Countdown to Zero Day

Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon

By: Kim Zetter

Narrated by: Joe Ochman

Length: 13 hrs

Publisher's summary

A top cybersecurity journalist tells the story behind the virus that sabotaged Iran’s nuclear efforts and shows how its existence has ushered in a new age of warfare—one in which a digital attack can have the same destructive capability as a megaton bomb. 

“Immensely enjoyable . . . Zetter turns a complicated and technical cyber story into an engrossing whodunit.”—The Washington Post

The virus now known as Stuxnet was unlike any other piece of malware built before: Rather than simply hijacking targeted computers or stealing information from them, it proved that a piece of code could escape the digital realm and wreak actual, physical destruction—in this case, on an Iranian nuclear facility.

In these chapters, journalist Kim Zetter tells the whole story behind the world’s first cyberweapon, covering its genesis in the corridors of the White House and its effects in Iran—and telling the spectacular, unlikely tale of the security geeks who managed to unravel a top secret sabotage campaign years in the making.

But Countdown to Zero Day also ranges beyond Stuxnet itself, exploring the history of cyberwarfare and its future, showing us what might happen should our infrastructure be targeted by a Stuxnet-style attack, and ultimately, providing a portrait of a world at the edge of a new kind of war.

©2014 Kim Zetter (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“An authoritative account of Stuxnet’s spread and discovery . . . [delivers] a sobering message about the vulnerability of the systems—train lines, water-treatment plants, electricity grids—that make modern life possible.”—Economist

“Exhaustively researched . . . Zetter gives a full account of this ‘hack of the century,’ as the operation has been called, [but] the book goes well beyond its ostensible subject to offer a hair-raising introduction to the age of cyber warfare.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Part detective story, part scary-brilliant treatise on the future of warfare . . . an ambitious, comprehensive, and engrossing book that should be required reading for anyone who cares about the threats that America—and the world—are sure to be facing over the coming years.”—Kevin Mitnick, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost in the Wires and The Art of Intrusion

Amazingly detailed, sober and above all, damning

Digital warfare generally conjures up bad science fiction imagery and seems more fanciful fiction than reality... However, that changed when Stuxnet was discovered, a carefully multiple pronged attack against Iran's secretive nuclear weapons program.

"Countdown to Zero Day" chronicles the discovery Stuxnet from its origins in Belarus, and follows the painstakingly detailed researched conduncted by a truly international cast, from Symantec researchers in the United States, Kaspersky Labs in Russia and security firms in India.

Kim Zetter carefully introduces the mystery of who wrote the Stuxnet virus and takes plenty of intermissions to explain the instability and insecurity of industrial control systems, and the very real threats they yield, as told by real world incidents, controlled tests and government experts assessment.

The book is measured, and isn't written as a fear-mongering piece, advocating more security but rather how the United States rushed head first into a new domain of espionage and war without ever fully considering the ramifications. It's painfully damning George Bush Jr and Barrack Obama's administrations.

Joe Ochman is almost a non-entity, transparently blending into the content and I mean this as a positive. I barely registered him as I was lost within the content. He's exceptionally easy to listen to, and never distracting. For a book that requires mostly narration, he's a great match.

Kim Zetter is extremely versed in his technology, and painstakingly details each major reveal in the case of Stuxnet as a hodgepodge of global researchers chase the rabbit continually further down the hole.Zetter isn't afraid to critique, often using quotes between security firms and government representatives to express the problematic nature of our digital platform. Towards the end, Zetter quotes and deconstructs the mantra, NOBUS (Nobody but us) used by the NSA, as an inherently flawed and naive view of cyber-security. Essentially, the inaction of government agencies to report weaknesses, flaws and glitches to save as a goodie bag for the United States puts everyone at risk as its arrogant to assume the United States will be the only ones who can use an exploit, and the "digital missiles" can be caught, deconstructed and fired back. In digital warfare.

Having read, Mark Bowden's Worm, about Conficker, Zetter avoids pandering and cuts into the technical aspects without apology. It's sure to alienate less technical readers. Those unfamiliar with patch Tuesday and the significance of out-of-band updates from Microsoft, or even what a zero-day exploit is, may want to start with Worm as a primer.

This book isn't for everyone due to the technical nature of it. I could easily see an average reader getting lost or eyes glazing over at times. As someone who's livelihood is tied web development, and followed stuxnet in the news, this book is fascinating. I remember clearly being blown away when the MD5 collision attack was discovered as it essentially confirmed that Stuxnet was made by nation-state actors.

In the end, it's wild ride, stranger than fiction journey that involves international conspiracies, assassinations, wildly intelligent researchers across the entire globe. By the end, while you never learn who the faces are behind Stuxnet, you'll have zero doubts about which nations were behind it.

