Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers
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- Create Date：2021-06-28 08:54:19
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Andy Greenberg
- ISBN：0525564632
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The true story of the most devastating cyberattack in history and the desperate hunt to identify and track the elite Russian agents behind it， from Wired senior writer Andy Greenberg。
"Lays out in chilling detail how future wars will be waged in cyberspace and makes the case that we have done little， as of yet， to prevent it。" --Washington Post
In 2014， the world witnessed the start of a mysterious series of cyberattacks。 Targeting American utility companies， NATO， and electric grids in Eastern Europe， the strikes grew ever more brazen。 They culminated in the summer of 2017， when the malware known as NotPetya was unleashed， penetrating， disrupting， and paralyzing some of the world's largest businesses--from drug manufacturers to software developers to shipping companies。 At the attack's epicenter in Ukraine， ATMs froze。 The railway and postal systems shut down。 Hospitals went dark。 NotPetya spread around the world， inflicting an unprecedented ten billion dollars in damage--the largest， most destructive cyberattack the world had ever seen。
The hackers behind these attacks are quickly gaining a reputation as the most dangerous team of cyberwarriors in history: a group known as Sandworm。 Working in the service of Russia's military intelligence agency， they represent a persistent， highly skilled force， one whose talents are matched by their willingness to launch broad， unrestrained attacks on the most critical infrastructure of their adversaries。 They target government and private sector， military and civilians alike。
A chilling， globe-spanning detective story， Sandworm considers the danger this force poses to our national security and stability。 As the Kremlin's role in foreign government manipulation comes into greater focus， Sandworm exposes the realities not just of Russia's global digital offensive， but of an era where warfare ceases to be waged on the battlefield。 It reveals how the lines between digital and physical conflict， between wartime and peacetime， have begun to blur--with world-shaking implications。
"Lays out in chilling detail how future wars will be waged in cyberspace and makes the case that we have done little， as of yet， to prevent it。" --Washington Post
In 2014， the world witnessed the start of a mysterious series of cyberattacks。 Targeting American utility companies， NATO， and electric grids in Eastern Europe， the strikes grew ever more brazen。 They culminated in the summer of 2017， when the malware known as NotPetya was unleashed， penetrating， disrupting， and paralyzing some of the world's largest businesses--from drug manufacturers to software developers to shipping companies。 At the attack's epicenter in Ukraine， ATMs froze。 The railway and postal systems shut down。 Hospitals went dark。 NotPetya spread around the world， inflicting an unprecedented ten billion dollars in damage--the largest， most destructive cyberattack the world had ever seen。
The hackers behind these attacks are quickly gaining a reputation as the most dangerous team of cyberwarriors in history: a group known as Sandworm。 Working in the service of Russia's military intelligence agency， they represent a persistent， highly skilled force， one whose talents are matched by their willingness to launch broad， unrestrained attacks on the most critical infrastructure of their adversaries。 They target government and private sector， military and civilians alike。
A chilling， globe-spanning detective story， Sandworm considers the danger this force poses to our national security and stability。 As the Kremlin's role in foreign government manipulation comes into greater focus， Sandworm exposes the realities not just of Russia's global digital offensive， but of an era where warfare ceases to be waged on the battlefield。 It reveals how the lines between digital and physical conflict， between wartime and peacetime， have begun to blur--with world-shaking implications。
Reviews
David Gateley
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Excellent read。 Loved it。
Emma Moore
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I wish that I could rate this book 6/5 stars。 It was THAT good。 Couldn’t put this one down！
Ethan B
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Accessible and well thought out。 If you had concerns about cyber security prior to this， wait to have every fear you had and more confirmed。
Gina Pozza
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Wish this book was fiction。。。such a great readGreenberg has the uncanny talent of turning tech speak into a page turning novel。I am an amateur in the tech world and this book opened up to me the reality of a world where cyberspace is like the Wild West with no culpable end in sight。Hang on for a ride into a reality that is now not only at our front door but in our house。 It's no longer happening "over there" but here。 Wish this book was fiction。。。such a great readGreenberg has the uncanny talent of turning tech speak into a page turning novel。I am an amateur in the tech world and this book opened up to me the reality of a world where cyberspace is like the Wild West with no culpable end in sight。Hang on for a ride into a reality that is now not only at our front door but in our house。 It's no longer happening "over there" but here。 。。。more
Bruno Chede
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Amazing chronicle of the current state of cyber conflict and hybrid warfare
Ondra Soukup
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Very well researched journey with GRU hacking unit for several years， including Not Petya virus。 Story how Maersk was struck is just fascinating。 Raising also some important questions about use of cyberwarfare in recent years。
