First published 2021
New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth reveals the hidden world of zero day exploits, software vulnerabilities that governments purchase to conduct digital espionage and warfare. For years, U.S. agencies dominated this secretive marketplace, paying hackers millions for code that could infiltrate iPhones, sabotage power grids, and manipulate elections. Perlroth traces how America lost control of its cyberweapon stockpile, allowing these tools to fall into the hands of hostile nations and criminal groups. Through extensive reporting and hundreds of interviews, she documents the transformation of software bugs into instruments of international conflict. The book examines real attacks like those on Ukraine's electrical infrastructure and exposes the network of spies, hackers, and arms dealers who profit from digital vulnerabilities. Perlroth argues that this unregulated cyber arms race threatens critical infrastructure worldwide, from nuclear facilities to water treatment plants. She presents both the technical mechanics of these exploits and their geopolitical consequences, showing how the pursuit of digital superiority has created global instability.
Genres: crime, 21st-century, espionage, current-affairs, computer-science, cyberpunk
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: global-conspiracy, high-stakes, investigative-journalism
528 pages · Hardcover · Bloomsbury Publishing