Interesting Story, Terrible Production Quality

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

No. I would recommend the physical book, but not the audio book. It is terribly produced.

What did you like best about this story?

The story presented a speculated account of the Stuxnet virus and the first time the United States has ever used a digital weapon against a country. Note the US has not publicy acknowledged credit for this attack however based on the accounts of a variety of sources the author explains in excellent detail, the events surrounding this attack.

What didn’t you like about Joe Ochman’s performance?

It wasn't Joe's performance that was bad. It was the Production team who produced the book, and some of the decisions they made. First the reading of a book very obviously written by a woman by a male reader was kind of an odd choice. If you read or listen to a lot of books you can usually distinguish writing styles and descriptions which can be very distinctly male or female. There are points in the book where Kim, the author pretty much gushes over one of her sources, Ralph Langner. The way she describes him as a rock star and how he is portrayed in the book comes across a little silly when read by a man. Not to say that males don't gush over other males, but knowing this book was written by a woman makes it odd. I swear you can hear Joe(the reader) smile during some of these descriptions and phrases.Second the use of Acronyms in audio books is difficult. This book uses a TON of acronyms and in a physical book it is ok to define the acronym once then use the acronym letters for the rest of the book. However in an audio book it sounds ridiculous and is terrible to the point of laughing out loud, to skipping ahead, to uncomfortably struggling to listen to. That and if you don't listen to the book in one sitting you have no idea what the acronym stands for anymore. Good producers know how to assist in creating continuity by either spelling out the acronym each time, which is ok or working with the author to augment the book for an audio book reading. This comes across as lazy and unbearable at points.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The whole book was very interesting. Kim takes a very technical topic and provides an insight to a topic that normal or non technical people can understand.

Any additional comments?

Overall the book was very good and I recommend reading it in place of listening as this audio book was not produced very well.

Overzealous editing and lifeless reading

Joe! Ochman! likes! to end every! few! words! with an exclamation! This makes listening! to him very! very! tiresome!

I'll skip over his mispronunciation of names and uncommon English words.

Now, the book. Ms. Zetter put together an incredible and horrifying account of the deployment, discovery, reverse-engineering, and aftermath of Stuxnet. I found her political analysis to be very, very good — not surprising, given her background and experience. It left more informed, and yes, more uneasy about the world we live in.

The book was marred by what appears to be an overzealous editing process. Some common technical terms and concepts are explained in unnecessary depth (complete with tortuous, eye-rolling analogies,) while less common terms are used without explanation. I have a feeling that the over-explanations were added after the fact, perhaps by a nervous editor? The book most definitely does not need them, and anyone who is reading a book about Stuxnet can be assumed to have a basic grasp of what, e.g., a worm is.

Engrossing cyber whodunit

What did you love best about Countdown to Zero Day?

This is an utterly engrossing true life tale of the coders who unraveled the where when's and how's of the Stuxnet virus. Part cyber detective story, part geopolitical thriller, Countdown to Zero Day deftly takes the listener through the efforts of a small group of private cybersecurity experts who stumbled upon the virus and through dogged effort began to unravel its components to discover its true purpose. Wisely, the author reveals this piecemeal, mirroring the experiences of the cyber sleuths as they slowly crack the multidimensional virus. There are no big or juicy revelations here - anyone who has followed Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons technology will have heard about Stuxnet and the alleged role the US and Israel played in it. Rather, Countdown intrigues in an All the President's Men sort of way - how intrepid doggedness on the part of ordinary people (substitute coders for reporter) can uncover the darkest and most hidden reaches of power.

Well researched

The amount of research put into this book is incredible. This was very, very good. Also, I almost didn’t get this because of reviewers complaining about the narrator. I’m glad I went for it. I think that the complaints are unfounded. The performance was on point.

Extremely bias writing.

What would have made Countdown to Zero Day better?

A more balanced point of view.

What was most disappointing about Kim Zetter’s story?

Blames America and its allies for all the problems created by the introduction of this virus.

What aspect of Joe Ochman’s performance would you have changed?

none

Any additional comments?

A waste of time. Very disappointing story. Extremely one sided.

Well Researched but "Preachy"

The first 75% of the book is well-researched and enjoyable. Unfortunately, the last 25% preaches the unlikely belief that if the makers of Stuxnet (US & Israel) opened the door for countries such as North Korea, Iran and others to do their own cyber warfare. Is he kidding? North Korea is involved with everything from counterfeiting U.S. currency to kidnapping, not to mention nuclear extortion. Stuxnet may or may not have been a good idea, but to think that nation states such as North Korea somehow now feel okay with their own cyber programs because of Stuxnet is just more rehashing of the age old (and I believe discredited) argument that it is the U.S. militarism that has caused other nations to do the bad things that they do and that if we were nicer then everyone else would be as well. I'm not sure that the beheaders of ISIL would agree but wouldn't it be be great if the world was devoid of bad people -- sadly it's not.

