Age of Deception: Cybersecurity As Secret Statecraft (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs) by Jon R. Lindsay.
Jon holds a PhD in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.S. in computer science and B.S. in symbolic systems from Stanford University. He served in the US Navy with operational assignments in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Today Jon is an Associate Professor at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy at Georgia Tech. His research explores the role of emerging technology in global security.
I found this to be certainly one of the most insightful books on cybersecurity and a must read for anyone working in the fields of IT, AI, or IR. He reveals how cybersecurity has elevated to impact national security and international relations, resulting in secret statecraft. In fact, Jon introduces the statecraft of cybersecurity by revising Espionage (Bletchley Park), Sabotage (Stuxnet), Subversion (2016 US Election Interference), and Cyber Power (China).
He begins by updating the history of espionage at Bletchley Park. This will certainly be an amazing insight to many readers who only know the Turing story or the 2014 movie The Imitation Game, of the early efforts at Bletchley Park revealing the challenges the British faced in confronting Enigma.
Cybersecurity is now front and center across the world
It is definitely interesting to see today how cyber threats by criminals and nation states are shifting the global balance of power. Jon is revealing a path for you to travel. This allows countries with limited resources to challenge the global superpowers. And today commercial industries are now learning their factories are now on front line of national defenses.
Another title, Sandworm and Digital Empires are books that I would highly recommend as a companion:
We are in fact living in a new era of deception, for better and worse. Intelligence threats are now emerging in organizations, policies, and national jurisdictions.
In conclusion, Age of Deception is a must read book for understanding the reality of the connected world when criminals and nation states can leverage cyber threats to shift the balance of power beyond the global stage into your backyard. Do you understand the impact?