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ABOUT GORDON CORERA

Cyberspies: The Secret History of Surveillance, Hacking, and Digital Espionage Gordon Corera is a British
by Gordon Corera
journalist. He is the Security
Correspondent for the BBC.
3.9 Rang Details 207 Rangs 40 Reviews
More about Gordon Corera...
The previously untoldand previously highly classifiedstory of the conflux of
espionage and technology, with a compelling narrative rich with astonishing BOOKS BY GORDON CORERA
revelations taking readers from World War II to the internet age.

As the digital era become increasingly pervasive, the intertwining forces of computers
and espionage are reshaping the entire world; what was once the pres ...more
Hardcover, 448 pages
Published July 4th 2016 by Pegasus (rst published June 11th 2015) More
More Details... edit details

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James rated it review of another edion Dec 07, 2015

A highly revelatory work, Gordon Coreras Intercept has a lot to say.

Ostensibly a book about the use of computers by the espionage agencies
(while he touches on other nations, primarily this book looks at those of the
US and UK) it also has much to add on debates concerning the balance of
power between the state and the individual, personal privacy, and
economics.

An exhaustive history of the dawn of the computer age through the lens of
the development of modern espionage, Intercept takes us fro ...more

5 likes Like see review

Jay rated it review of another edion Feb 01, 2017

Shelves: business, audiobook

Cyberspies is a number of stories about security and encryption,

computers and spies, and hacking. While the book could have drilled down
to technical descriptions, these are kept quite understandable throughout.
The chapters were topical stories, mostly chronological. Some are relatively
well known to readers of Wired and the like, but I found new aspects of the
stories brought to light throughout. For example, Clifford Stolls story of
tracking down a KGB hacker at a government lab is retold ...more

3 likes Like see review

Elli Williams rated it Dec 06, 2016

From now on I won't complain about my husband's 50 letter random

passwords...

Very well written book. It wasn't " end of the world" but gave real examples,
spoke with NSA, FBI, CIA as well as MI5 and MI6 directors. Not too technical
either.

3 likes Like see review

William rated it review of another edion Sep 15, 2016

Excellent book which doesn't take a significant political position. The

research was top notch. I enjoyed the format and writing style as it was easy
to read without excessive technical language. It was balanced and fair
exploring many sides of the questions of espionage, privacy and the use of
data and computers. Enjoyed his book immensely and recommend it to
anyone with an interest in the topic of computers, "spying" and so many
other inter-related topics and issues.

2 likes Like see review

Emil rated it review of another edion Dec 17, 2015

I really wanted to give this book a higher rating, but I just can't.

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two pages later he explains the same thing again.

I can really only recommend this to anyone who's really, really into spying
and hacking throughout history.

2 likes Like see review

Tim rated it Apr 07, 2017

Decent book - not a lot of stuff I didn't already know, but author tied it all
together well.

1 like Like see review

Paul rated it Aug 15, 2016

A good (very) high level look at the problem of spying and warfare blurring
together with the coming of the Internet (and computerisation in general).
Contains zero technical content (like all BBC reporting) which really lets the
book down. I'm sure the intent was to make the book accessible but other
books manage this by explaining technical issues, not by completely
ignoring them. It also suffers from time compression of the past as the
author quickly catches up to modern times making this les ...more

1 like Like see review

Patrick Pilz rated it Sep 23, 2016

From Bletchley Park to the suburbs of Washington DC, from Alan Turing to
Edward Snowden: a book about cyber espionage from its inception during
world war 2 to todays balancing act of privacy concerns and counter
terrorism desires.

The book as a very global and balanced view and does not politicize the
facts. It presents itself in a very neutral but still very British world view.
Nonetheless, an interesting read for anyone concerned or interested in the
topic. At times a little lengthy, but that ...more

1 like Like see review

Paul rated it Aug 21, 2016

Shelves: audiobooks, history, espionage, technology, noncon

This was mostly a balanced look at espionage in the digital age, though I
personally think it doesn't do enough to dispel some of the ridiculous
nonsense that intelligence agencies are peddling about terrorism, encryption
and surveillance. For one thing, I think no discussion of terrorism should be
complete without at least mentioning that it's an issue that (directly) affects
very few people, and the massive investment we've poured into "stopping"
it is a HUGE waste of money.

1 like Like see review

Robert Davidson rated it review of another edion Jan 03, 2016

The Computer is one of the truly great inventions of modern life and the
Author takes us through the early days up to the present with a vast array of
very interesting information. Nation States while observing the niceties of
Diplomacy are spending lots of time and money spying on each other using
the ever evolving Computer technology and Human nature being what it is
this will go on. Great read.

1 like Like see review

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A must read for anyone who does not understand what is going in the
cyber-security world with a rich description of how we got here.

1 like Like see review

Lanre Dahunsi rated it Mar 20, 2017

Shelves: 100bookschallenge

Book #17: Cyberspies: The Secret History of Surveillance, Hacking, and

Digital Espionage by Gordon Corera | Finished March 20th 2017
#100BooksChallenge

Favourite Take Aways

The computer was born to spy. The first computer was created in secret to
aid intelligence work, but all computers (and especially networked
computers) are uniquely useful for and vulnerable to espionage. The
speed and ingenuity of technological innovation has often blinded us to
understanding this historical truth and its ...more

Like see review

Izalee is currently reading it Mar 23, 2017

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Laurel rated it Feb 27, 2017

Although the narrative was a bit dry at times, this was an interesting,
comprehensive, in depth look at the history of espionage in mostly the US
and Britain. This book scared me primarily because the under-text was how
much of what goes on in the Intelligence Community is unknown. More
confirmation around the dark side of the internet.

