By One of Albert Einstein’s most well-known quotes is one in which he reflects on the implications of nuclear weapons:
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
Now, hopefully WW3 never comes to pass, but it has been looking more and more likely that the future of warfare in general lies in cyberspace.
Anyway, although it took me waaaaayyy too long to read, this book was really interesting.
About the Book
Title: This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race
Author: Nicole Perlroth
Published: 2021
Series: (standalone)
Genre: nonfiction, politics, cybersecurity, computer science
My Rating: 4/5 stars
The Premise
Synopsis (from Goodreads) (truncated):
“From The New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth, the untold story of the cyberweapons market-the most secretive, invisible, government-backed market on earth-and a terrifying first look at a new kind of global warfare.”
My Thoughts
I will read pretty much any book that has to do with hacking or cybersecurity in general, so of course I picked this one up.
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is a general overview of the cyberweapons arms race and how current cyberespionage technologies evolved over time. It goes through several of the recent cyberattacks from the past two decades as well.
What I learned, basically, is that governments spy on everyone and no one thinks about it. And also that there’s probably a whole bunch more Russian bots trying to influence you on social media than you realize. It’s really weird and I’m now even more paranoid than I was before!
The Verdict
Overall, I would recommend this nonfiction book if you are at all interested in computers or cybersecurity and its effects on politics.
Have you read This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends by Nicole Perlroth? If so, what did you think of it? Feel free to leave a comment!
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