Future Crimes

Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It

By: Marc Goodman

Narrated by: Robertson Dean, Marc Goodman

Length: 20 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES and WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF 2015

One of the world’s leading authorities on global security, Marc Goodman takes listeners deep into the digital underground to expose the alarming ways criminals, corporations, and even countries are using new and emerging technologies against you—and how this makes everyone more vulnerable than ever imagined.  

Technological advances have benefited our world in immeasurable ways, but there is an ominous flip side: our technology can be turned against us. Hackers can activate baby monitors to spy on families, thieves are analyzing social media posts to plot home invasions, and stalkers are exploiting the GPS on smart phones to track their victims’ every move. We all know today’s criminals can steal identities, drain online bank accounts, and wipe out computer servers, but that’s just the beginning. To date, no computer has been created that could not be hacked—a sobering fact given our radical dependence on these machines for everything from our nation’s power grid to air traffic control to financial services.      

Yet, as ubiquitous as technology seems today, just over the horizon is a tidal wave of scientific progress that will leave our heads spinning. If today’s Internet is the size of a golf ball, tomorrow’s will be the size of the sun. Welcome to the Internet of Things, a living, breathing, global information grid where every physical object will be online. But with greater connections come greater risks. Implantable medical devices such as pacemakers can be hacked to deliver a lethal jolt of electricity and a car’s brakes can be disabled at high speed from miles away. Meanwhile, 3-D printers can produce AK-47s, bioterrorists can download the recipe for Spanish flu, and cartels are using fleets of drones to ferry drugs across borders.     

With explosive insights based upon a career in law enforcement and counterterrorism, Marc Goodman takes readers on a vivid journey through the darkest recesses of the Internet. Reading like science fiction, but based in science fact, Future Crimes explores how bad actors are primed to hijack the technologies of tomorrow, including robotics, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. These fields hold the power to create a world of unprecedented abundance and prosperity. But the technological bedrock upon which we are building our common future is deeply unstable and, like a house of cards, can come crashing down at any moment.     

Future Crimes provides a mind-blowing glimpse into the dark side of technological innovation and the unintended consequences of our connected world. Goodman offers a way out with clear steps we must take to survive the progress unfolding before us. Provocative, thrilling, and ultimately empowering, Future Crimes will serve as an urgent call to action that shows how we can take back control over our own devices and harness technology’s tremendous power for the betterment of humanity—before it’s too late.

©2015 Marc Goodman (P)2015 Randon House Audio

Critic reviews

“Addictive….[I]ntroduces readers to this brave new world of technology, where robbers have been replaced by hackers, and victims include nearly anyone on the Web… He presents his myriad hard-to-imagine cybercrime examples in the kind of matter-of-fact voice he probably perfected as an investigator. He clearly wants us never to look at our cellphones or Facebook pages in the same way again — and in this, Future Crimes succeeds marvelously.”— The Washington Post

“Excellent and timely…Mr. Goodman is no neo-Luddite. He thinks innovations could ultimately lead to self-healing computer networks that detect hackers and automatically make repairs to shut them out. He rightly urges the private and public sectors to work more closely together, ‘crowdsourcing’ ideas and know-how…The best time to start tackling future crimes is now.” — The Economist

"This is a must-read!" -- Larry King

The book for all of us to help protect us

What made the experience of listening to Future Crimes the most enjoyable?

A true and thrilling story of bad guys taking-over humanity through our own inventions

What was one of the most memorable moments of Future Crimes?

We are not customers but, we are a product

Any additional comments?

The author begins Future Crimes talking about some of the most famous data thefts where big corporations have been targeted. He demonstrates, not only private and public entities are their targets but also, individual are not safe. Author gives a detailed account of how a Wired journalist was targeted and lost control of his iPhone, iPad, and almost everything that was connected to these devices. He points out that with changing social dynamics, people are increasingly becoming comfortable to share critical information about themselves on the social networks. This information is very instrumental to target them and their loved once for all kinds of minor and major crimes. Moreover, it is not just the attackers that we need to be wary of. It is also the social media corporations and (so called) legitimate agencies who uses our information shared in good faith for profits and often against us.

