Cybersecurity and Cyberwar

What Everyone Needs to Know

By: P. W. Singer, Allan Friedman

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

In Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know®, New York Times best-selling author P. W. Singer and noted cyberexpert Allan Friedman team up to provide the kind of deeply informative resource book that has been missing on a crucial issue of 21st-century life. Written in a lively, accessible style, filled with engaging stories and illustrative anecdotes, the book is structured around the key question areas of cyberspace and its security: how it all works, why it all matters, and what we can do.

Along the way, they take listeners on a tour of the important (and entertaining) issues and characters of cybersecurity, from the Anonymous hacker group and the Stuxnet computer virus to the new cyberunits of the Chinese and US militaries. Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know® is the definitive account of the subject for us all, which comes not a moment too soon.

©2014 P. W. Singer and Allan Friedman (P)2016 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"The timely book brings thoughtful, witty, and balanced analysis to this very important emerging discussion." ( The Atlantic)

A job application for some government job?

What disappointed you about Cybersecurity and Cyberwar?

I started this book and was quickly disappointed with its lack of content. The first part gives the reader some random facts about the history of the internet and cybersecurity, some generic technical information and that was about it. I was not impressed but I kept going.

The second part of the book got me puzzled. How could the authors display such a poor understanding (or such a poor confidence) in the power of distributed architecture, open source software and basically everything that makes the Internet. I wouldn’t say it’s perfect but it’s not Armageddon everyday either. At that stage I felt I was in a Bruce Willis movie “It’s a DDOS attack, we’ll all gonna die”…. I went from being not impressed to feeling I was wasting my time but I kept going.

Then came the part where the authors make recommendations. In short, their solution is lots of government supervision, hire lots of people and spend lots of money. There is nothing in the book about how to manage risk. It is all about avoiding risk at all cost. There is no practical recommendations that organizations concerned with their bottom line can implement…. Then I gave up. I must admit I did not finish the book.

My only rational explanation is that this book is a job application by the authors to some government job.

Pascal,

Let's hope there is not a sequel

This is my least enjoyable book from audible even including those I returned. The author seems lost interest in the subject early in the book feeling the pages with poorly connecting data to the main theme and he uses metaphors that are disjointed bringing added confusion rather than clarity.
By the time the end of the book the pages run on with filler as if to make a page quota. Add to this is a narrator whose sing song delivery is more fitting narrating a book on the joy of kite flying than what is supposed to be a serious subject.
This book is not the concise and crisp covering of the subject matter I hoped it would be.

from a cyber immigrant

well done. q/a format useful. topical organization literally provides a response to what anyone connected to the Internet needs to know.

Outstanding

Fascinating book, it provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of cyber security and the incredible challenges facing cyber security professionals. Very detailed, the authors go to great lengths to point out some very scary vulnerabilities and they also dispel some fears that are probably overblown. Very even handed in how they approache political perspectives for cyber strategies. The narrator does an excellent job. Highly recommended.

For those that don't know, that they don't know!!

if you are someone inclined in computer networking technology and understanding this book is actually pretty good as a reinforcement but not solely for you. This book is definitely designed for those people who if almost every chapter there's a point where they bring up something that you don't know then this book is definitely for you

Everyone needs to know more.

This is the iceberg... forming and melting. A tip today gives rise to another tomorrow.

More TL;DR

Here we are in the digital age of repeat performances, this book gives us a long dissertation of the need for Internet Security. The authors are nothing more than paid propagandistas that expose the Industrial and Insurance industries desire to control our cyberspace.
I do believe you should read this book only to enhance the forth coming insurance take over the internet and their desire to impose liability to certain wreck less behaviors.

Good overview

A thorough look at the complexities of the cyber domain from many different angles. A well documented history of how we got to where we are with technology as well.

excellent overview of cyber security for us laymen

highly recommended for a birds eye view of personal cyber security. I recommend following the guidelines provided in the book to protect yourself. if you live on the internet, this is a great manual to use for protection guidance.

Lots of good background and context

Mr Singer and Mr Friedman are incredibly thoughtful and thought provoking writers. This book introduces a great many policy conversations. I appreciate that the commentary is unbiased or at least presents both sides (private industry and public/regulatory) of the subjects discussed herein. Thank you Peter and Allan.

A bit of backstory for the larger "cyber stories"

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

I would only recommend this to someone looking for the backstory on alot of the larger "cyber" stories that have hit the headlines over the past few years

What did you like best about this story?

Told in a very competent manner, never too technically heavy, and only sometimes too light.

Any additional comments?

Overall, don't listen to this book expecting to come out with l33t hacking skills. They barely skim over the technical "how to" in passing. If you're looking for a technical manual, look else where.

But this does give you some of the back story, and elaborates further on matters such as StuxNet, and other headline grabbing cyber stories. If you're already well versed in InfoSec, you may not gain too much from this audiobook, but it acts as a good introduction.

I enjoyed it, and would recommend it with these caveats.

Informative and Relaxing

I really enjoyed this, I used to put it on at night before sleep or when on the bus.

Great Cyber Summary

A couple of years old, but still a thorough summary of the cyber threat landscape. Great start point for anyone wanting to learn about the evolution of the internet and cyberspace, better understand the current issues and what we can expect in the near future.

Useful guide for the non-technical reader

Any additional comments?

A general, but fairly comprehensive, guide to the subject as implied by the title. Good narration.