Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know®

Dr. Singer's books are always engaging, and this book, co-authored Allan Friedman, continues that tradition. This book is written to be consumed by any thoughtful reader -- it is not a deep dive in UNIX system administration challenges, it not full of computer acronyms, it does not require an advanced degree in computer science. This book clearly educates the reader about cybersecurity issues, and then expands upon this discussion to enable the reader to conceptualize the challenges of the subject. A good example of this is their Short History of the Internet, which is a clear and concise and enjoyable read by itself. This history includes, in layman's terms, evolution, funding agencies, control entities, architecture, Al Gore, governance, cryptographic keys, and more. With this foundation the authors then expand into many cybersecurity challenges, like WikiLeaks and a variety of security threats. I particularly liked the discussions on attribution, cybercrimes, and cyber terrorism -- these are not simple issues, and the authors articulate some of the complexities of attribution that make cybersecurity so difficult. The authors wrap up the book by defining the Five Key Trends that Affect the Future of Cybersecurity – Cloud Computing, Big Data, Mobile, Cyberspace Demographics, and Internet-of-Things (IoT). These trends all increase the problem space of cybersecurity, and the authors define how these trends will drive an even higher demand for security in our future systems. With this history, description of threats, frameworks, and trends, the authors truly accomplish their goal of delivering a primer of what one needs to know about cybersecurity and cyberwar.

There were two types of book I was trying to avoid when looking for a book on cybersecurity: an overly technical IT-based approach that would lose me after the introduction and so leave me lost and bewildered; or, equally unhelpfully, a book so worthy but dull that it taught me nothing of value and left me none the wiser about the significance and importance of the subject. What Singer and Friedmann have managed to do with great style is to write a book that steers a middle way between these two possible pitfalls. The book rips along at a good pace, enlivened by many anecdotes and stories and interesting asides without ever straying too far from their main theme. For example, I had no idea that the days of the dominance of the Internet by cute cat videos may be nearing its end as, "Google researchers have noticed an explosion of cute goat and cute Panda bear videos that have risen in parallel with the greater number of users coming online in sub-Saharan Africa and China." On the face of it this is merely a whimsical aside but the authors have a serious point to make that up until now the Internet has been dominated by Western, principally US-based, users. This dominance is changing quickly, and the demographic of Internet users will change everything about the way cyberspace works, and particularly it will have huge implications for cybersecurity. Singer and Friedmann are very patient and thorough at explaining terms and concepts as they introduce them, so I never felt condescended to, or left behind in a welter of jargon. Given the amount of specialist vocabulary this was a notable achievement. I did find Part III: What Can We Do? to be hard going. The approaches and discussions are very relevant and entirely to the point, but that doesn't make the material easy to assimilate. The authors managed to make a potentially dull subject accessible and interesting. They also managed to provide a calm and lucid commentary on a subject that is all too often filled with hyperbole and a deliberate over-inflation of fears and threats. I felt at the end of the book that I was much better informed and, I hope, a little wiser about cybersecurity than I was at the start.

For those who want to keep up on the latest information of where we are in this cyber world, this book is for you. I just could not put it down. There are so many questions that we don't find answers to in the local coffee shop. A sip of java and a shrug are not enough. For example, what is Stuxnet? Why is privacy so hard to maintain? Where do viruses and malware come from? Why can't we catch cyber villains? What are the larger threats? The smaller threats? What agencies protect us? What is cyber war? How can the ordinary person protect himself on line? So many important questions. Singer and Friedman have shown expertise in answering them, and sometimes with interesting stories from behind the scenes. For me, this is essential reading. And, like all things about computers, time sensitive. Read it now, and hope for a new book next year.

Uncritical and U.S.-centric positions, very unscholarly. Can still be useful, but I moved on to more insightful reads such as Technologies of InSecurities.

Utilissimo per il mio lavoro,scritto in un inglese di facile comprensione.Non eccessivamente tecnico e molto scorrevole. Lo consiglio a chi studia o lavora e vuole saperne di piu' sull'argomento

息子がいろいろな本やを探し回る手間を考えたら、アマゾンならプライム会員でもなくても、２、３日で届く。有難い。

Fantastic insight into the Cybersecurity and Cyberwar. I think the authors whilst highly respected have clearly edged back a bit after the Part I or one third of the book. As a subject matter expert i would struggle on the second and third parts - as its a trickly topic [educating the mitigations and techniques to nail those doing this is not a bright idea]. If you are a in business, concerned or a guru that aspires to become an ethical hacker this is a real gem of a book.

The book is very well written, easy to read and updated to latest news on that subject. Suggested to who needs a general overview of the topic.