MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.
Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/11584
BOOK REVIEWS INSIDE CYBER WARFARE REVIEW BY RIC GETTER massive army of compromised computers throughout the world as well as service providers and server farms that exist on the periphery of the law. The actual mechanism used for an assault may originate within the borders of the nation being assaulted, though triggered by an easily hidden outside force. “Even though the topic has the potential for sensationalism, Carr’s approach is low-key, clearly documented and actually academic in tone.” Cyber Warfareis not an easy read. Carr’s prose is terse and unashamedly technical. The book’s primary audience is composed of individuals involved with large-scale computer security operations and international policy-makers. But he is a good writer and his thoroughness at corroborating and documenting his sources would pass muster in the strictest of newsrooms. An unknown enemy strikes from an unidentifiable location with a previously unheard of weapon that has the ability to devastate a yet undefined range of targets. The only real certainty is that this will someday happen. The reason for this is that it already has. A few months before the headline- grabbing cyber-attack on Google, a book quietly released by O’Reilly had already laid out the scenario. Jeffery Carr’s InsideCyber Warfaremay prove to be one of the most relevant discussions of international conflict in the twenty-first century. It’s a book that raises as many questions about the subject as it answers. Even though the topic has the potential for sensationalism, Carr’s approach is low-key, clearly documented and actually academic in tone. Some chapters are more a compilation of other sources than an original narrative and this is much to the book’s advantage. Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Sklerov, a Department of Defense (DOD) expert in cyber warfare, contributed one of the most insightful, which discusses the legal and political conundrum of an active vs. a passive defense. Must a law-abiding nation passively shield itself from an attack or can it strike back, knowing that the retaliatory strike may be targeting an unwitting third party? Carr lists numerous examples of how cyber warfare has been used in regional conflicts over the past two to three years and shows how these assaults have been increasing in sophistication, frequency and effectiveness. He also documents the Even though it takes some effort to read, the book sheds some light on one of the darkest and most sinister corners of technology. He does an exceptional job of explaining the arcane concepts and vocabulary of cyber war. Even in a world where the paradigms of physical security (the “Three-G’s”: gates, guards and guns) have no bearing, he is able to put complex ideas in a real-world framework that is clear and comprehensible. And this could prove to be more important to the rest of us than simply knowing the story behind the headlines. Even if we’re not directly involved in the combat, we still live on the battlefield. Inside Cyber Warfare by Jeffrey Carr; $39.99, O’Reilly (oreilly.com); 213 pgs. ISBN 978-0-596-80215-8 MacDirectory 47