Like see review

Ellie Paen rated it review of another edion Jul 31, 2016

In Intercept, Corera recounts the history of computers and spies, filling in

the blanks between the famous story of Alan Turing and Tommy Flowers at
Bletchley Park, and the recent revelations made by Edward Snowden.

For me, this was a tricky book to get into. Within the pages of this book were
so many stories, so many names, so many timelines, that at times it was
hard to follow, and particularly hard to remember "who's who". In around
400 pages, this book covered huge chunks of computing history ...more

Like see review

Arlo Mercia rated it review of another edion Sep 08, 2016

Absolutely fascinating book. Lots of interesting case studies that include

details which didn't get into the media at the time. The role that the history
of the development of the internet has played in current security issues is
really interesting. Couldn't put it down. Have referred back to it on occasions
and given copies to friends interested in IT.

Like see review

Shana Yates rated it Sep 22, 2016

Shelves: history, technologycomputers

Well-researched and engaging history of spying (both governmental and

corporate) and how it intersects with technology. Corera starts all the way
back in WWI with the cutting of Germany's telegraph line and runs right
through into the present, post-Snowden era. The book is expansive and in
depth, managing to thoughtfully explain the counterbalancing of security
concerns with privacy rights, and pointing out that the interconnectedness

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Jason Kim rated it Oct 16, 2016

The book was a compelling historical overview of cybersecurity from the

Anglo-American point of view. Modern intelligence and security is started
and developed largely by UK and US. But as the author himself notes, the
rising influence of China and Russia are well described in the book as well.
Part of me wish that the author did not take the tone that Russians and
Chinese are bad guys while the British and American are good guys. For
anyone who knows anything about intelligence know that US has ...more

Like see review

Aidan rated it review of another edion Jul 13, 2015

Worth reading by anybody who is interested in computing generally or those

concerned with internet privacy. The book left me gravely concerned about
the use and abuse of all of our online activities by the public and private
sectors alike. The history of the development of state intrusion into internet
activity is both comforting (One terrorist death on the UK soil since 7/7) and
scary (Almost all internet traffic is trawled by the major governments)
The question of personal privacy will dominate ...more

Like see review

Ross rated it Sep 04, 2016

I was hoping to learn about what is being done now on the technology front
to make computers secure from cyberspies. The first paragraph of the intro
told me the book was not going to provide what I was looking for, but I did
find the book interesting and worth reading
Should be appealing for those interested in computer hacking and code
breaking now going on between the world's nation states.

Like see review

Andrewh rated it review of another edion Jan 05, 2017

I found this journalistic history of the link between computers and spying to
be compelling, although I got the feeling he could have said a lot more about
the Prism and Tempora programmes revealed by Snowden, had he wanted to
(or been allowed to). As the book notes, computers were invented for the
purpose of spying and organisations like the NSA now employ skilled
hackers to spy on potential evil doers using supercomputers making a
trillion calculations a second. Whether we find this a comforti ...more

Like see review

Johann Thalakada rated it review of another edion Sep 07, 2016

Just about halfway through the book and wanted to put in my 1 pence on
here as I progress though it - (a) I'm learning much from the depth of the
book, ie on the history, players, development, public announcements and
security considerations to withhold information/techniques of encryption
while (b) gaining an appreciation on the cross-Atlantic collaborations that
took place during WWII onwards.

It would have been great to have cast of characters.

Like see review

Stuart rated it Jul 12, 2016

I've read lots on this vein but surprisingly found a few things new, and a few
ideas worth considering, specifically with balance and scope. The most
rewarding for me was the discussion about Huawei.

I'm not the best critique, so I'll just say it made a good audio experience and

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Leo rated it Aug 22, 2016

Just finished the book and now I need to find my tin foil had and make my
house into a large faraday cage. j/k
Very interesting book, helped fill in some blanks on cyber projects and the
rational behind their implementation. Book is lengthy and a bit of a chore to
read, but if you bare with it, you will not be disappointed. That is, if you're
interested in the subject.

Like see review

Seth Taplin rated it Sep 03, 2016

A good read through the history of spying, computing, and even the Internet
from WWI through Edward Snowden and the dawn of the Internet of Things.
Mostly from a British and American perspective, how did we get from
Colossus and Enigma to the NSA possibly scanning every packet of data sent
across the World Wide Web.

Like see review

Maulik rated it review of another edion Nov 28, 2016

Long, but interesting read into the history of spying and espionage. It is
increasingly relevant to the present day, especially in showing what nation
states have been capable of achieving. Highly recommended for anyone
interested in computers, technology, espionage and cyber security.

Like see review

Vladimir Vinogradsky rated it Jul 17, 2016

Well written and has a bunch of interesting historical and technological

nuggets. A little boring in places, where the author lingers too long on
privacy and policy issues. All in all, not a bad read.

Like see review

Andrey rated it review of another edion Jul 28, 2016

Reads well. The closer I got to the end the more often I got the feeling I have
already red this section. All the stories seem to be written in the same exact
way and with the same kind of conclusion. Was glad when the book ran out.

Like see review

Mirek Jasinski rated it Jul 12, 2016

Nothing new for the people interested in the subject but a compelling read
notwithstanding.

Like see review

Stephen marked it as toread review of another edion Nov 22, 2015

Shelves: espionage

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