Taras Romanchuk
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Якісне журналістське дослідження про кібервійну。 Доволі велике за обсягом， тому може бути цікавим не всім。
Celia Cisneros
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Scary stuffNo one is safe on the internet。 Worst than that， infrastructure is at risk。 Read this to learn why as 4 stars as the author went back and forth in time making hard to follow a timeline。 Reads like fiction， but is scarily true。
Amaan Pirani
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A pretty solid overview of what is known about "sandworm" （i。e。 the group believed to have hacked the DNC during the 2016 pres election; Ukraine's critical infrastructure; etc）。 The book probably has about as much info on the group as Is publicly known。 Additionally the book is action That said， the book has a few deficiencies: 1。 It doesn't delve enough into the defenses various govtments are putting up against sandworm - the author somewhat implies that the situation is hopeless， without delvi A pretty solid overview of what is known about "sandworm" （i。e。 the group believed to have hacked the DNC during the 2016 pres election; Ukraine's critical infrastructure; etc）。 The book probably has about as much info on the group as Is publicly known。 Additionally the book is action That said， the book has a few deficiencies: 1。 It doesn't delve enough into the defenses various govtments are putting up against sandworm - the author somewhat implies that the situation is hopeless， without delving， in a nuanced way， into specifics 2。 It has too much fluff - it's a bit annoying to read about how various white hackers learned smthg "while drinking coffee" - such introductory descriptions don't require 2 pages！3。 Unfortunately the amount of info known abt sandworm is limited and may not be enough to warrant a book 。。。more
Thomas Kloster
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Very interesting and a bit terrifying overview of cyberwar and the hackers capabilities。 Although the book is a couple of years old it is very relevant for ransomware and cyber actions that have been in the news lately。 Highly recommend。
Dirk Nachbar
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Good read but a more chronological structure would have made it easier。More technical details would also have been nice。
Paul Grostad
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I really enjoyed this book。 From the quite detailed technical description of certain exploits through the high level strategy of modern grey zone conflict and the future of warfare。 Highly recommended！
Thomas
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Pretty spooky that I started this before the colonial pipe line attack
P
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First class journalism and excervation of a theme that is so complicated and dangerous that only the brave and dedicated would delve into。 Hats off。
Chris
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A detailed hunt through the last decade of Russian led cyberwar and the effects that it's had on the international approach to this new operations space。 A detailed hunt through the last decade of Russian led cyberwar and the effects that it's had on the international approach to this new operations space。 。。。more
Stormie
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If you have *any* concerns whatsoever about cybersecurity， Sandworm is a must-read。 It is engaging and interesting （though ultimately terrifying--but being more aware of how perilous the cyber situation is in this day and age should be a necessity）。
Mark R。
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Scary book！Couldn’t put this one down。 Since we live in a mostly automated society， our digital world would collapse in just minutes with a well-placed cyber attack。 This is well-written by an author very immersed in the dark world of state-sponsored cyberterrorism。 Regardless your background， you’ll quickly understand IT concepts enough to keep pace。
Kubi
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State sponsored hacking， geopolitics， Russia， Ukraine ， USA， cyberwar， digital/analog， industrial sabotageA ako bonus opis Bratislavy z okien Esetu :）。
Pcd
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enthrolling - worthwhile for the peek into the technical aspects of an interesting series of exploits， as well as the story about how each was understood and mitigated。 scary to see how vulnerable our critical infrastructure is。
Jorge
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4。5 rounded down to 4Sandworm explains in detail the cyberattacks made by different groups working for the Russian government， specially those targeting ICS。 Andy Greenber is a good story teller， explaining how he first heard about Sandworm and his journey as a journalist to find out what was all about。 The context for all the scenarios is always described， including a very quick summary of the history of Ukraine。 The book deals mostly with how Russia has performed different cyberattacks using d 4。5 rounded down to 4Sandworm explains in detail the cyberattacks made by different groups working for the Russian government， specially those targeting ICS。 Andy Greenber is a good story teller， explaining how he first heard about Sandworm and his journey as a journalist to find out what was all about。 The context for all the scenarios is always described， including a very quick summary of the history of Ukraine。 The book deals mostly with how Russia has performed different cyberattacks using different techniques as well as the probable goals behind such attacks， however， A。 Greenberg also describes and criticizes how the west （specially the US） responded to cyberwarfare by pointing out the motivations behind such weak response。 In addition， the latest edition have updates on various chapters。In short， Sandworm is a highly recommended book， which is written for all audiences regardless of their knowledge on cybersecurity （or technology overall， for that matter）。 I'd recommend to purchase the electronic edition as updates are released from time to time。 。。。more
