Dark territory
"As cyber-attacks dominate front-page news, as hackers displace terrorists on the list of global threats, and as top generals warn of a coming cyber war, few books are more timely and enlightening than Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War, by Slate columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Fred Kaplan. Kaplan probes the inner corridors of the National Security Agency, the beyond-top-secret cyber units in the Pentagon, the "information warfare" squads of the military services, and the national security debates in the White House, to tell this never-before-told story of the officers, policymakers, scientists, and spies who devised this new form of warfare and who have been planning--and (more often than people know) fighting--these wars for decades. From the 1991 Gulf War to conflicts in Haiti, Serbia, Syria, the former Soviet republics, Iraq, and Iran, where cyber warfare played a significant role, Dark Territory chronicles, in fascinating detail, a little-known past that shines an unsettling light on our future"-- "The never-before-told story of the computer scientists and the NSA, Pentagon, and White House policymakers who invented and employ the wars of the present and future--the cyber wars where every country can be a major power player and every hacker a mass destroyer, as reported by a Pulitzer Prize--winning security and defense journalist"
Stats for nerds
4recommend
6mentions
6people
2016–2023years
67% recommend33% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- "Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet" by Andrew Blum - This book takes readers on a tour of the physical infrastructure that underpins the internet, including the network of undersea cables that connect countries around the world.
"The Undersea Network" by Nicole Starosielski - This book explores the history and politics of undersea cables, including the way that they have been used to connect and control different parts of the world.
"The Global War for Internet Governance" by Laura DeNardis - This book examines the complex political and legal issues surrounding the governance of the internet, including the role of different countries and organizations in managing the global network.
"Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War" by Fred Kaplan - While this book is focused more broadly on the history of cyber war, it includes some fascinating details about the role that undersea cables have played in international conflicts and espionage.
"The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google" by Nicholas Carr - This book explores the history of technological infrastructure, including the development of the telegraph, telephone, and internet, and how these innovations have transformed the way we live and work.
- I've looked at recommendations in 25 articles and compiled a list of the most recommended books on cybersecurity sorted by how often they were mentioned.
Hacking Exposed 7 by Stuart McClure
Countdown to Zero Day by Kim Zetter
Ghost in the Wires by Kevin Mitnick
Spam Nation by Brian Krebs
Practical Malware Analysis by Michael Sikorski
Threat Modeling by Adam Shostack
Social Engineering by Christopher Hadnagy
The Hacker Playbook 3 by Peter Kim
The Practice of Network Security Monitoring by Richard Bejtlich
Dark Territory by Fred Kaplan
The Code Book by Simon Singh
Hacked Again by Scott N. Schober
The Hacker Playbook by Peter Kim
The Art of Invisibility by Kevin Mitnick
The Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick
See the full list at https://www.readthistwice.com/lists/best-cybersecurity-books
- Dark Territory, by Fred Kaplan. Same topic as this thread.
Also either Puzzle Palace or Body of Secrets by James Bamford. Topic: NSA.
- If you like watching videos and following along:
Free: https://www.cybrary.it/
Cheap: https://www.pluralsight.com/
The entry level cert in this area is the CEH. It's kind of looked down upon, like a lot of entry level certs are, but studying/working towards that isn't a bad thing.
Books:
- Practical:
The Web Application Hacker's Handbook 2nd Edition - Gives a very good overview and is a good place to start.
The Hacker Playbook 3: Practical Guide To Penetration Testing - #3 just came out. Haven't gone through my copy yet, but I've heard good things.
RTFM - Red Team Field Manual - Nice to have, quick reference guide
BTFM - Blue Team Field Manual - Like the above, but for the good guys ;)
- Covering the bigger picture, if you're curious (geopolitical):
The Hacked World Order: How Nations Fight, Trade, Maneuver, and Manipulate in the Digital Age
The Red Web: The Struggle Between Russia's Digital Dictators and the New Online Revolutionaries
Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War
Cyberspies: The Secret History of Surveillance, Hacking, and Digital Espionage
- I can't remember which book I read it in, probably Dark Territory or Cyberspies, but the French were actually able to hack into the computers of the war room for the joint chiefs and POTUS. They were so freaked out that they were able to do it (and worried that other foreign actors like the Chinese could do the same) that they informed the Americans, including how they did it. This was around twenty years ago, if I recall correctly.
I think people underestimate European countries. Their less hostile, so people conclude that they lack capability, but they have 0days and cyberwarfare capabilities.
- The "Estonian Cyberwar" is also described in Fred Kaplan's "Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War" [1] as one of the defining moments of the coming of age of international cyber offense and defense, and as one of the turning points of the power grab by the NSA on the cyber security issues.
Interesting read. I find the way the book is structured quite unwelcoming and hard to digest (too many timeline jumps), but it's packed with interesting information.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Territory-Secret-History-Cyber/d...
