The Perfect Weapon, David E. Sanger
The Perfect Weapon, David E. Sanger
2 Rating(s)
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The Perfect Weapon
War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age

Author: David E. Sanger

Narrator: Robertson Dean

Unabridged: 12 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/19/2018

Synopsis

SOON TO BE AN HBO® DOCUMENTARY FROM AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR JOHN MAGGIO • “An important—and deeply sobering—new book about cyberwarfare” (Nicholas Kristof, New York Times)

The Perfect Weapon is the startling inside story of how the rise of cyberweapons transformed geopolitics like nothing since the invention of the atomic bomb. Cheap to acquire, easy to deny, and usable for a variety of malicious purposes, cyber is now the weapon of choice for democracies, dictators, and terrorists. Two presidents—Bush and Obama—drew first blood with Operation Olympic Games, which used malicious code to blow up Iran’s nuclear centrifuges, and yet America proved remarkably unprepared when its own weapons were stolen from its arsenal and, during President Trump’s first year, turned back on the United States and its allies. And if Obama would begin his presidency by helping to launch the new era of cyberwar, he would end it struggling unsuccessfully to defend against Russia’s broad attack on the 2016 US election. 

Moving from the White House Situation Room to the dens of Chinese government hackers to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, New York Times national security correspondent David Sanger reveals a world coming face-to-face with the perils of technological revolution, where everyone is a target.

“Timely and bracing . . . With the deep knowledge and bright clarity that have long characterized his work, Sanger recounts the cunning and dangerous development of cyberspace into the global battlefield of the 21st century.” —Washington Post

Reviews

Goodreads review by Clif on December 02, 2018

This book consists largely of the retelling of cyber attack incidents that have previously been in the news over the past ten years. However, the retelling in this book at this time has the advantage of hindsight which provides the enabling perspective regarding background, motive and attribution th......more

Goodreads review by Brandon on July 02, 2018

David Sanger is simply the best writer alive working on issues of global and American security, and his latest book proves how far ahead he is of everyone else in his field. His meticulous reporting and cogent analysis of where cyber warfare is headed makes an urgent argument for international stand......more

Goodreads review by GrandpaBooks on October 17, 2018

Philip Graham is credited with calling journalism "the first rough draft of history." The author of The Perfect Weapon, David E Sanger, one of the highly respected journalists for the New York Times, called his book "current history." I am going with a 'polished second draft of history.' As a daily r......more

Goodreads review by Walter on January 24, 2019

TL/DR: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Must Read. Very scary. We're screwed. Kill your social media accounts. Abandon technology. Start a homestead. Cynics are on to something. Full Review: The threat of Nuclear Weapons and rise of Global Warming have occupied the top spot in the list of humanity's gravest concerns for as lon......more

Goodreads review by Mal on July 25, 2018

Russia and China have penetrated so deeply into the electronic systems that sustain the American economy that either country might be able to set us back two or three decades using cyber weapons. North Korea and Iran appear to be not far behind. What seems to be stopping them all is the equal or gre......more

Quotes

"[Sanger’s] description of the cyber portion of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election is thorough and convincing. It ought to be required reading for anyone who doubts the extent and seriousness of the Russian effort… The great value of The Perfect Weapon is less in its specific policy prescriptions than in its being the most comprehensive, readable source of information and insight about the policy quandaries that modern information technology and its destructive potential have spawned.”
—The New York Times

“Timely and bracing… With the deep knowledge and bright clarity that have long characterized his work, Sanger recounts the cunning and dangerous development of cyberspace into the global battlefield of the 21st century… A reader finishes this book fully understanding why cyberwar has moved rapidly to the top of America’s official list of national security threats. And why, for the first time in three generations, this nation’s power in the world is seriously threatened.”
—David Von Drehle, 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)

“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

"A chilling new book."
—The Financial Times

“Anyone who doubts cyber’s unintended consequences should read David Sanger’s new book The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age. 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

“[The Perfect Weapon] reads like a thriller spy novel, except the stories are true, which makes the book more terrifying… Sanger shows the political, military, and economic impacts of actual hacks, moves made by governments and industry to counter moves and protect against future attacks, and the counter to the counter to the counter, all told at a breathtaking pace. But this is more than just a real-life drama; it also is a cautionary tale of the policy of information power… This book at turns was both fascinating in its detail and access and terrifying in its implications.”
—Proceedings

“[Sanger] has penned one of the most comprehensive and accessible histories of cyberwar to date… Sanger’s book is more than a history and primer. It also advances a series of arguments, among them that the United States is not ready for the kind of cyberattack to come.”
—Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

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