Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age, in Five Extraordinary Hacks
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- Create Date：2024-05-28 09:20:29
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Scott J. Shapiro
- ISBN：1250335671
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Summary
“Unsettling， absolutely riveting， and―for better or worse―necessary reading。” ―Brian Christian， author of Algorithms to Live By and The Alignment Problem
An entertaining account of the philosophy and technology of hacking―and why we all need to understand it。
It’s a signal paradox of our times that we live in an information society but do not know how it works。 And without understanding how our information is stored， used， and protected， we are vulnerable to having it exploited。 In Fancy Bear Goes Phishing ， Scott J。 Shapiro draws on his popular Yale University class about hacking to expose the secrets of the digital age。 With lucidity and wit， he establishes that cybercrime has less to do with defective programming than with the faulty wiring of our psyches and society。 And because hacking is a human-interest story， he tells the fascinating tales of perpetrators， including Robert Morris Jr。， the graduate student who accidentally crashed the internet in the 1980s， and the Bulgarian “Dark Avenger，” who invented the first mutating computer-virus engine。 We also meet a sixteen-year-old from South Boston who took control of Paris Hilton’s cell phone， the Russian intelligence officers who sought to take control of a US election， and others。
In telling their stories， Shapiro exposes the hackers’ tool kits and gives fresh answers to vital Why is the internet so vulnerable？ What can we do in response？ Combining the philosophical adventure of G ö del， Escher， Bach with dramatic true-crime narrative， the result is a lively and original account of the future of hacking， espionage， and war， and of how to live in an era of cybercrime。
Includes black-and-white images
An entertaining account of the philosophy and technology of hacking―and why we all need to understand it。
It’s a signal paradox of our times that we live in an information society but do not know how it works。 And without understanding how our information is stored， used， and protected， we are vulnerable to having it exploited。 In Fancy Bear Goes Phishing ， Scott J。 Shapiro draws on his popular Yale University class about hacking to expose the secrets of the digital age。 With lucidity and wit， he establishes that cybercrime has less to do with defective programming than with the faulty wiring of our psyches and society。 And because hacking is a human-interest story， he tells the fascinating tales of perpetrators， including Robert Morris Jr。， the graduate student who accidentally crashed the internet in the 1980s， and the Bulgarian “Dark Avenger，” who invented the first mutating computer-virus engine。 We also meet a sixteen-year-old from South Boston who took control of Paris Hilton’s cell phone， the Russian intelligence officers who sought to take control of a US election， and others。
In telling their stories， Shapiro exposes the hackers’ tool kits and gives fresh answers to vital Why is the internet so vulnerable？ What can we do in response？ Combining the philosophical adventure of G ö del， Escher， Bach with dramatic true-crime narrative， the result is a lively and original account of the future of hacking， espionage， and war， and of how to live in an era of cybercrime。
Includes black-and-white images
Reviews
Connor S
，
20% political propaganda。 30% entertaining content。 50% filler
Ryan Miller
，
Shapiro does a nice job of giving enough technical details to be informative while keeping the narrative exciting enough to be a page-turner。 It was the right level for me—a person with some technical acumen that can understand clearly written logic codes， but little actual coding experience。
FMLDNR
，
good book
Douglass Gaking
，
Engaging， interesting， and informative。
Rob Mead
，
Starts to let his views come through but still a cogent and coherent history of cyber security
Leonardo Etcheto
，
Enjoyed it very much， the main chapters do a great job in giving the story and the who， what and why of how the worms and viruses etc。 have developed。 Then his conclusion filters it all through his law and philosophy background to give the argument of why the solution is not purely technical。 Have to account for the human element and the standards that we live by。 I found the book fascinating， but I had to pace myself a little as I read it so as to absorb it。 Great overview of the situation with Enjoyed it very much， the main chapters do a great job in giving the story and the who， what and why of how the worms and viruses etc。 have developed。 Then his conclusion filters it all through his law and philosophy background to give the argument of why the solution is not purely technical。 Have to account for the human element and the standards that we live by。 I found the book fascinating， but I had to pace myself a little as I read it so as to absorb it。 Great overview of the situation with some great examples。 The international law viewpoint on spying was refreshing， had not seen that one before。 It is by now a cliche， but it is obvious that the human element is key。 。。。more
Jay
，
I enjoyed the history， particularly for some “lived” （near） events。 The chapters are fairly stand alone so it’s not a book to really sit down and get lost in。 However， that doesn’t really take away from the value and the author generally has a good sense of style for presenting technical content。
