Cyber Wars - by Charles Arthur (Paperback)

About the Book

Explore the most significant cyber attacks in recent years and get exclusive insight into hackers' techniques, the dramatic consequences and the lessons we should all learn from them.

Book Synopsis

Cyber Wars gives you the dramatic inside stories of some of the world's biggest cyber attacks. These are the game changing hacks that make organizations around the world tremble and leaders stop and consider just how safe they really are.

Charles Arthur provides a gripping account of why each hack happened, what techniques were used, what the consequences were and how they could have been prevented. Cyber attacks are some of the most frightening threats currently facing business leaders and this book provides a deep insight into understanding how they work, how hackers think as well as giving invaluable advice on staying vigilant and avoiding the security mistakes and oversights that can lead to downfall. No organization is safe but by understanding the context within which we now live and what the hacks of the future might look like, you can minimize the threat.

In Cyber Wars, you will learn how hackers in a TK Maxx parking lot managed to steal 94m credit card details costing the organization $1bn; how a 17 year old leaked the data of 157,000 TalkTalk customers causing a reputational disaster; how Mirai can infect companies' Internet of Things devices and let hackers control them; how a sophisticated malware attack on Sony caused corporate embarrassment and company-wide shut down; and how a phishing attack on Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta's email affected the outcome of the 2016 US election.

Review Quotes

"A terrifying analysis of the dark cyber underworld."-- "Aleks Krotoski, BAFTA and Emmy winner and presenter and writer of the BBC series Digital Human"

"Charles Arthur's Cyber Wars takes the reader through some well-known and not so well-known hacks: Sony Pictures, HBGary, John Podesta's inbox, TJX, ransomware, TalkTalk, and Mirai. Each chapter concludes with some lessons and suggestions, but the reality is that we will never make every system secure. We can simply make it a tad harder for the hackers to penetrate "our space" and either gain access to our data or lock us out from it. The tales of woe told here explore the range of tools hackers have used. For those of us with zero hacking skills it's an enlightening, if depressing, read."-- "Brenda Jubin, Reading the Markets, NetGalley Reviewer"

"Drawing lessons from the avoidable mistakes of others, Arthur presents insights into the greatest information security failures of our time that no business of any size can afford to ignore."-- "Simon Moores, Chair, Annual International eCrime Congress, and visiting lecturer, Computing, Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity, Canterbury Christ Church University"

"I found it a fascinating book. I wish that all history books were so inviting and intelligent."-- "Books In Brogan, NetGalley Reviewer"

"This is not a difficult review for me to write as I absolutely loved this book which covered a number of the widest reported online frauds of the last twenty or so years and what was learned from them. It has certainly made think about my own online security and I suggest it will do likewise to others that read this. A solid five star effort."-- "Alan Gordon, NetGalley Reviewer"

"Timely, well-written, informed, and entertaining. Reading this book will place you amongst those who really know where history suggests we are heading with cyber security. It won't surprise you to know the prospect isn't pretty. Essential reading for everyone who uses technology - and these days that's everyone."-- "Tim Vincent, CEO, Observer Solutions, and co-founder of the International Operational Technology Security Association"

About the Author

Charles Arthur is a freelance journalist, and author of Digital Wars: Apple, Google, Microsoft and the Battle for the Internet, published by Kogan Page. From 2005-2014 he was technology editor at The Guardian newspaper, where he worked on coverage of scores of stories including Wikileaks, Anonymous, and LulzSec. Previously he was science and technology editor at The Independent, and before that worked at New Scientist, Business Magazine and Computer Weekly.