Particularly, in You’re Not the Customer, You’re the Product, his example of the PatientsLikeMe website will rob you of all the belief that you have placed on forums and networks as related to the privacy of the information you share on sites like these. The author narrates an example where all the patients’ information about their experiences and illnesses were mined by an unauthorized Nielsen company bot, which could be later sold to insurance companies that will decide your premiums based on the ‘confidential’ information and make numerous other decisions about the service and offers you receive.
Big data can bring you the best of products and help companies come up with just the solution you need. But this same data can kill you, literally. The 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack was unique because the attackers used real-time data compiled from multiple sources. Updates that people like you and me shared, helped orchestrate one of the most violent and prolonged terrorist attacks in the world.

Technology brings new and exciting ways to make our lives more efficient and easy. But it also provides as many ways to make it miserable. From vulnerable online banking to smart homes that could be hacked and controlled at whims of a teenager sitting thousands of miles away, everything connected to the grid is exposed to an attack. Electric grids, water treatment plants, Dam gates can be accessed and attacked with devastating results – remember the Fire Sale concept in Die Hard 4? It is not just fiction, there is a possibility of that happening.

All the information in the book is true. But the author tells these horrifying stories in a style befitting a thriller. You will read about the crimes that you have read in newspapers and about those that never surfaced in the public glare. You will read about crimes that are waiting to happen. Are you thrilled about the new app that controls your house temperature and warm it before you reach home on a cold afternoon? Well, be also aware that this same technology can be used to start a fire and prevent to fight it in time.

He makes his points well, how Internet of things, (nano) robotics, steatites, cognitive computing, advanced medicines, 3D printing and many more of new age technologies are not only enabling normal individuals for more convenient lives but also making is a matter of convenience of freaks to launch an advanced attack against the entire humanity and our planet. Nuclear bombs may the most devastating discoveries in past which can be used to wipe-out the entire human race however, nations need to accept the hard reality, any of the above new technologies can be used to result similarly or may be worse devastating effects on our planet. It is time to make a yet another non-proliferation treaty to restrict the misuse of these technologies.

Throughout and in the concluding chapters, the author has proved promising ways and options for all of us to be able to avoid the discussed technology abuse and disasters. At one point, the future may look very grime due to these technologies, the author explains, the choice is in all of our hands to overcome yet another watershed moment for humanity by acting responsibly rather than short-term greed.

Very interesting, appendix has the gold

I would be nice if the tips and tricks for protecting yourself could be spread through the whole book. Now it's just at the end, which is good also I guess.

Excellent Overview - Essential Awareness

I really enjoyed the book. Some of my peers thought the content was dry - others are really enjoying it. I read along while listening to book on Audible fond that to be very helpful.


Some startling stories. Some must know info for parents and any social media or mobile users.

I was aware of a lot of the content, perhaps not to the depth in some cases. I am a little shocked at how little awareness on most of the topics that some family and friends have. This book gave me some good conversation starters and has influenced my e-Behavior in a positive way.

I would recommend this book.

Fascinating, frightening, and thorough

This book looks at EVERY aspect of every possible computer use, from the devices we use everyday, to the deep web, to interfaces with medicine and biology. The author provides many examples of how technology looks when done right and goes wrong. Eye-opening and detailed. Told in a gently authoritative and calm voice, which is credit to both author and narrator. Very highly recommended!

If you love tech and security then this is the book for you

A great listen with the perfect narrator that brings out the serious and worrying tone from the pages to your mind. Only downer for me was that I wished some topics were talked about in even more depth, but that would nearly double this already lengthy book.

Too Long

Twenty times longer than it needed to be, at least for my level of interest. Would have made a good magazine article.

OMG

What did you love best about Future Crimes?

So many references to current issues that have occurred.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

accuracy and sequential explanation of where we are and where we are going with internet.

Have you listened to any of Robertson Dean and Marc Goodman ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

have not

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

Any additional comments?

I have recommended this to my friends that especially are techy.

For the love of your life LISTEN!

I open ,breath taking, instructive ,educational inspiring just a few of the words that comes to mind when I finished listening to this book. I wish every dad , every mom ,educator or any person of influence listen to or read this book.I want to say thank you to every single person who had the influence on accomplishing these work I want to say thank you to the narrator for the way he carry out the book especially on the appendix and the last words.

Amazing and utterly essential reading.

Should be required listening for everyone, especially, evidently, Supreme Court justices.

This is our wake up call! Now is the time.

A must read for anyone in business

After reading this book it's going to be hard to sleep at night! Excellent book I would highly recommend this to anyone that has a phone computer or tablet and wants to know what's coming next in the Internet of things.