neumann@csl.sri.com
Date: Sun, 5 Nov 2017 10:56:18 PST
240 pages, Yale University Press, 28 Nov 2017 https://www.amazon.com/Listening-Cybersecurity-Insecure-Susan-Landau/dp/0300227442.
*A cybersecurity expert and former Google privacy analyst's urgent call to protect devices and networks against malicious hackers*
New technologies have provided both incredible convenience and new threats.
The same kinds of digital networks that allow you to hail a ride using your
smartphone let power grid operators control a country's electricity -- and
these personal, corporate, and government systems are all vulnerable. In
Ukraine, unknown hackers shut off electricity to nearly 230,000 people for
six hours. North Korean hackers destroyed networks at Sony Pictures in
retaliation for a film that mocked Kim Jong-un. And Russian cyberattackers
leaked Democratic National Committee emails in an attempt to sway a
U.S. presidential election.
And yet despite such documented risks, government agencies, whose investigations and surveillance are stymied by encryption, push for a weakening of protections. In this accessible and riveting read, Susan Landau makes a compelling case for the need to secure our data, explaining how we must maintain cybersecurity in an insecure age.
"Susan Landau is eminently qualified to guide readers to deeper
understanding of risks and threats that accompany an increasingly
connected world. Our online appetites are growing and our presence
attracts hacking and surveillance among other uses we may not have
authorized or even anticipated. Must read." Vint Cerf, Internet pioneer
"Susan Landau manages to harness the sprint of our online era and provides
a lasting framework for how to manage, protect, and even master our
digital footprint." Juliette Kayyem, former Assistant Secretary, United
States Department of Homeland Security
"Encryption is essential to our online security, but it also makes the job
of law enforcement harder. In Listening In, Landau gives us an
authoritative and unflinching look at this challenge and confronts the
urgent question of security in the digital age." Matt Olsen, Former
Director, National Counterterrorism Center
"Susan Landau has performed a remarkable feat of public service with
*Listening In*: she simplifies the complex contemporary debate around
privacy and security trade-offs in a way that welcomes anyone with an
interest in these topics to engage with them -- and she demonstrates why
everyone should." Jonathan Zittrain, author of *The Future of the
Internet -- and How to Stop It*
[See Susan's website: https://privacyink.org ]