Josh
，
In Fancy Bear Goes Phishing， Scott Shapiro uses past cybercrimes to caution against losing sight of the human side of cybersecurity。 It's as entertaining as it is informative。 A must read for anyone interested in the subject。 In Fancy Bear Goes Phishing， Scott Shapiro uses past cybercrimes to caution against losing sight of the human side of cybersecurity。 It's as entertaining as it is informative。 A must read for anyone interested in the subject。 。。。more
Jacob Hudgins
，
Shapiro seems to struggle knowing which parts of hacking history are interesting and which are boring。 He seems to downplay the former and emphasize the latter。 His constant use of “upcode” and “downcode” was just annoying。 And in explaining the DNC hack， he went on and on about Daniel Kahneman and heuristics to help us understand why a person would click on a spoofed email。 Maybe bc it looks like the real thing？Really interesting topic， moderately interesting book。
David
，
This book is a detailed account of computer fraud and crime。 It also delves deeply into how computers work， how computer viruses， worms， vorms， and scams work。 The author investigates not only the workings of computers but the psychology of computer users and cybercriminals。 It is technical but everyone will learn something。
Ann
，
An original and thorough review of the various ways in which our electronic data and communications are vulnerable to malware。 I now know the difference between viruses， worms， vorms， phishing， mudging and other ways to wreak havoc on computers and the internet。 The author， who has a background in computer science， law and philosophy， does a good job explaining the technical aspects of cybervulnerability。 I can't say that I understood it entirely， but I did close the book with a sense of having An original and thorough review of the various ways in which our electronic data and communications are vulnerable to malware。 I now know the difference between viruses， worms， vorms， phishing， mudging and other ways to wreak havoc on computers and the internet。 The author， who has a background in computer science， law and philosophy， does a good job explaining the technical aspects of cybervulnerability。 I can't say that I understood it entirely， but I did close the book with a sense of having learned something。 It was slow going for me， for exactly this reason， but the book repays the effort one puts into it。 。。。more
Rob
，
Don’t let the three stars fool you， this book is worth reading for anyone interested in computer/cybersecurity。 And， it’s interesting。 I’m not sure I would say I enjoyed reading this book though; it’s A LOT！Shapiro does an excellent job taking us through the history of various hacks， the motivations as well as the methods。 I found the analysis of upcode （personal morals， ethics， motivations and laws） more interesting than much of the technical analysis， but that could be the result of listening Don’t let the three stars fool you， this book is worth reading for anyone interested in computer/cybersecurity。 And， it’s interesting。 I’m not sure I would say I enjoyed reading this book though; it’s A LOT！Shapiro does an excellent job taking us through the history of various hacks， the motivations as well as the methods。 I found the analysis of upcode （personal morals， ethics， motivations and laws） more interesting than much of the technical analysis， but that could be the result of listening to the book instead of reading the page。 （Narration of actual code is a bit silly。）I think my favorite hack is the first one: “The Brilliant Project” by Robert Morris Jr， who in a frenzy to prove concepts accidentally broke the internet in 1988。 Oops。 It was definitely a wake up call but really didn’t move industry to improve security， which took a couple more decades。 The history of how industry was forced to change its focus is touched on here but is really covered in Menn’s The Cult of the Dead Cow。 Industry certainly didn’t make the shift by choice。The story of how the movie War Games brought computer security into the White House discussion gave me a bit of a chuckle。 Despite whoever is in office， I can’t see cybersecurity ever being a regular Cabinet level discussion until we have a few more cabinet members who grew up with the technology。 Shapiro does a nice job explaining what we know about criminal upcode and the maturity process for the majority of hackers。 This alone makes the book worth the time and the read。 I learned a great deal regarding terminology: Viruses vs Worms vs Virms vs Trojans。 Kill chain， mudge， heuristics… Plus understanding the duality of data and code gave me great insight into how many hacks start。 。。。more
Marvin Hossain
，
Really did not need to be 15 hours long。
Kanimozhi MV
，
Good read Some chapters were dragging I liked the technological stuff explained as simple as possible for a common man to understand The book gives an understanding of upcode How cyberwar can change the future
Mancman
，
Not quite 5 stars， it was a little repetitive in places and slightly dry。 But the author brings the subject to life， and it was relatable for the most part。Some really interesting insights into hacking， malware and human nature all interspersed。
Victoria
，
