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Cyber Wars: Hacks that Shocked the Business World
Cyber Wars gives you the dramatic inside stories of some of the world's biggest cyber attacks. These are the game changing hacks that make organizations around the world tremble and leaders stop and consider just how safe they really are. Charles Arthur provides a gripping account of why each hack happened, what techniques were used, what the consequences were and how they could have been prevented. Cyber attacks are some of the most frightening threats currently facing business leaders and this book provides a deep insight into understanding how they work, how hackers think as well as giving invaluable advice on staying vigilant and avoiding the security mistakes and oversights that can lead to downfall. No organization is safe but by understanding the context within which we now live and what the hacks of the future might look like, you can minimize the threat. In Cyber Wars, you will learn how hackers in a TK Maxx parking lot managed to steal 94m credit card details costing the organization $1bn; how a 17 year old leaked the data of 157,000 TalkTalk customers causing a reputational disaster; how Mirai can infect companies' Internet of Things devices and let hackers control them; how a sophisticated malware attack on Sony caused corporate embarrassment and company-wide shut down; and how a phishing attack on Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta's email affected the outcome of the 2016 US election.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 3, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 14, 2018
The only problem I have with Cyber Wars: Hacks that Shocked the Business World, by Charles Arthur is that these breaches really didn’t shock the information security community or the business world. These stories are simply narratives of firms that didn’t take information security seriously and suffered the consequences.
In this interesting book, he details some of the most devastating information security events of the last few years. These include Sony, HBGary Federal, John Podesta’s phishing attack, T.J. Maxx, and more.
While all of these stories have been told before at a high-level, Arthur digs much deeper and details the issues that led to the breaches. The book makes for some compelling insights around the importance of taking security seriously. There are countless lessons learned that can be gleaned from this book. While not a technical book, Arthur writes of the technical issues that led to many of these breaches. This is a very readable and engaging book that makes for a great reference to an information security awareness reference.
John Podesta was chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, and as the book notes, it is rare that a hack changes the course of history. In the case of Podesta’s falling for a phishing attack, it did indeed.
There is some also humor in the book. In detailing the devastating Sony Pictures hack, he quotes then Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Amy Pascal as telling Sony employees not to read any of the breached emails, because of their potentially divisive effect, both internal and external to the organization. Pascal was oblivious to the Streisand effect, and it’s likely the request had the opposite effect on her employees.
For anyone who is struggling to get people, be it management or the like, to take information security seriously, Cyber Wars: Hacks that Shocked the Business World makes for a great wake-up call.
In this interesting book, he details some of the most devastating information security events of the last few years. These include Sony, HBGary Federal, John Podesta’s phishing attack, T.J. Maxx, and more.
While all of these stories have been told before at a high-level, Arthur digs much deeper and details the issues that led to the breaches. The book makes for some compelling insights around the importance of taking security seriously. There are countless lessons learned that can be gleaned from this book. While not a technical book, Arthur writes of the technical issues that led to many of these breaches. This is a very readable and engaging book that makes for a great reference to an information security awareness reference.
John Podesta was chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, and as the book notes, it is rare that a hack changes the course of history. In the case of Podesta’s falling for a phishing attack, it did indeed.
There is some also humor in the book. In detailing the devastating Sony Pictures hack, he quotes then Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Amy Pascal as telling Sony employees not to read any of the breached emails, because of their potentially divisive effect, both internal and external to the organization. Pascal was oblivious to the Streisand effect, and it’s likely the request had the opposite effect on her employees.
For anyone who is struggling to get people, be it management or the like, to take information security seriously, Cyber Wars: Hacks that Shocked the Business World makes for a great wake-up call.
January 11, 2019
“Cyber Wars” subtitled “Hacks That Shocked the Business World” is the second book written by Charles Arthur available on Audible in audiobook format. His previous work titled “Digital Wars: Apple, Google, Microsoft, and the Battle for the Internet” appears to have been well received and reviewed; I may have to give that one a listen as well. The Audiobook edition of this book is well narrated by Joe Jameson who has over a hundred books currently narrated on audible at the time of this review. Let me start by saying that I have been in the information security field for over thirty years and I continue to fight the cat and mouse game alongside other when it comes to attackers vs. defenders. Most of the attacks covered in this book were front and center not only in the security community but on the front cover of most newspapers as well. Even if you are not a professional having a deep understanding of computer security, I think you will be fascinated by the research uncovered in this book. It still amazes me when I see just what dedicated and driven people will do when they put their minds to it. The author does a decent job of breaking down some of the technology for novices, but he also does not lose the seasoned professional. It is a fine line to walk, and this book did an exceptional job of permitting both types to enjoy it equally.
Overall the book felt well researched and presented in the clear manner. Each of the various attacks were outlined and then the author provides a deeper dive in to what happened. Much of the books research appears to have come from the author interviewing or conversing with people who were in the know for a given attack; either ex-workers, people in the security field, etc. For me, I was not as much a fan of the lessons learned section at the end of each chapter. However, some reading this book might gain from this information and hopefully think about or improve their security posture because of it. I just felt that security advice is often easier when we look back and analyze what could have been done to prevent an attack. Reviewing an attack and learning from what went wrong is a major way of preventing future attacks from being successful, yet the details the author provided were often high-level and not specific to a given organization.
