored’ bin.
But then, you spent twenty years of your life building a business, that you’ve just sold for close on a million. Kids are at university. The wife says, “Let’s go walk along the ‘Great Wall’.”
Off you go. While you’re treading the ancient stones, a hacker, untraceable, but later investigation points to the probability of the hack originating in China, pilfers your new wealth from the three bank accounts you have. Because your bank details along with everything else the hacker needs is on your phone.
Far-fetched? Maybe.
This book is hung off the ‘spy world’. And attracts the attention of people like me.
I’d suggest everyone should read this.
I’m even happier to have read it. Like me, the author, on page 103, draws parallels with Star Wars.
Whilst the pandemic remains, I’m steering clear of the ‘air-boat’. When I next venture off to foreign parts. I won’t be turning my phone on.
To summarise this book, I would say, “Beware the Chinese.”
I mentioned that somewhere else. I think it was, ‘Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics’.
Everything I will ever need to know about how vulnerable states, organisations and individuals are and how that is so unlikely to change.
I was telling my mother of the ‘intercept towers’ at the airports – when you leave the plane, walk to the terminal and turn your cell phone on, you are connected to a tower operated by the states intelligence/security service. That tower, after a short delay, redirects you to the public service tower. But your phone and all that is within is now being read by ‘state security.’
“What?” she says. “Never?”
“Who cares?” You might say. “I’m an innocent civilian. I’m no foreign agent.”
Correct. If you were a ‘person of interest’ the algorithms used by these agencies would place you on the ‘Immediate – Track and Follow’ list. But you’re not, so, you get dropped into the ‘Data to be stored’ bin.
But then, you spent twenty years of your life building a business, that you’ve just sold for close on a million. Kids are at university. The wife says, “Let’s go walk along the ‘Great Wall’.”
Off you go. While you’re treading the ancient stones, a hacker, untraceable, but later investigation points to the probability of the hack originating in China, pilfers your new wealth from the three bank accounts you have. Because your bank details along with everything else the hacker needs is on your phone.
Far-fetched? Maybe.
This book is hung off the ‘spy world’. And attracts the attention of people like me.
I’d suggest everyone should read this.
I’m even happier to have read it. Like me, the author, on page 103, draws parallels with Star Wars.
Whilst the pandemic remains, I’m steering clear of the ‘air-boat’. When I next venture off to foreign parts. I won’t be turning my phone on.
To summarise this book, I would say, “Beware the Chinese.”
I mentioned that somewhere else. I think it was, ‘Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics’.
November 5, 2016
In Intercept, Corera recounts the history of computers and spies, filling in the blanks between the famous story of Alan Turing and Tommy Flowers at Bletchley Park, and the recent revelations made by Edward Snowden.
For me, this was a tricky book to get into. Within the pages of this book were so many stories, so many names, so many timelines, that at times it was hard to follow, and particularly hard to remember "who's who". In around 400 pages, this book covered huge chunks of computing history in great detail. But I'm glad I read it.
My favourite section was probably the story of the Morris Worm, one of the first worms in the history of computers, a story of how one graduate student's "harmless" intellectual exercise inadvertently became one of the most famous denial of service attacks on the internet. I also enjoyed reading about the creation of public-key cryptography, and the balanced account of the (ongoing) encryption debate.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is sick of conspiracy theories, tabloid articles and scaremongering YouTube videos, and wants to hear a more balanced perspective on the complex relationships between technology, espionage, privacy, security, business and even warfare.
For me, this was a tricky book to get into. Within the pages of this book were so many stories, so many names, so many timelines, that at times it was hard to follow, and particularly hard to remember "who's who". In around 400 pages, this book covered huge chunks of computing history in great detail. But I'm glad I read it.
My favourite section was probably the story of the Morris Worm, one of the first worms in the history of computers, a story of how one graduate student's "harmless" intellectual exercise inadvertently became one of the most famous denial of service attacks on the internet. I also enjoyed reading about the creation of public-key cryptography, and the balanced account of the (ongoing) encryption debate.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is sick of conspiracy theories, tabloid articles and scaremongering YouTube videos, and wants to hear a more balanced perspective on the complex relationships between technology, espionage, privacy, security, business and even warfare.
July 17, 2015
Worth reading by anybody who is interested in computing generally or those concerned with internet privacy. The book left me gravely concerned about the use and abuse of all of our online activities by the public and private sectors alike. The history of the development of state intrusion into internet activity is both comforting (One terrorist death on the UK soil since 7/7) and scary (Almost all internet traffic is trawled by the major governments)
The question of personal privacy will dominate as "the internet of things" becomes more prevalent. Going "off grid" is looking like the only way to ensure ones complete privacy.
Whatever your views on the topic this is well worth a read.
The question of personal privacy will dominate as "the internet of things" becomes more prevalent. Going "off grid" is looking like the only way to ensure ones complete privacy.
Whatever your views on the topic this is well worth a read.
September 7, 2016
Just about halfway through the book and wanted to put in my 1 pence on here as I progress though it - (a) I'm learning much from the depth of the book, ie on the history, players, development, public announcements and security considerations to withhold information/techniques of encryption while (b) gaining an appreciation on the cross-Atlantic collaborations that took place during WWII onwards.
It would have been great to have cast of characters.
It would have been great to have cast of characters.
September 24, 2016
Absolutely fascinating book. Lots of interesting case studies that include details which didn't get into the media at the time. The role that the history of the development of the internet has played in current security issues is really interesting. Couldn't put it down. Have referred back to it on occasions and given copies to friends interested in IT.
November 11, 2020
As long as there were secretes there are those who tried to protect them and get them. Computers accelerated the process and the internet and encryption created a whole new environment. I highly recommend this book, even if you have a passing interest in the topics of security, spies, computers or networks. Or if not that then because nobody is truly alone and everyone has something to hide ;)
July 28, 2016
Reads well. The closer I got to the end the more often I got the feeling I have already red this section. All the stories seem to be written in the same exact way and with the same kind of conclusion. Was glad when the book ran out.
November 28, 2016
Long, but interesting read into the history of spying and espionage. It is increasingly relevant to the present day, especially in showing what nation states have been capable of achieving. Highly recommended for anyone interested in computers, technology, espionage and cyber security.
July 30, 2021
This book is a very good history of computers and how that history is often related to espionage and military affairs. Mr. Corera is a very engaging writer and any student of computers, cybersecurity, or espionage will find this a very engaging read.
June 10, 2016
There's some material in this book that will be very familiar to anyone watching this industry, but there are also some surprising and thought provoking observations and quotes.
September 7, 2016
Interesting material but recursive and poorly edited.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews