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Book Club - 1st Book suggestions end Sunday 29th March

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  • alexandreborges
    Member
    • May 2019
    • 1

    #16
    Hello all, good day! I've already read many books, but one of them that I've really enjoyed is "Countdown to Zero Day" (written by Kim Zelter). Kim has performed an excellent research about the Stuxnet's case and, in special, the chapter about Industrial Controls (chapter 09) offers a nice overview about potential vulnerabilities in critical systems.

    In general, the entire book is very informative, surprisingly and very interesting.

    A top cybersecurity journalist tells the story behind the virus that sabotaged Iran’s nuclear efforts and shows how its existence has ushered in a new age of warfare—one in which a digital attack can have the same destructive capability as a megaton bomb.

    “Immensely enjoyable . . . Zetter turns a complicated and technical cyber story into an engrossing whodunit.”—The Washington Post

    The virus now known as Stuxnet was unlike any other piece of malware built before: Rather than simply hijacking targeted computers or stealing information from them, it proved that a piece of code could escape the digital realm and wreak actual, physical destruction—in this case, on an Iranian nuclear facility.

    In these pages, journalist Kim Zetter tells the whole story behind the world’s first cyberweapon, covering its genesis in the corridors of the White House and its effects in Iran—and telling the spectacular, unlikely tale of the security geeks who managed to unravel a top secret sabotage campaign years in the making.

    But Countdown to Zero Day also ranges beyond Stuxnet itself, exploring the history of cyberwarfare and its future, showing us what might happen should our infrastructure be targeted by a Stuxnet-style attack, and ultimately, providing a portrait of a world at the edge of a new kind of war


    Review


    “An authoritative account of Stuxnet’s spread and discovery . . . [delivers] a sobering message about the vulnerability of the systems—train lines, water-treatment plants, electricity grids—that make modern life possible.”Economist

    “Exhaustively researched . . . Zetter gives a full account of this ‘hack of the century,’ as the operation has been called, [but] the book goes well beyond its ostensible subject to offer a hair-raising introduction to the age of cyber warfare.”The Wall Street Journal
    • Paperback: 448 pages
    • Publisher: Broadway Books; Reprint edition (September 1, 2015)
    • Language: English
    • ISBN-10: 9780770436193
    • ISBN-13: 978-0770436193
    https://www.amazon.com/Countdown-Zer...5380550&sr=8-4


    Countdown to Zero Day
    Last edited by alexandreborges; March 28, 2020, 00:03.

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    • csh98036
      Member
      • Mar 2020
      • 17

      #17
      Hey all,

      Not a big forum lurker but this caught my eye. Since the theme of the club is Discovery I have 4 potential nominations; two fiction (preferred choices I understand) and two non-fiction:

      1. The Mote in God's Eye - The Mote in God's Eye is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, first published in 1974. The story is set in the distant future of Pournelle's CoDominium universe, and charts the first contact between humanity and an alien species. The title of the novel is a wordplay on the Biblical "The Mote and the Beam" parable and is the nickname of a star. The Mote in God's Eye was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards in 1975.[1]
      https://www.amazon.com/Mote-Gods-Eye.../dp/B004YDL2CY

      2. After On - The definitive novel of today’s Silicon Valley, After On flash-captures our cultural and technological moment with up-to-the-instant savvy. Matters of privacy and government intrusion, post-Tinder romance, nihilistic terrorism, artificial consciousness, synthetic biology, and much more are tackled with authority and brash playfulness by New York Times bestselling author Rob Reid.
      https://www.amazon.com/After-Silicon.../dp/152479807X

      3. Sandworm - A chilling, globe-spanning detective story, Sandworm considers the danger this force poses to our national security and stability. As the Kremlin's role in foreign government manipulation comes into greater focus, Sandworm exposes the realities not just of Russia's global digital offensive, but of an era where warfare ceases to be waged on the battlefield. It reveals how the lines between digital and physical conflict, between wartime and peacetime, have begun to blur—with world-shaking implications
      (I think someone else also suggested this one)
      https://www.amazon.com/Sandworm-Cybe.../dp/B07GD4MFW2

      4. Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Startup Bubble - he book describes the author's experiences working at the software company HubSpot and offers a sharp critique of the company's management and culture.[1]

      ...

      The book was favorably received with the Los Angeles Times saying that it was "the best book on the Silicon Valley".[10] Ashlee Vance, American journalist and author, said that the book was "widely entertaining" and that it "injected a dose of sanity into a world gone mad".[11][12]
      https://www.amazon.com/Disrupted-My-.../dp/B013CATZIC

      Comment


      • Dark Tangent
        Dark Tangent commented
        Editing a comment
        I really enjoyed The Mote in God's Eye, and the sequel.
    • bugfree
      Member
      • Mar 2020
      • 2

      #18
      Ghost in the Wires
      The Cuckoo's Egg
      Countdown to Zero Day
      Last edited by bugfree; March 28, 2020, 11:55.

      Comment

      • tchalla
        Member
        • Mar 2020
        • 1

        #19
        1. "Surely You`re Joking, Mr. Feynman!" – Adventures a Curious Character

        "Richard Feynman (1918-1988), winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, thrived on outrageous adventures. Here he recounts in his inimitable voice his experience trading ideas on atomic physics with Einstein and Bohr and ideas on gambling with Nick the Greek; cracking the uncrackable safes guarding the most deeply held nuclear secrets; painting a naked female toreador - and much else of an eyebrow-raising nature. In short, here is Feynman's life in all its eccentric glory - a combustible mixture of high intelligence, unlimited curiosity, and raging chutzpah."


        I nominate this book because of the man who is Richard Feynman, his joy for discovery and adventure has set him on a path to many places. It surely acts as a guide for everyone and will keep you entertained.

        He was not only a scientist but a painter, drummer, linguist, whatever life he pursued. He pursued with passion.

        Comment

        • louderquiet
          Member
          • Mar 2020
          • 1

          #20
          I want to second Daemon by Daniel Suarez.

          I am also recommending:
          Wool by Hugh Howey (Silo series #1)
          https://www.amazon.com/dp/1476733953..._cKiGEbZFHD6AD

          Description from Amazon:
          In a ruined and toxic future, a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Sheriff Holston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years, unexpectedly breaks the greatest taboo of all: He asks to go outside.

          His fateful decision unleashes a drastic series of events. An unlikely candidate is appointed to replace him: Juliette, a mechanic with no training in law, whose special knack is fixing machines. Now Juliette is about to be entrusted with fixing her silo, and she will soon learn just how badly her world is broken. The silo is about to confront what its history has only hinted about and its inhabitants have never dared to whisper. Uprising.
          I enjoy reading post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction. There are other books in the series if you really enjoy it. I also like that the author self-published the initial short story that started this series.

          How it ties into the DEF CON theme of Discovery?
          From the intro teaser for the book: "If the lies don't kill you, the truth will."

          Comment

          • Dark Tangent
            The Dark Tangent
            • Sep 2001
            • 2732

            #21
            Get your submissions in!

            I'll create the poll Sunday evening and it will go live on Monday for everyone to vote on. ✅
            PGP Key: https://defcon.org/html/links/dtangent.html

            Comment

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