As much as the author tried to make the book work for security enthusiasts and lay people alike, there were a few places that I felt he could have provided more detail to the less experienced. Maybe a more information on what an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) is and how many have names with specific animals assigned to them (bear, panda, dragon, etc.). A bit more time spent on the benefits of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). I felt overall, he did a good job of discussing what a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is and why they can be so devastating to a company or person who depends on the Internet for a living. It also seemed that the author breezed over the importance of data brokers when it comes to protecting one’s information; think credit bureaus. More and more we are seeing the release of information from these data collection agencies and often there is no ramifications when it happens; the UKs GDPR is a positive direction here.
A few other areas where I thought the author did a good job was around the recent rise in tech support and bank phone scams. Ever had the “IRS” call you saying you owe them money and you have to pay them back using Google’s Play cards? He also touched on the critical nature of Internet of Things (IoT) and the usual tradeoffs between security and ez-of-use. Who or what is required to patch a device that is vulnerable to attack, and if such a device is used in an attack who is responsible? All very difficult questions to ask that will become even more important as this area of connectivity grows, and more lives are at risk. There was also a small chapter at the end of the book where the author covers future attacks. Here is not only talks about medical and IoT systems, but the idea of vulnerable machine learning systems. What if someone is able to teach an autonomous vehicle that a stop sign is really a go symbol. Or, what if humans are ignored from the equation and simply seen as just part of the pavement. These and many more attacks mentioned in this portion of the book will become the next TJ Maxx or Sony Entertainment.
The book’s audio narration was good. It is often difficult determining the performance quality based on one’s reading of a non-fiction book. We did not have multiple characters needing to be voiced, it was a simple reading of the book itself. Mr. Jameson did a good job of performing the piece and I do not recall any audio artifacts (page turns, swallows, background noise) while listening. The reading was well paced, and the volume levels were consistent. I do not recall listening to other works by this narrator previously, yet the book felt like it was performed by a professional.
Parents and younger readers, I do not have it in my notes, however I believe there were a few places when the author quotes others containing vulgar language. Apart from the infrequent use of profanity, the book could be enjoyed by younger audiences who are interested in the cyber security field.
In summary, if you are looking for a book that uncovers many of the security issues the plagued the early days of the internet and had a great impact on the companies effected, you have found it here in Cyber Wars. Even today, as attacks become more sophisticated, the means of defending them will be even more difficult. The book is not a Cyber Wars for Dummies, yet it is approachable and enjoyable by both those in the industry and not. The book gets a recommendation from me.
Overall the book felt well researched and presented in the clear manner. Each of the various attacks were outlined and then the author provides a deeper dive in to what happened. Much of the books research appears to have come from the author interviewing or conversing with people who were in the know for a given attack; either ex-workers, people in the security field, etc. For me, I was not as much a fan of the lessons learned section at the end of each chapter. However, some reading this book might gain from this information and hopefully think about or improve their security posture because of it. I just felt that security advice is often easier when we look back and analyze what could have been done to prevent an attack. Reviewing an attack and learning from what went wrong is a major way of preventing future attacks from being successful, yet the details the author provided were often high-level and not specific to a given organization.
As much as the author tried to make the book work for security enthusiasts and lay people alike, there were a few places that I felt he could have provided more detail to the less experienced. Maybe a more information on what an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) is and how many have names with specific animals assigned to them (bear, panda, dragon, etc.). A bit more time spent on the benefits of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). I felt overall, he did a good job of discussing what a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is and why they can be so devastating to a company or person who depends on the Internet for a living. It also seemed that the author breezed over the importance of data brokers when it comes to protecting one’s information; think credit bureaus. More and more we are seeing the release of information from these data collection agencies and often there is no ramifications when it happens; the UKs GDPR is a positive direction here.
A few other areas where I thought the author did a good job was around the recent rise in tech support and bank phone scams. Ever had the “IRS” call you saying you owe them money and you have to pay them back using Google’s Play cards? He also touched on the critical nature of Internet of Things (IoT) and the usual tradeoffs between security and ez-of-use. Who or what is required to patch a device that is vulnerable to attack, and if such a device is used in an attack who is responsible? All very difficult questions to ask that will become even more important as this area of connectivity grows, and more lives are at risk. There was also a small chapter at the end of the book where the author covers future attacks. Here is not only talks about medical and IoT systems, but the idea of vulnerable machine learning systems. What if someone is able to teach an autonomous vehicle that a stop sign is really a go symbol. Or, what if humans are ignored from the equation and simply seen as just part of the pavement. These and many more attacks mentioned in this portion of the book will become the next TJ Maxx or Sony Entertainment.
The book’s audio narration was good. It is often difficult determining the performance quality based on one’s reading of a non-fiction book. We did not have multiple characters needing to be voiced, it was a simple reading of the book itself. Mr. Jameson did a good job of performing the piece and I do not recall any audio artifacts (page turns, swallows, background noise) while listening. The reading was well paced, and the volume levels were consistent. I do not recall listening to other works by this narrator previously, yet the book felt like it was performed by a professional.
