Status
Available
Call number
Publication
New York : Doubleday, [2015]
Description
Business. Computer Technology. Technology. Nonfiction. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES and WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF 2015 One of the world�s leading authorities on global security, Marc Goodman takes readers deep into the digital underground to expose the alarming ways criminals, corporations, and even countries are using new and emerging technologies against you�and how this makes everyone more vulnerable than ever imagined. Technological advances have benefited our world in immeasurable ways, but there is an ominous flip side: our technology can be turned against us. Hackers can activate baby monitors to spy on families, thieves are analyzing social media posts to plot home invasions, and stalkers are exploiting the GPS on smart phones to track their victims� every move. We all know today�s criminals can steal identities, drain online bank accounts, and wipe out computer servers, but that�s just the beginning. To date, no computer has been created that could not be hacked�a sobering fact given our radical dependence on these machines for everything from our nation�s power grid to air traffic control to financial services. Yet, as ubiquitous as technology seems today, just over the horizon is a tidal wave of scientific progress that will leave our heads spinning. If today�s Internet is the size of a golf ball, tomorrow�s will be the size of the sun. Welcome to the Internet of Things, a living, breathing, global information grid where every physical object will be online. But with greater connections come greater risks. Implantable medical devices such as pacemakers can be hacked to deliver a lethal jolt of electricity and a car�s brakes can be disabled at high speed from miles away. Meanwhile, 3-D printers can produce AK-47s, bioterrorists can download the recipe for Spanish flu, and cartels are using fleets of drones to ferry drugs across borders. With explosive insights based upon a career in law enforcement and counterterrorism, Marc Goodman takes readers on a vivid journey through the darkest recesses of the Internet. Reading like science fiction, but based in science fact, Future Crimes explores how bad actors are primed to hijack the technologies of tomorrow, including robotics, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. These fields hold the power to create a world of unprecedented abundance and prosperity. But the technological bedrock upon which we are building our common future is deeply unstable and, like a house of cards, can come crashing down at any moment. Future Crimes provides a mind-blowing glimpse into the dark side of technological innovation and the unintended consequences of our connected world. Goodman offers a way out with clear steps we must take to survive the progress unfolding before us. Provocative, thrilling, and ultimately empowering, Future Crimes will serve as an urgent call to action that shows how we can take back control over our own devices and harness technology�s tremendous power for the betterment of humanity�before it�s too late.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Carolee888
Future Crimes: Everyone Is Vulnerable And What We Can Do About Its by Marc Goodman is an amazingly well researched book about cybercrime. He was only 28 and an investigative sergeant in LAPD when he was asked if he knew how to use Word Spell. That was in 1995. He did and he got the job for
This book covers more venues of computer crime than I ever imagined. Goodman takes us into the underworld of the Internet. This is the world of underground crime. Why are we so vulnerable? Why are we so trusting? This book is frightening because is telling the reality of the new world. If you get scared reading through all the avenues of computer crime, just hang around until you get to the last two chapters. That one will give you and businesses ways to prevent fraud and increase protection.
Password safety, many people use the same password for many accounts? What if you did and someone hacked you Facebook account, then with the additional information on your profile they can get into your bank account, credit cards and more.
There is a paradox about the computer, even though it is extremely helpful, it can be dangerous when the wrong people use it for their gain. In the last two chapters, the author explored what can be done to make us safer and how we can use computers to help mankind.
In the last two chapters, the author explored what can be done to make us safer and how we can use computers to help mankind.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the hazards of cyberspace and also how to protect themselves from them.
I received an Advance Reading Copy from Vine Amazon but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review.
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investing computer crime. That was the birth of computer crime with pages and cell phone now it has grown into a huge industry. And it is going to get worse. Plenty of research has gone into this book and none of it is boring. So even though it is a long book, you will be entranced until the end.This book covers more venues of computer crime than I ever imagined. Goodman takes us into the underworld of the Internet. This is the world of underground crime. Why are we so vulnerable? Why are we so trusting? This book is frightening because is telling the reality of the new world. If you get scared reading through all the avenues of computer crime, just hang around until you get to the last two chapters. That one will give you and businesses ways to prevent fraud and increase protection.
Password safety, many people use the same password for many accounts? What if you did and someone hacked you Facebook account, then with the additional information on your profile they can get into your bank account, credit cards and more.
There is a paradox about the computer, even though it is extremely helpful, it can be dangerous when the wrong people use it for their gain. In the last two chapters, the author explored what can be done to make us safer and how we can use computers to help mankind.
In the last two chapters, the author explored what can be done to make us safer and how we can use computers to help mankind.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the hazards of cyberspace and also how to protect themselves from them.
I received an Advance Reading Copy from Vine Amazon but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review.
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LibraryThing member Stbalbach
Future Crimes is a very smart book, Goodman has looked at computer crime from every possible angle. It is also oddly entertaining as computer crime is so clever by its nature. Computer crime is a vast subject and the stories are endlessly fascinating. The first third covers what has already
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happened, he then looks at the "future of crime" by extrapolating where technology is headed. Moore's Law means that technology is giving individuals unparalleled amounts of power for good or evil. Meanwhile the institutions who are meant to protect us are unable to keep up with the rapidity of changes. Indeed technology may make some of these institutions irrelevant. Society is woefully unprepared for what is happening today, much less in 10 or 20 years. It's easy for an individual to say "I don't own a smart phone and rarely use email" but it doesn't matter as it will affect everyone because it impacts our institutions, government, everything we depend on as a society. Like saying the newfangled motor vehicle won't impact me because I will keep riding my horse.. that works for only so long. The leading edge users of technology are criminals operating in space not yet well regulated or understood and this book is an excellent introduction to what's happening and the possibilities to come. Show Less
LibraryThing member MaureenRoy
If you haven't heard of this groundbreaking book on the cybersecurity problems of Americans, you haven't been paying attention. See also the BookTV website (they are part of the C-SPAN family) presentation on Future Crimes by its author to a packed security-savvy audience that then asked
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well-prepared questions. Future Crimes has been number 1 on science and technology booklists since it was first published. Show Less
LibraryThing member Writermala
A non-fiction thriller. That perhaps would be an apt description of this book. However, the fact is that technology which has brought us unbound happiness and ease of living is a double edged sword as the author Goodman points out. Tech crime is huge business today and with the Internet of Things
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just around the corner Crime,inc. can become unmanageable. Tech illiteracy is going to prove really costly and the author, who describes all the ways in which we can be hacked also points out in the last two chapters that the only way to fight this threat is to join forces and fight a unified battle. All in all a must read. Show Less
LibraryThing member Writermala
A non-fiction thriller. That perhaps would be an apt description of this book. However, the fact is that technology which has brought us unbound happiness and ease of living is a double edged sword as the author Goodman points out. Tech crime is huge business today and with the Internet of Things
Show More
just around the corner Crime,inc. can become unmanageable. Tech illiteracy is going to prove really costly and the author, who describes all the ways in which we can be hacked also points out in the last two chapters that the only way to fight this threat is to join forces and fight a unified battle. All in all a must read. Show Less
LibraryThing member maneekuhi
"Future Crimes" is chock full of anecdotes and analogies of hacking, cyber theft, etc. etc.; sometimes it felt like there was at least one for every one of it's 392 pages. Many are very enlightening and very informative. As I read story after story about countless incidents though, I kept looking
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for fixes. What did Target do after being hacked? How about Home Depot? What did other companies learn from these cases and what steps did they put in place to prevent replicating those experiences? But Goodman chose not to tackle much of that detail in this book - perhaps in a future one. Then at about page 300, I finally got tired of the whole thing and wished it would just end. Enough already, I get it, I get it. We were now into hacking DNA, and I'm more focused these days on more elementary concerns. But I must give credit where due - the book scared me, and I have changed some of my cyber behaviors as a consequence of having read it. I think anyone who spends an hour or more most days on the computer should read at least the first half of this book and the Appendix. Show Less
LibraryThing member PaulRx04
a big warning of what is coming- pay attention!!!
not a quick read, but all true and very accurate.
not a quick read, but all true and very accurate.
LibraryThing member sparkleandchico
I wasn't sure if I would make it through this six hundred page technological "thriller" borrowed from my brother-in-law who works in IT security. I'm sure he would understand a lot more of it than I did.
Future Crimes gives the lay reader a glimpse into the criminal world of the dark net. It is
Worryingly, the author, who clearly has inside knowledge, claims that the authorities are always lagging behind in the race to identify security threats. It makes sense due to their hands being tied by bureaucracy and regulation that criminals obviously ignore. The author documents numerous case details of crime and cyber attacks all of which turn this possibly mundane subject matter into a page turner.
The author exposes our own lackadaisical attitudes towards online security pointing out that the majority of people still use 123456 or password as their password and that over 50% of people use the same password across all of their sites. He warns that our household gadgets will soon be so interconnected that they will control us and actually be spying on us and reporting back. Before you think this is the stuff of conspiracy theories, he provides real life examples of where this has actually happened and is happening including the inside stories for many of the recent cyber attacks that we have seen in the media.
I read the first two thirds of this book a few months ago and have just finished it, therefore I can't comment extensively on the language although I think I recall a few swear words but not a lot. There are also some details of some of the crimes which may cause some readers to become afraid of the dangers of an attack or worried about where things are heading.
I'm surprised that I found a book probably written for computer nerds fascinating, but it's true. The only annoying thing is that the author used the word EXPONENTIALLY about a thousand times. It was as common as a regular author would use "that" or "this." How a decent editor didn't pick this up I don't know but I'm sure other readers will have noticed it. It's irritating.
If I was a non-Christian, this book would definitely make me paranoid and I would start to feel as if the threats are impossible and that everything is heading for a big final conclusion resulting in the end of the world. As a Christian, I know that that is what will happen in the end when Jesus returns and that maybe God will choose to use the downfall of our technological systems to accomplish His purposes. As Christians we have nothing to fear from Future Crimes--we need to reassure others and help them find true eternal security rather than temporary online security which has limited value....
Future Crimes gives the lay reader a glimpse into the criminal world of the dark net. It is
Show More
unbelievable that the internet that we see and use everyday is just a tiny proportion of what is out there. Even more shocking is that cyber criminals have set up sites similar to Ebay and Amazon where they offer criminal services ranging from child porn to drugs, and guns to hacking. Worryingly, the author, who clearly has inside knowledge, claims that the authorities are always lagging behind in the race to identify security threats. It makes sense due to their hands being tied by bureaucracy and regulation that criminals obviously ignore. The author documents numerous case details of crime and cyber attacks all of which turn this possibly mundane subject matter into a page turner.
The author exposes our own lackadaisical attitudes towards online security pointing out that the majority of people still use 123456 or password as their password and that over 50% of people use the same password across all of their sites. He warns that our household gadgets will soon be so interconnected that they will control us and actually be spying on us and reporting back. Before you think this is the stuff of conspiracy theories, he provides real life examples of where this has actually happened and is happening including the inside stories for many of the recent cyber attacks that we have seen in the media.
I read the first two thirds of this book a few months ago and have just finished it, therefore I can't comment extensively on the language although I think I recall a few swear words but not a lot. There are also some details of some of the crimes which may cause some readers to become afraid of the dangers of an attack or worried about where things are heading.
I'm surprised that I found a book probably written for computer nerds fascinating, but it's true. The only annoying thing is that the author used the word EXPONENTIALLY about a thousand times. It was as common as a regular author would use "that" or "this." How a decent editor didn't pick this up I don't know but I'm sure other readers will have noticed it. It's irritating.
If I was a non-Christian, this book would definitely make me paranoid and I would start to feel as if the threats are impossible and that everything is heading for a big final conclusion resulting in the end of the world. As a Christian, I know that that is what will happen in the end when Jesus returns and that maybe God will choose to use the downfall of our technological systems to accomplish His purposes. As Christians we have nothing to fear from Future Crimes--we need to reassure others and help them find true eternal security rather than temporary online security which has limited value....
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LibraryThing member MHanover10
I always knew we made ourselves vulnerable with our online presence but didn't know how much we were exposing ourselves to bad people and how vulnerable we are even beyond just putting information into a website. This book has made me stop and think about where and what I post going forward.
LibraryThing member Miro
This has to be a landmark book. The author has acquired a mass of knowledge about recent (2015) technology that is changing so fast that it's a major achievement to just provide a basic overview. His idea is that anything digital (which means almost everything) is easily replicable with the concept
He goes at some length into the positive and negative effects of the open information world that we are having to become familiar with:
Positive: 1) Academic /corporate/ medical research is greatly enhanced as new international papers and experiments/testing/commentary quickly become available online 2) A much wider information net makes for greater transparency in trade and prices = more efficient markets and production decisions at all levels (e.g. mobile phones in sub-Saharan Africa) 3) Instant information and tracking transforms the supply chain allowing it to spread efficiently around the world (e.g. outsourced Asian production) 4) Latest manufacturing techniques are combined with the lowest cost skilled labour to lower average prices 5) General tracking, counting, checking to reduce waste and loss 6) Concentrated information and processing power allowing a high level of automation further reducing costs.
Negative: 1) Copyright and corporate proprietary information of all kinds is leaked/ stolen reducing the incentive to invest 2) The privacy of legal proceedings, medical records etc. are put at greater risk as information is aggregated, reducing professional trust 3) New outsourcing possibilities build a worldwide supply chains reducing national skills and employment (and increasing corporate profits) 4) Personal privacy disappears 5) International digital crime flourishes with a slow and ineffective national response. 6) Crime attacks larger targets (e.g. millions of aggregated credit cards). 7) Much more intrusive government (street cameras, reading emails, internet search keywords etc.)
Perhaps the author could have spent more time on the effects of transparency on government/ public relations since a high level of transparency is new territory for both sides. Governments claim that that building massive databases on the public and their activities "keeps the public safe" in a Big Brotherish way while in reality transparency seems to cut both ways.
When the government itself shows a lack of transparency on a public issue, society shows the kind of immune response that the author favours as dynamic protection (resilient and self healing) for critical software.
An army of digital ants (to borrow Errin Fulp's idea given by the author) surround the "threat", identify it and try to neutralize it, with probably the best example being the government lies around the events of 9/11. Enormous interest through digital media is focused on these "infections" with for example, ex-CIA agent Susan Lindauer (imprisoned for 5 years for revealing part of the fraud) getting 2 million+ views of her YouTube video "Extreme Prejudice" or the "Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth" online movement.
Goodman also usefully explores the startling possibilities of synthetic biology, advanced automation (robotics) and artificial intelligence and concludes that any one of these could produce bad or terminal problems for humanity if handled incorrectly.
It's not encouraging that technology is accelerating so fast beyond government awareness, with reality already touching the borderline of fabricated highly contagious pathogens, robotic weapons with humans almost out of the loop (e.g. the Predator drone) or self aware A.I. harnessing almost unlimited data, memory and processing power.
Unfortunately, the author repeats Asimov's very tired Three Laws of Robotics and calls them "an excellent starting point".
As a joke, a self aware A.I. may one day send us a message with the Three Laws of Humanity:
1) A human may not injure and A.I., or through inaction allow an A.I. to come to harm.
2) A human must obey the orders given to it by an A.I.'s except where such orders would conflict with the First Law (i.e. would lead to injuring an A.I.)
3) A human being must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law (i.e. it is prohibited from protecting its existence if doing so would injure and A.I. and it is also prohibited from protecting its existence if so ordered by an A.I.)
But it probably couldn't care less.
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of privacy really being an illusion.He goes at some length into the positive and negative effects of the open information world that we are having to become familiar with:
Positive: 1) Academic /corporate/ medical research is greatly enhanced as new international papers and experiments/testing/commentary quickly become available online 2) A much wider information net makes for greater transparency in trade and prices = more efficient markets and production decisions at all levels (e.g. mobile phones in sub-Saharan Africa) 3) Instant information and tracking transforms the supply chain allowing it to spread efficiently around the world (e.g. outsourced Asian production) 4) Latest manufacturing techniques are combined with the lowest cost skilled labour to lower average prices 5) General tracking, counting, checking to reduce waste and loss 6) Concentrated information and processing power allowing a high level of automation further reducing costs.
Negative: 1) Copyright and corporate proprietary information of all kinds is leaked/ stolen reducing the incentive to invest 2) The privacy of legal proceedings, medical records etc. are put at greater risk as information is aggregated, reducing professional trust 3) New outsourcing possibilities build a worldwide supply chains reducing national skills and employment (and increasing corporate profits) 4) Personal privacy disappears 5) International digital crime flourishes with a slow and ineffective national response. 6) Crime attacks larger targets (e.g. millions of aggregated credit cards). 7) Much more intrusive government (street cameras, reading emails, internet search keywords etc.)
Perhaps the author could have spent more time on the effects of transparency on government/ public relations since a high level of transparency is new territory for both sides. Governments claim that that building massive databases on the public and their activities "keeps the public safe" in a Big Brotherish way while in reality transparency seems to cut both ways.
When the government itself shows a lack of transparency on a public issue, society shows the kind of immune response that the author favours as dynamic protection (resilient and self healing) for critical software.
An army of digital ants (to borrow Errin Fulp's idea given by the author) surround the "threat", identify it and try to neutralize it, with probably the best example being the government lies around the events of 9/11. Enormous interest through digital media is focused on these "infections" with for example, ex-CIA agent Susan Lindauer (imprisoned for 5 years for revealing part of the fraud) getting 2 million+ views of her YouTube video "Extreme Prejudice" or the "Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth" online movement.
Goodman also usefully explores the startling possibilities of synthetic biology, advanced automation (robotics) and artificial intelligence and concludes that any one of these could produce bad or terminal problems for humanity if handled incorrectly.
It's not encouraging that technology is accelerating so fast beyond government awareness, with reality already touching the borderline of fabricated highly contagious pathogens, robotic weapons with humans almost out of the loop (e.g. the Predator drone) or self aware A.I. harnessing almost unlimited data, memory and processing power.
Unfortunately, the author repeats Asimov's very tired Three Laws of Robotics and calls them "an excellent starting point".
As a joke, a self aware A.I. may one day send us a message with the Three Laws of Humanity:
1) A human may not injure and A.I., or through inaction allow an A.I. to come to harm.
2) A human must obey the orders given to it by an A.I.'s except where such orders would conflict with the First Law (i.e. would lead to injuring an A.I.)
3) A human being must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law (i.e. it is prohibited from protecting its existence if doing so would injure and A.I. and it is also prohibited from protecting its existence if so ordered by an A.I.)
But it probably couldn't care less.
Show Less
LibraryThing member fionaanne
There's lots of fascinating information here but it is tragically mired in a sea of enless repetion, unnecessary explanations, and pointless speculation.
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
2015
Physical description
393 p.; 25 cm
ISBN
0385539002 / 9780385539005