• @War

  • The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex
  • By: Shane Harris
  • Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne
  • Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (661 ratings)

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@War  By  cover art

@War

By: Shane Harris
Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne
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Publisher's summary

A surprising, pause-resistant account of how the wars of the future are already being fought today

The United States military currently views cyberspace as the "fifth domain" of warfare - alongside land, sea, air, and space - and the Department of Defense, National Security Agency, and CIA all field teams of hackers who can - and do - launch computer virus strikes against enemy targets. In fact, as @War shows, US hackers were crucial to our victory in Iraq.

Shane Harris delves into the front lines of America's new cyberwar. As recent revelations have shown, government agencies are joining with tech giants like Google and Facebook to collect vast amounts of information. The military has also formed a new alliance with tech and finance companies to patrol cyberspace, and Harris offers a deeper glimpse into this partnership than we have ever seen before. Finally, Harris explains what the new cybersecurity regime means for all of us who spend our daily lives bound to the Internet - and are vulnerable to its dangers.

©2014 Shane Harris (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The short history of the US and Cyber War

Having burned through a host of like minded books on the shadowy side of the internet (Spam Nation, Flash Boys, Countdown to Zero Day, Worm, No Place To Hide) all in the last 6 months, @War is the latest.

While it lacks the finesse and technical prowess of Kim Zetterman's Countdown to Zero Day, @War clearly chronicles the United States approach to digital security and warfare, following small vanguard in the US government.

It starts off by building initial successes of digital intelligence, particularly as seen in the "Surge' in Iraq and places the reader at first as the justifications as seen by the Bush Jr and Obama administrations, and carefully builds a case for the relentless assaults on cyber security, primarily by government sponsored Chinese hackivists, spies and agents. Harris displays a far reaching knowledge, exposing readers to the little known National Reconnaissance Office to the even lesser known private "security" firms Vupen, Endgame and Netragard, as exposed by other journalists like Andy Greenberg, and heavily borrows from Greenwald's investigation of the Snowden files.

Right about the point where Shane Harris starts to feel like he's cheerleading the surveillance state, he starts in by exposing the problems of the government over-reach, Harris starts to dissect the shaky future ahead from hoarding zero day exploits, with rogue corporations initiating retaliation hacks that reaks of William Gibson novel.

As a writer, Harris is to the point avoids over novelization that Mark Bowden was suspect to in Worm, but also lacking the urgency of Countdown to Zero Day. In the end, its the best game in town if you're looking to understand how we got from point A to B and strong piece of journalism, although slightly diminished by others who have gotten there first. The true gift is having a single book that pieces several major stories into one coherent narrative.

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13 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating and frightening

Any additional comments?

Fascinating, fast-paced, and more than a little scary. A nice compliment to a number of other books cover cyber issues and where they intersect with terrorism, war, and crime (see also Ted Koppel's Lights Out, Gordon Corera's CyberSpies, Marc Goodman's Future Crimes, amont others). This book acts as a very tightly written and incisive overview of the US government's cyber efforts, both military and intelligence based. I'd love to see an updated version encompassing some of the recent happenings (further incursions by China, Russian election-related hacking) and also more in depth information about what exactly the US engages in (likely unavailable due to classification). That said, Harris does an admirable job explaining some of the technology, putting it in perspective, and keeping his own opinions to a minimum so the reader can determine how they feel about the path being followed. Recommended.

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Comprehensively Significant

One of the best syntheses of the layered issues and complexity that tech introduces to policy making. I hope every elected out there reads or listens to this.

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3 people found this helpful

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Really really good book

To saw I liked this book is an understatement. It was eye opening to hear about the work in meta data collection and cyber attacks by all parties. I recommend this book to anyone.

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  • TC
  • 06-12-15

Good

Good book, but Countdown to Zero offers more depth if that is what you are looking for. Cyber War is also good.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Must Read/Listen?

I think this is a must read. Only by staying cognizant of what is happening in Cyberspace can we ensure the right balance of government, corporate and private citizen protection.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Scary

Any additional comments?

This book just may be an accurate indication of things to come. I can very easily see the technology being developed for "our protection" used against us as well and little we can DO about it, even when we know our own privacy is at stake.

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  • JP
  • 03-16-15

essential. For decision makers.

Security well written.it read for military decision makers & lovers of computers, democracy, America, & information. Excellent companion to countdown to zero day

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Outstanding exposé of the NSA

Intriguing & infuriating. I loved listening to this book. Definitely recommended reading for everyone interested in (or already in) the cyber security field.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Poor Narration; Good Journalism

Narrator was difficult to listen to. At times sounded like Siri reading an audiobook.
Overall, @War provides a solid journalistic account of the intriguing world of cyberwar. However, I did not think it rose to the level of peers in its genre (e.g. the Clark/Knake book).

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