Future Crimes - by Marc Goodman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Technological advances have benefited our world in immeasurable ways, but there is an ominous flip side: our technology can be turned against us. And just over the horizon is a tidal wave of scientific progress that will leave our heads spinning--from implantable medical devices to drones and 3-D printers, all of which can be hacked, with disastrous consequences.

With explosive insights based on a career in law enforcement and counterterrorism, leading authority on global security Marc Goodman takes readers on a vivid journey through the darkest recesses of the Internet. He explores how bad actors are primed to hijack the technologies of tomorrow. Provocative, thrilling, and ultimately empowering, Future Crimes will serve as an urgent call to action that shows how we can take back control of our own devices and harness technology's tremendous power for the betterment of humanity--before it's too late.

Review Quotes

"In order to be modern, you have to read this book."
--Steve Martin

"The hacks and heists detailed in Future Crimes are the stuff of thrillers, but unfortunately, the world of cybercrime is all too real. There could be no more sure-footed or knowledgeable companion than Marc Goodman on this guided tour of the underworld of the Internet. Everyone--and the business world especially--should heed his advice."
--Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of Drive and To Sell is Human

"Addictive....Introduces readers to this brave new world of technology, where robbers have been replaced by hackers, and victims include nearly anyone on the Web...He presents his myriad hard-to-imagine cybercrime examples in the kind of matter-of-fact voice he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

"Future Crimes is a risk compendium for the Information Age....Exhaustively researched....Fascinating....Thrilling to read"
--San Francisco Chronicle

"In Future Crimes, Goodman spills out story after story about how technology has been used for illegal ends...The author ends with a series of recommendations that, while ambitious, appear sensible and constructive...Goodman's most promising idea is the creation of a "Manhattan Project" for cyber security...[Future Crimes is] a ride well worth taking if we are to prevent the worst of his predictions from taking shape."
--Financial Times

"A superb new book."
--The Boston Globe

"You couldn't ask for a better [cyber risk] overview than Future Crimes."
--Harvard Business Review

"Marc Goodman is a go-to guide for all who want a good scaring about the dark side of technology."
--New Scientist

"Utterly fascinating stuff...Goodman weds the joy of geeky technology with the tension of true crime. The future of crime prevention starts here."
--NPR, San Francisco

"A well-researched whirlwind tour of internet-based crime."
--Science Magazine

"By the middle of the first chapter you'll be afraid to turn on your e-reader or laptop, and you'll be looking with deep suspicion at your smartphone...[Goodman's] style is breezy but his approach is relentless, as he leads you from the guts of the Target data breach to the security vulnerabilities in social media...Mr. Goodman argues convincingly that we are addressing exponential growth in risky technologies with thinking that is, at best, incremental.
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"OMG, this is a wakeup call. The outlaws are running faster than the architects. Use this book to shake up the companies you buy from, the device makers, telecom carriers, and governments at all levels. Demand that they pay attention to the realities of our new world as outlined within this thorough and deep book. Marc Goodman will startle you with the ingenuity of the bad guys. I'm a technological optimist. Now I am an eyes-wide-open optimist."
--Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired Magazine and bestselling author of What Technology Wants

"A riveting read."
--Nassim Nicholas Taleb, professor of engineering at NYU and New York Times bestselling author of The Black Swan

"From black ops to rogue bots and everything in between, Future Crimes is a gripping must-read. Marc Goodman takes readers on a brilliant, 'behind-the-screens' journey into the hidden world of 21st century criminal innovation, filled with one mind-boggling example after another of what's coming next. Future Crimes raises tough questions about the expanding role of technology in our lives and the importance of managing it for the benefit of all humanity. Even better, Goodman offers practical solutions so that we not only survive progress, but thrive to an extent never previously imagined."
--Peter H. Diamandis, New York Times bestselling author of Abundance; CEO, XPRIZE Foundation; Exec. Chairman, Singularity University

"Future Crimes is the Must Read Book of the Year. Endlessly fascinating, genuinely instructive, and truly frightening. Be warned: Once you pick it up, you won't put it down. Super cool and super interesting."
--Christopher Reich, New York Times bestselling author

"Technology has always been a double edged sword--fire kept us warm and cooked our food but also burned down our villages. Marc Goodman provides a deeply insightful view into our twenty-first century's fires. His philosophy matches my own: apply the promise of exponentially growing information technologies to overcome age old challenges of humankind while at the same time understand and contain the perils. This book provides a compelling roadmap to do just that."
--Ray Kurzweil, inventor, author and futurist

"Much has been discussed regarding today's cybercrime threats as well as the cybercriminals' modus operandi. What is lacking, however, is what we can do about them. Mr. Marc Goodman's book Future Crimes brings our global dialogue on safety and security to the next level by exploring how potential criminals are exploiting new and emerging technologies for their nefarious purposes. It provides a futuristic perspective grounded on current case studies. Future Crime is an essential read for law enforcers, corporations and the community alike. It offers answers beyond what comes next to what we can do, both individually and collectively, to secure ourselves and our communities."
--Khoo Boon Hui, former President of Interpol

"A tour de force of insight and foresight. Never before has somebody so masterfully researched and presented the frightening extent to which current and emerging technologies are harming national security, putting people's lives at risk, eroding privacy, and even altering our perceptions of reality. Future Crimes paints a sobering picture of how rapidly evolving threats to technology can lead to disasters that replicate around the world at machine speed. Goodman clearly demonstrates that we are following a failed cybersecurity strategy that requires new thinking rather than simply more frameworks, more information sharing, and more money. Read this now, and then get angry that we really haven't taken the technology threat seriously. If the right people read Goodman's book and take action, it might just save the world."
--Steven Chabinsky, former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI's Cyber Division

"As with Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything and Robert Whitaker's Anatomy of an Epidemic, Future Crimes deserves a prominent place in our front-line library. Goodman takes us behind the computer screen to a dark world where Crime Inc. flourishes at our expense. When the criminal mind conceives "what if" it is only a matter of time before its dream becomes our nightmare. Goodman urges us to take responsibility for this new world we are speeding towards. If we don't perhaps the greater crime will be ours."
--Ed Burns, co-creator of The Wire

"This is a fantastic book and one that should be read by every cyber crime fighter. Technology breeds crime...it always has and always will. Unfortunately, there will always be people willing to use technology in a negative self serving way. Your only defense is the most powerful tool available to you--education. Read Future Crimes and understand your risks and how to combat them. The question I am most often asked in my lectures is, 'What's the next big crime?' The answer is in this book."
--Frank Abagnale, New York Times bestselling author of Catch Me If You Can and Stealing Your Life

About the Author

MARC GOODMAN has spent a career in law enforcement and technology. He was appointed futurist-in-residence with the FBI, worked as a senior adviser to Interpol, and served as a street police officer. As the founder of the Future Crimes Institute and the Chair for Policy, Law, and Ethics at Silicon Valley's Singularity University, he continues to investigate the intriguing and often terrifying intersection of science and security, uncovering nascent threats and combating the darker sides of technology.