All our devices and gadgets - from our refrigerators to our home security systems, vacuum cleaners, and stereos - are going online, just like our computers did. But once we’ve successfully connected our devices to the internet, do we have any hope of keeping them, and ourselves, safe from the dangers that lurk beneath the digital waters?
In If It’s Smart, It’s Vulnerable, veteran cybersecurity professional Mikko Hypponen delivers an eye-opening exploration of the best - and worst - things the internet has given us. From instant connectivity between any two points on the globe to organized ransomware gangs, the net truly has been a mixed blessing. In this book, the author explores the transformative potential of the future of the internet, as well as those things that threaten its continued existence: government surveillance, censorship, organized crime, and more.
Readers will also find: - Insightful discussions of how law enforcement and intelligence agencies operate on the internet - Fulsome treatments of how money became data and the impact of the widespread use of mobile supercomputing technology - Explorations of how the internet has changed the world, for better and for worse - Engaging stories from Mikko's 30-year career in infosec
Perfect for anyone seeking a thought-provoking presentation of some of the most pressing issues in cybersecurity and technology, If It’s Smart, It’s Vulnerable will also earn a place in the libraries of anyone interested in the future of the internet.
Table of Contents
Foreword: Jeff Moss xiii
Preface xvii
Saab 9000 Turbo xxi
The Good and the Bad of the Internet 1
Prehistoric Internet 2
The First Websites 5
Linux Is the World’s Most Important System 7
iPhone vs. Supercomputer 10
Online Communities 11
Money Is Data 13
Codes All Around Us 14
Geopolitics 17
Security Tetris 21
Who Are We Fighting? 24
Schoolboys 24
Spammer 26
Professional Cybercrime Groups 28
Extremists 29
The Rolex 30
Malware - Then, Now, and in the Near Future 33
The History of Malware 34
Viruses on Floppies 34
Brain.A 35
File Viruses 43
Macro Viruses 43
Email Worms 45
Internet Worms 46
The Virus Wars 49
Web Attacks 51
Mobile Phone Viruses 51
Worms on Social Media 54
Smartphones and Malware 55
Law Enforcement Malware 57
Case R2D2 58
Cracking Passwords 59
When a Hacker Spilled Her Coffee 60
Ransomware Trojans 61
The History of Ransomware Trojans 61
Cryptolocker 64
Honest Criminals 65
Notpetya 65
Case Maersk 67
Wannacry 71
My Week with Wannacry 72
Targeted Ransomware Trojans 76
Ransomware Trojans v2 77
The Human Element 79
The Two Problems 80
The Heist 82
CEO Fraud 89
Touring the Headquarters 92
Protecting Company Networks 95
Zero Trust 100
Bug Bounties 101
Wi- Fi Terms of Use 110
Mikko’s Tips 112
Mikko’s Tips for the Startup Entrepreneur 114
Boat for Sale 118
What If the Network Goes Down? 121
Electrical Networks 122
Security in Factories 124
A Search Engine for Computers 126
Slammer 128
Hypponen’s Law 130
Dumb Devices 132
Regulation 134
Car Software Updates 136
Online Privacy 137
Life Without Google 138
Murder Charges Never Expire 139
Is Google Listening to You? 142
Gorillas 143
Startup Business Logic 145
Biometrics 147
Antisocial Media 149
Online Influencing and Elections 151
Privacy Is Dead 153
Before and After Gmail 156
Encryption Techniques 160
Perfect Encryption 160
Unbreakable Encryption 161
Criminal Use of Encryption Systems 162
Data Is The New Uranium 166
CASE Vastaamo 168
Patient Registry 169
Technologies 170
Vastaamo.tar 171
Extortion Messages 173
The Hunt for the TAR File 175
Innocent Victims 177
Cryptocurrencies 179
The Value of Money 180
Blockchains 181
Blockchain Applications 182
Blockchains and Money 183
The Environmental Impacts of Bitcoin 185
Playing the Market 187
Ethereum, Monero, and Zcash 189
Nft 191
Bitcoin and Crime 193
Border Guards vs. Bitcoin 195
Technology, Espionage, and Warfare Online 199
Cyberweapons 200
Lunch Break at Google 201
Technology and Warfare 202
Under a False Flag 204
Concealability of Cyberweapons 205
The Fog of Cyberwar 207
Case Prykarpattyaoblenergo 211
Case Pyeongchang 213
Governments as Malware Authors 214
Russia and China 216
Case Stuxnet 217
Damage Coverage 226
Explosion at the White House 227
My Boycott of RSA, Inc 229
The Future 233
Artificial Intelligence 234
Wolverines 237
AI Will Take Our Jobs 238
Smart Malware 239
Metaverse 240
The Technology of Warfare 241
“You Are Under Arrest for a Future Murder” 242
Those Who Can Adapt Will Prosper 243
Tesla 245
Trends in Technology 247
Coda 249
Index 251
