Messing with the Enemy - by Clint Watts (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A former FBI Special Agent and leading cyber-security expert offers a devastating and essential look at the misinformation campaigns, fake news, and electronic espionage operations that have become the cutting edge of modern warfare--and how we can protect ourselves and our country against them.

Clint Watts electrified the nation when he testified in front of the House Intelligence Committee regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election. In Messing with the Enemy, the cyber and homeland security expert introduces us to a frightening world in which terrorists and cyber criminals don't hack your computer, they hack your mind. Watts reveals how these malefactors use your information and that of your friends and family to work for them through social media, which they use to map your social networks, scour your world affiliations, and master your fears and preferences.

Thanks to the schemes engineered by social media manipulators using you and your information, business executives have coughed up millions in fraudulent wire transfers, seemingly good kids have joined the Islamic State, and staunch anti-communist Reagan Republicans have cheered the Russian government's hacking of a Democratic presidential candidate's e-mails. Watts knows how they do it because he's mirrored their methods to understand their intentions, combat their actions, and coopt their efforts.

Watts examines a particular social media platform--from Twitter to internet Forums to Facebook to LinkedIn--and a specific bad actor--from al Qaeda to the Islamic State to the Russian and Syrian governments--to illuminate exactly how social media tracking is used for nefarious purposes. He explains how he's learned, through his successes and his failures, to engage with hackers, terrorists, and even the Russians--and how these interactions have generated methods of fighting back. Shocking, funny, and eye-opening, Messing with the Enemy is a deeply urgent guide for living safe and smart in a super-connected world.

From the Back Cover

Clint Watts electrified the nation when he testified in front of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election. In Messing with the Enemy, the counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and homeland security expert introduces us to a frightening world in which terrorists and cyber criminals don't just hack your computer; they also hack your mind. Watts reveals how these malefactors use your social media information and that of your family, friends, and colleagues to map your social networks, identify your vulnerabilities, master your fears, and harness your preferences.

Social media manipulators using openly available information have convinced business executives to cough up millions in fraudulent wire transfers, radicalized seemingly good kids to join the Islamic State, and changed the minds of staunch anti-Communist Reagan Republicans who now cheer the Russian government's hacking of the Democratic National Committee. Watts knows how they do it because he's mirrored their methods to understand their intentions, combat their actions, and disrupt their efforts. Watts examines a range of social media platforms to illuminate exactly how our enemies use Western social media for their nefarious purposes. He explains how he's learned, through his successes and his failures, to engage with hackers, terrorists, and even the Russians--and how these interactions have generated methods for fighting back against those who seek to harm people on the internet.

Watts concludes with a snapshot of how advances in artificial intelligence will make future influence even more effective and dangerous to social media users and democratic governments worldwide. Shocking, funny, and eye-opening, Messing with the Enemy is a deeply urgent guide for living safe and smart in a super-connected world.

Review Quotes

"[A] pointed treatise.... [Messing With the Enemy is] a solid, highly useful owner's manual for a leaky internet--and a damaged democracy." -- Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval and Legendary

"A timely, occasionally chilling account.... Watts combines a down-to-earth voice with an ability to recreate moments of social media troublemaking to discomfiting, informative effect." -- Publishers Weekly