3。5 stars A solid history of cybercrime but one that got a bit repetitive at times and couldn't decide if it wanted to be purely written in layman's terms or describe the technical aspects。 I would still recommend this for anyone interested in the topic。 It just really needed another run through an editor to make for a tighter and more clear story。 3。5 stars A solid history of cybercrime but one that got a bit repetitive at times and couldn't decide if it wanted to be purely written in layman's terms or describe the technical aspects。 I would still recommend this for anyone interested in the topic。 It just really needed another run through an editor to make for a tighter and more clear story。 。。。more
Conor Tuohy
，
Fun and accessible， would recommend to people not already fans of the world's most powerful exclusive legal positivist Fun and accessible， would recommend to people not already fans of the world's most powerful exclusive legal positivist 。。。more
Aaron Allsop
，
Pretty interesting book about cyber security。 Managed to explain most of the complex technical parts with ease and it was a pretty fun book as well。
Danielle
，
Interesting analysis of how cybersecurity breaches have developed from the Morris Worm through 2016 DDOS attacks。 Shapiro blends technical details with the story of the breaches he discusses in creating an understanding of where we have been and where we might go。
Ben Rogers
，
Teach a Bear to Phish。。。This really is a great cybersecurity book。Very historical and interesting。A few of the stories I already knew， but it was very good to go further and I ended up learning a lot when reading this。 Reminded me a lot of We Are Bellingcat: Global Crime， Online Sleuths， and the Bold Future of News。 I liked it even more than Bellingcat。 Would definitely recommend this one if you are in tech or cybersecurity。 4。1/5 Teach a Bear to Phish。。。This really is a great cybersecurity book。Very historical and interesting。A few of the stories I already knew， but it was very good to go further and I ended up learning a lot when reading this。 Reminded me a lot of We Are Bellingcat: Global Crime， Online Sleuths， and the Bold Future of News。 I liked it even more than Bellingcat。 Would definitely recommend this one if you are in tech or cybersecurity。 4。1/5 。。。more
Todd Landrum
，
A little managing on his metaphor explanations and never could figure out what he meant by up code / down code， but interesting stories and surprising to learn is mostly teenage boys causing all the trouble。
Christo de Klerk
，
Tech is all about downcode and upcode。 What a great way to frame issues around information technology security。 Downcode is meant to represent the code by which software and hardware is developed， while upcode represents the norms， processes， and legislation by which companies run and governments regulate technology。 On the one hand this helps explain the disconnect between the pace of technology development and the pain of companies and governments playing catchup。 For example the upcode， organ Tech is all about downcode and upcode。 What a great way to frame issues around information technology security。 Downcode is meant to represent the code by which software and hardware is developed， while upcode represents the norms， processes， and legislation by which companies run and governments regulate technology。 On the one hand this helps explain the disconnect between the pace of technology development and the pain of companies and governments playing catchup。 For example the upcode， organizational pressures at Microsoft to adopt the internet in the 2000s meant a lot of downcode suffered shoddy quality that lead to a lot of security breaches。 But sometimes this explanation， while helpful， can seem like an excuse for poor leadership like when the DNC was hacked before the 2016 election and leadership failed to do anything about it for at least a month。 Blaming that on slow upcode goes a far way to explain what happened without resorting to conspiracy theories， but it also just seems to dither responsibility。 I did appreciate the overall desire to address the systemic and economic conditions that drive computer and network hacking without stifling the immense creativity that has shaped progress in the tech sector by requiring greater levels of centralized control systems。 The only place where this read fell short for me is when he argued that making banks responsible for debit card fraud made them take security more seriously than in the UK where they are not as responsible。 I don't know， but it is still ridiculously difficult in the US to make electronic payments at a cost lower than checks。 Clearly innovation in payment systems is somehow stifled in the US。I think one of the funniest through lines in this book is the recurring appearance of Paris Hilton。 There's even a heartfelt review of her reality tv show！ To find out why Paris looms so large in a book titled Fancy Bear， you'll have to go fishing for the answer in the book。 。。。more
Jonathan
，
Blown away by how good it was。 Easy to follow， engaging， insightful。
Tom
，
Well researched and written。 I highly recommend it even if you’re not a coder。
Stas Malyshev
，