Parents and younger readers, I do not have it in my notes, however I believe there were a few places when the author quotes others containing vulgar language. Apart from the infrequent use of profanity, the book could be enjoyed by younger audiences who are interested in the cyber security field.
In summary, if you are looking for a book that uncovers many of the security issues the plagued the early days of the internet and had a great impact on the companies effected, you have found it here in Cyber Wars. Even today, as attacks become more sophisticated, the means of defending them will be even more difficult. The book is not a Cyber Wars for Dummies, yet it is approachable and enjoyable by both those in the industry and not. The book gets a recommendation from me.
July 11, 2018
Our level of Internet connectivity is reaching every day more complex stages, but as long as we are simply users of the network, we are openly victims of attacks of all kinds. Cyber wars can target any of us, enough is only an Internet network and a connected device. Not only all your years-long work can be compromised with a click, but also you can further affect other people part of the network.
Cyber Wars by Charles Arthur explains this sort of threats in a very easy way, still keeping the relevance of the topic. Through examples of cyber attacks that shoked the world in the last decades, predominantly from the business domain, the ways in which such threats operate and the psychological and professional profiles of the perpetrators are simply outlines. What is even more relevant, is the short outlines at the end of each chapter which suggestions and advice for preventing such situations and reacting when one is the unhappy victim of such a terrible occurence.
Recommended to scholars, business owners and anyone interested to start coping in a responsible way with the Internet challenges.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Cyber Wars by Charles Arthur explains this sort of threats in a very easy way, still keeping the relevance of the topic. Through examples of cyber attacks that shoked the world in the last decades, predominantly from the business domain, the ways in which such threats operate and the psychological and professional profiles of the perpetrators are simply outlines. What is even more relevant, is the short outlines at the end of each chapter which suggestions and advice for preventing such situations and reacting when one is the unhappy victim of such a terrible occurence.
Recommended to scholars, business owners and anyone interested to start coping in a responsible way with the Internet challenges.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
January 21, 2020
Veľmi dobre napísané, trochu detektívka, ale v zásade non-fiction, veľa faktografického kontextu, ale podaného tak, aby mu rozumeli aj laici, v niektorých momentoch možno zbytočne detailný, ale to zase isto ocenia ľudia v téme zbehlejší. A v tom je najväčšia hodnota tejto knihy, že na konkrétnych príkladoch veľkých a známych hackerských útokov autor objasňuje, akým spôsobom sa udiali, ale aj aké faktory dopomohli k tomu, aby boli úspešné, alebo neúspešné a ako sa my ako jednotlivci, či organizácie vieme podobným situáciam brániť, predchádzať im, alebo aspoň zredukovať škody. Tým sa kniha stáva nielen teoretickou, ale aj praktickou. Samozrejme, že po jendotlivé komplexnejšie technické riešenia online bezpečnosti si treba najať pomoc, ale veľké množstvo chýb (vlastne väčšina) sú zlyhaním ľudského faktora a sú "preventable" aj bez technickej expertízy.
Kniha Cyber wars zároveň ukazuje históriu, súčasnoť aj trendy v téme online bezpečnosti.
Kniha Cyber wars zároveň ukazuje históriu, súčasnoť aj trendy v téme online bezpečnosti.
June 9, 2022
As the internet gets more woven into our everyday lives and our reliance on it only gets higher, especially when we connect important devices to it, hacking is going to be a big thing that should be worried about. I thought the topics he choose were good choices. Some of them I were more familiar with than others, so I learned some new things. It was also written to be accessible to a lot of people, even if you don't have much interesting in computers/the internet itself. It is easy to follow and understand.
June 4, 2020
I got a glimpse into how important cyber security is, how scary it can be, and how often it is neglected by many including myself. As I was reading, I was constantly curious about those who managed to pick up such niche skills themselves. I learned SQL at school, but i had no idea what SQL injections were until now! Hackers (i mean bug bounty hunters and those who are legally hacking) are actually incredible.
July 6, 2023
An informative book for those looking to understand what adversaries reside in our current technologically advanced society. Charles Arther provides key information about some of the biggest cyber attacks in recent history with great explanations of motives, methods, and vulnerabilities associated with each exploitation. The tech terminology around hardware and mechanism around cyber hacks is well explained for the novices in this field. Reading this greatly helped me in understanding the context of threats and hacks lurking all around us.
February 10, 2019
Clear reporting. Well chosen cases.
August 18, 2019
Terrible title, but I've always enjoyed Charles' work. Good comprehensive infosec primer that covers some of the largest hacks in recent history comprehensively.
October 31, 2019
Amazing book. So well written and explains a lot of terminologies and some major previous hacks very well
February 26, 2018
I was absorbed within the pages, enthralled with subject and engrossed in the history. I found it a fascinating book. I wish that all history books were so inviting and intelligent. The book strikes an impressive balance between conveying information and just being a good read. But be warned it will make you want to cut the cord on you life with the internet.This review was originally posted on Books In Brogan
December 28, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews