Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age, in Five Extraordinary Hacks

Shapiro, Scott J. Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age, in Five Extraordinary Hacks. 2023. 432p. ISBN 9780374601171.

The rise of the Internet facilitated communications and the exchange of information, but it also exposed vulnerabilities in a system not designed with security in mind. Hackers became infamous as they exploited weaknesses and accessed sensitive information. From the leak of Paris Hilton's sex tape to Edward Snowden's exfiltration of millions of NSA documents, and from the graduate student who built the first virus to Russian hackers attempting to influence the 2016 American election, cyber incidents and hackers routinely make the news.

But how is cybersecurity organized? What does it mean when your computer has a virus? How are denial of service attacks executed? Fancy Bear Goes Phishing provides clear explanations to these and more questions as Shapiro reviews five specific incidents that have taken place since the early 1980s, and what lessons we can draw from these to better protect ourselves. Ultimately, Shapiro argues, the current structure of the Internet remains oriented more towards the free flowing of information than the protection of this information, though humans remain the greatest vulnerability. 

Readers interested in computers, in programming, or in exploring what happened behind the scene of some of the world's most famous hacks will thoroughly enjoy Shapiro's incisive and crisp writing style.