Looking for something to recharge your passion for IT Security during the holidays? Maybe one of these books will inspire you!
I do not get any affiliation / referral for the following Links – I am just sharing my recommendations for IT Security related books that I myself really enjoyed!
Of course they are all available on Audible as well – I myself listend to all of them!
Support the Authors and think about buying the books at full price even if you listen to them on Audible Credits!
My absolute Favorites:
Sandworm – Any Greenberg
Link to Publisher: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/597684/sandworm-by-andy-greenberg/
What its about:
The Group Sandworm from the Russian GRU that is behind Attacks on the Ukrain Energy Grid, NotPetya and countless other Internet menace in the last years.
What stood out for me:
I follow Andy Greenberg since his longform article The Untold Story of NotPetya on wired and really enjoyed every Chapter of this very thoroughly investigated Story!
Permanent Record – Edward Snowden
Link to Publisher: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250237231
What its about:
The Life of Edward Snowden of course focusing mainly on his leaking of NSA and other States ecrets.
What stood out for me:
You may think about Edward Snowden what you want but I found his Story very interesting including the part before he became infamous. Also you get a narrated version of many of the leaked secrets and thus learn some aspects that you might missed in the news reports about his revelations.
Furthermore the part about NSA Analysts beeing able to see people typing search queries into Google letter by letter and spying on their (ex)partners.
American Kingpin – Nick Bilton
Link to Publisher:
http://www.americankingpin.com
What its about:
Ross Ulbricht singlehandedly created the Silkroad and managed to evade Lawenforcement for years! The book describes how he got to this point and how it got to his arrest.
What stood out for me:
Many details like how Ross Ulbricht wasn’t really a hardcore techie, how he grew magic mushrooms to list the first drugs on the Silkroad and of course my favorite part of the book was his arrest – which im not going to spoil here!
Countdown to Zero Day – Kim Zetter
Link to Publisher:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/219931/countdown-to-zero-day-by-kim-zetter/
What its about:
The Story about Stuxnet and one of the first publicly known military Cyber Attack instigated by the USA and Isreal against Irans Nuclear program.
What stood out for me:
The wholistic description of every aspect of the story starting with satelite photos of the building site of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility.
Also the part about the centrifuges that get ripped apart under their own movement and how Iran tried to cover this up from the IAEA by encasing broken down centrifuges.
Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now – Jaron Lanier
Link to Publisher:
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1116104/ten-arguments-for-deleting-your-social-media-accounts-right-now/9781847925398/
What its about:
The Infosec link is not that strong for this book however it is still refers to the Cambridge Analytica scandal and shines a light on how careless Social Media companies manipulate us.
What stood out for me:
The in depth description of how exactly social media companies manipulate us and how they have no qualm to destroy society to earn a quick buck! And yes I really deleted my facebook account after finishing this one!
Spam Nation – Brian Krebs
Link to Publisher:
https://krebsonsecurity.com/tag/spam-nation/
What its about:
The world wide spam industry and why it is even feasible to earn money with fake pharmaceuticals. If you know Brian Krebs you know how detailed he gets when someone gets “Krebsed”!
What stood out for me:
The guts it takes to travel to Russia to meet some Spam/Drug Kingpin on their turf. Also the explanation why someone would by drugs from links in Spam mails.
IT-Unsecurity 