Cyber Recon - by Kurtis Minder (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An up close and personal look at cyber espionage and digital spycraft

In Cyber Recon: My Life in Cyber Espionage and Ransomware Negotiation, 30-year cybersecurity veteran Kurtis Minder delivers a fascinating exploration of real-world cyber espionage in some of the most dangerous places on the Internet. Through his experiences watching and hunting cybercriminals as varied as lone wolfs, the Russian mafia, and other official and unofficial nation-state hackers, he explains how cyber espionage is performed, the tools and skills that people like him use all the time, and the consequences of engaging with cybercriminals on a daily basis.

Kurtis teaches you that the same operational security that keeps him and his team of spies safe will keep you and your organization's secrets safer too. And you'll explore whether fake personas on the internet always bad or are there legitimate business uses for Romanian speaking sock puppets? You'll also discover critical lessons that Minder has learned as he's led his digital risk company, GroupSense, through many of the most dramatic incidents of online crime of the last few decades.

Inside the book:

• Original profiles of cyber espionage and negotiation professionals so you're learning from Jax Scott, Jon DiMaggio, Jason Ingalls, Beau Woods, Brye Ravattine and many more, with QR-code links to extended YouTube interviews

• An original, non-technical primer on the people that populate the cyber risk landscape and the methods they use to carry out attacks

• Steps to avoid becoming a target of Lockbit, BlackMatter, NotPetya, and next year's most dangerous ransomware as well as how to minimize the business damage when you are a victim
• How the intersection of business negotiation and hostage negotiation relates to high-stakes ransomware negotiations
• The fast-moving transformation generative AI is unleashing in cyber attacks and defense

An inside look at an endlessly interesting corner of the field of cybersecurity, Cyber Recon is also a must-read for anyone interested in spycraft, technology, hacking, or digital entrepreneurship.

From the Back Cover

"Kurtis Minder is operating in the shadowy world where cyber espionage meets high-stakes negotiation--and in Cyber Recon, he pulls back the curtain. This isn't theory; Kurtis has lived it. From digital tradecraft to navigating conversations with cybercriminals, this book delivers hard-won insights from the front lines."
--CHRIS VOSS, Author of Never Split the Difference and former FBI Hostage Negotiator

A first-person look at contemporary cyber espionage and digital spycraft

Cyber Recon: My Life in Cyber Espionage and Ransomware Negotiation is an up-close-and-personal discussion of the modern reality of cybercrime and the defenses against it. Author Kurtis Minder--a 30-year veteran of the cybersecurity industry--describes the most dangerous places on the internet. He demonstrates the methods, strategies, tools, and skills used by cybersecurity professionals and the cybercriminals they fight.

In the book, you'll discover how private organizations--for-profit businesses, nonprofits, NGOs, and others--spy on the "bad guys" and how they negotiate with ransomware criminals who have successfully penetrated their networks. Minder also explains how he has built his digital risk company, GroupSense, to successfully combat and engage with cybercriminals in a rapidly evolving threat environment.

Cyber Recon includes dozens of original profiles of cyber espionage and negotiation professionals alongside QR-code links to in-depth YouTube interviews. It is a one-of-a-kind, non-technical primer on the skilled and colorful personalities that inhabit the cyber risk landscape, as well as the techniques they use to perpetrate and defend against attacks.

About the Author

KURTIS MINDER is the CEO and Founder of GroupSense, recently acquired by Cognyte, a leading provider of digital risk solutions. He has 30 years' experience in cyber-security, having advised public sector security committees, universities, and technology companies. He has negotiated and resolved major ransomware incidents around the world.