A New Form of Terrorism Is Born

What did you love best about Countdown to Zero Day?

The literal genius that went into creating the first digital weapon as well as the literal genius it took to find it and figure out what is was. I really appreciated how this book read like a fictional spy novel at times. I had to keep reminding myself that this is non-fiction. If you are wondering how resourceful our government is when it comes to stopping global terrorism listen to this book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The entire team at Norton Anti Virus. To me they are both heroes and truly the brilliant minds of our time. The way they stuck with finding the answers to exactly what was behind the Stuxnet Virus was impressive. They could have stopped at any time but they had to solve this puzzle for themselves as much as the computer community. Their dedication went so far as to learn a new computer programing language that they would never use in the real world, just to learn more about the Stuxnet Virus.

Have you listened to any of Joe Ochman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not but I would again. It was a very good performance.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Blessed are the GEEKS as they will dominate the earth.

Any additional comments?

I did not give the book five stars as some parts of the book are very technical. I am in the IT industry and it was a bit much for me. It did not take away from the story as a whole but it did slow the story down in a few spots. I understand it was important to have the information in there to help us understand the scope and power of Stuxnet but it was not my favorite part of the book.

A Good Adventure Story--and Peek at the Future

This is a book that makes a complex subject understandable and enjoyable.

I bought my first PC in 1984. I am a self-taught user with a degree in journalism. As a technical writer I have written many software manuals, but nothing as complex as this. So I admire Kim Zetter's achievement here. I think anyone would appreciate how well the subject is explained.

There's also a lot here about implications for the future, along with appraisals of the SOTA. And all of that is very chilling.

I think the US may be woefully unprepared for cyberdefense and when the lights go out, it will be scary indeed. I hope some people with the power to prevent that will read this book. The difference between 9/11 and cyberwar is that we KNOW there will be a cyber war someday. This book shows our part in getting it started. (A necessary evil, IMO.)

I loved

I love the fact that it's a very detailed counter of what's happening in cyberspace.it's worth didn't my time I would read it again it's like imagining a movie.

Fascinating subject and an amazing story

Well researched, probably bit too much detail for me, but a wake up call if ever there was one. Makes me want to run to the hills .. It's so hard to build 'safe' connected systems. Started listening to security now on twit.tv to try to keep up with the latest what is going on. Any IT person should read/listen to this book and think very hard about what they are doing and how to protect themselves.

Intriguing story - well told!

An interesting contemporary subject well researched and told. Great level of detail that doesn't distract the listener from the main context of the story. I enjoyed it very much

Scary but informative

This book was brilliant. It reads like a thriller but is the true story of the first cyber warfare attack on Iran. Detailed and meticulous research is coupled with a real understanding of the wider political context of the age. There are some highly technical chapters but I got used to the jargon fairly quickly and didn't worry too much if I didn't understand every aspect of the computing systems.
Narrated in a factual way, clear and at a reasonable pace..
Learnt a great deal by reading this book and will take more notice of virus attacks in the future.

Narrator sounds like Microsoft Text to Speech

The story is good and well detailed, but as other reviews say, a bit too detailed. I am IT trained and have study and work in the field but the way it’s written/read i just found it hard to get hooked. Seemed very slow and drawn out. The story of which it’s about it fascinating though and worth some research into, although unfortunately i don’t think the book does it justice and just couldn’t stay focused.

Great read!

Have you ever came across a news article and thought, "how on earth did that not start a war?! How was this not headline news all over the whole globe?". This is exactly that. The implications of this type of warfare are truly terrifying.

USA vs Iran

great for learning about cyber state warfare, this give insight to how things begin

The only 'known' cyberattack, as of writing

I liked how it started, how it described the computational thinking behind the worn. You actually don't even need be tech minded to grasp this. So for me the book has three main focuses: the worm, the team that cracked it, international laws. The international laws part seemed to drag on a bit, but was still necessary to the story.

brilliant, well researched and narrated book

Really well researched, thought through and insightful book about a watershed moment in cyber security and cyber warfare: "Stuxnet". highly recommend it to anyone interested in information security and the world order!

Good book, but a bit too long

Provides a lot of info, but sometimes dives too much and I failed to see the relevance.

Otherwise, pretty interesting. Reader absolutely ok.

From a cyber security professional (me): This is the real deal

All listeners will enjoy this, and especially those listeners like myself which work on the technical side of cyber security. This book also fulfills my other main interests, the history and use of espionage, diplomacy and international law. I can recommend this even to the most educated listeners in either realm of knowledge as I can promise you that you will learn something about the other half of this amazing true story.