Interesting tour into the history and details of the famous computer hacks， how were they done and what made them possible。 The author sometimes is overdoing the technical details， which will likely already be familiar to the professionals， but quite useless for those who can't distinguish between SQL and a squid。 I appreciate the drive to show the complete picture， but sometimes there's virtue in summarizing things briefly and not going into the unnecessary depths。 The author also enjoys relati Interesting tour into the history and details of the famous computer hacks， how were they done and what made them possible。 The author sometimes is overdoing the technical details， which will likely already be familiar to the professionals， but quite useless for those who can't distinguish between SQL and a squid。 I appreciate the drive to show the complete picture， but sometimes there's virtue in summarizing things briefly and not going into the unnecessary depths。 The author also enjoys relating to popular anecdotes， but often neglects to verify those anecdotes are actually true （no， it's not correct that QUERTY keyboard was designed with a purpose to slow the typists down， or at least there's no evidence for it， it's just a popular myth）。 More thorough verification of the claims in the book would certainly do it a favor。There are also some ideas the author consistently emphasizes - such as about the radical difference between code and data - that I think are quite wrong-headed， and if it were a security textbook， I'd say even dangerous。 However， as it is not a textbook but a historical survey， we can still enjoy a wealth of information that the author masterfully presents and explains。 His exploration of dangers and abuses that overgrown and barely controllable government surveillance apparatus represents for the society in the last chapters is well argued and appropriate， but then it ends up with an astonishing conclusion - since they made another legal patch in addition to hundreds of legal patches that already failed to fix the problem， it's ok and there's really nothing to worry about this time。 It's all fixed now。 No adult person - and certainly no person who professionally researches security - can be that naive。 Was he just trying to cheer us up？ I don't think it worked。 I wouldn't say this book raises to the level of the venerable "Godel， Escher， Bach"， as the description promises， but it certainly has some common topics with it， and it is well worth reading， even if not forgetting， as one always should， to critically evaluate the author's claims。 。。。more
Art Morgan
，
Very Interesting This book explained a lot to me because I worked IT in the 80’s，90’s and 00’’s。 I am now retired I saw first hand where there were constant probes from what appeared to be foreign powers。
Kevin
，
Entertaining and informative。 Odd that ransomware isn't covered。Good summary of the DNC hack by Fancy Bear。 Now I understand how the US was able to indict specific military officials in Russia。 It was a complex op that went on for months and they weren't able to completely cover their tracks。 Also surprised to learn that the DNC hack went on for months， and was allowed to continue for a month after it was discovered。 The email dump， clearly designed to embarrass democrats and sway the election。 Entertaining and informative。 Odd that ransomware isn't covered。Good summary of the DNC hack by Fancy Bear。 Now I understand how the US was able to indict specific military officials in Russia。 It was a complex op that went on for months and they weren't able to completely cover their tracks。 Also surprised to learn that the DNC hack went on for months， and was allowed to continue for a month after it was discovered。 The email dump， clearly designed to embarrass democrats and sway the election。 Intel agencies typically hoard info， so no other reason to go public with this little treasure trove。 。。。more
Steven Beningo
，
A very good look at malicious activity on the internet， but some of the book is very technical。
Me， My Shelf， & I
，
As someone who doesn't really keep up with cyber crime news， this book was mostly new material to me！ However as a developer， there were a lot of explanations of how computers or coding works that I didn't need。 I do think they were simply explained so that a layperson could keep up with everything in the book， though， so you don't need any skills or industry knowledge to engage with the text。This book is written very conversationally like your friend （or me） who constantly interrupts their own As someone who doesn't really keep up with cyber crime news， this book was mostly new material to me！ However as a developer， there were a lot of explanations of how computers or coding works that I didn't need。 I do think they were simply explained so that a layperson could keep up with everything in the book， though， so you don't need any skills or industry knowledge to engage with the text。This book is written very conversationally like your friend （or me） who constantly interrupts their own train of thought to go on an interesting tangent。 Whether or not the tangent will prove to be relevant to the greater picture is unclear， lol。 eg One of my favourite details in this was that while talking about an influential person， the author causally mentions his rival （who does not have any effect on the anecdotes mentioned）。 However， my dude was apparently so paranoid of being poisoned that he would only eat his wife's cooking and subsequently died of starvation after she spent six months in the hospital。 。。。more
Jason
，
A decent history book that jumps to information security milestones。 It skews more basic than practically and technically helpful。I was disappointed it perpetuated the "https means a site is safe" inaccuracy but other than that， I enjoyed the narrative and perspective。 A decent history book that jumps to information security milestones。 It skews more basic than practically and technically helpful。I was disappointed it perpetuated the "https means a site is safe" inaccuracy but other than that， I enjoyed the narrative and perspective。 。。。more
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fancy bear goes phishing the dark history of the information age in five extraordinary hacks