Peter F
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Overall fascinating book about Russia's state-sponsored hacking into all manner of physical targets。 The author seems a bit naive in his incredulity around the fact that the Western world didn't immediately condemn Russia's hacking of Ukraine's power grid in the strongest possible terms。 Clearly， the United States wants to be able to knock out the power grids of its own enemies！ I don't buy the idea that attacking civilian infrastructure is some sort of sui generis act of aggression， but do agre Overall fascinating book about Russia's state-sponsored hacking into all manner of physical targets。 The author seems a bit naive in his incredulity around the fact that the Western world didn't immediately condemn Russia's hacking of Ukraine's power grid in the strongest possible terms。 Clearly， the United States wants to be able to knock out the power grids of its own enemies！ I don't buy the idea that attacking civilian infrastructure is some sort of sui generis act of aggression， but do agree that these threats need to be taken more seriously from a defensive perspective and not just seeking to match our enemies' offensive capabilities。 The recent Colonial pipeline hack is a good example of this。 Or consider the Texas power outage in Feb 2021。 If a state sponsored actor was able to truly tip over a power grid into complete failure， it's not just a matter of flipping the switch back on。 We would be in for a very bad time！ Being completely reliant on expansive， digital， and complex systems is a real risk for society beyond just the threat of cyber attack。 。。。more
Gamespacenl
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Reallllly well written。 Short chapters that tell short， engaging stories that WILL scare the bejezus out of anyone。 I love how the author involves himself in the story in a smart way。
Suzy Trotta
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Synopsis: Just go ahead and live your best life， because the Russians are spoon feeding us propaganda and could shut down the grid whenever they want。
nia
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this is a very good entry into the realm of cybersecurity and cyber conflict， and it's fairly approachable， all things considered！ i think i might have gotten more out of it if i'd had more foreknowledge of ukraine， but that isn't a bad thing; good books make you ask more questions than they can answer！ this is a very good entry into the realm of cybersecurity and cyber conflict， and it's fairly approachable， all things considered！ i think i might have gotten more out of it if i'd had more foreknowledge of ukraine， but that isn't a bad thing; good books make you ask more questions than they can answer！ 。。。more
Andrew O'Neill
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I'd recommend this to anyone interested in how industrial control systems have fared over the past couple decades with the rise of the Internet throughout the rest of the world。 ICS and SCADA have always been a bit of a mystery to me， even moreso with regards to network security。 In previous years attending conferences like DefCon， I never attended discussions surrounding it as it seemed to be only for people who knew how that stuff operated。 After having read this， I'm definitely more intereste I'd recommend this to anyone interested in how industrial control systems have fared over the past couple decades with the rise of the Internet throughout the rest of the world。 ICS and SCADA have always been a bit of a mystery to me， even moreso with regards to network security。 In previous years attending conferences like DefCon， I never attended discussions surrounding it as it seemed to be only for people who knew how that stuff operated。 After having read this， I'm definitely more interested in the subject as a whole。Interestingly enough， I got halfway through this when Colonial Pipeline's business side infrastructure was attacked。 It was apparently enough to affect actual pipeline operations; Colonial shut it down out of fear。As for my own thoughts on where things are headed， I suspect the US government will continue to create more alphabet soup "standards" of security that more businesses and agencies will need to adhere to; that is， more theater。 I think we'll see some businesses figure that the cost of taking an outage （and paying ransoms） is cheaper than actually investing in proper defense and safety protocols。 。。。more
Lauren Pearce
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I work in the field of computer security and generally avoid books on the topic。 They tend to oversimplify the situation and leave me frustrated。 Plus， I'm knees deep in this stuff all day - why spend my precious free time on it too？ I read this book because it was highly recommended by a mentor， expecting the normal frustration， but I was pleasantly surprised。 Not only did the book accurately capture the nuanced and complicated field that is industrial control systems security， it was an entert I work in the field of computer security and generally avoid books on the topic。 They tend to oversimplify the situation and leave me frustrated。 Plus， I'm knees deep in this stuff all day - why spend my precious free time on it too？ I read this book because it was highly recommended by a mentor， expecting the normal frustration， but I was pleasantly surprised。 Not only did the book accurately capture the nuanced and complicated field that is industrial control systems security， it was an entertaining read。 While this book focuses on Sandworm and its adventures in the Ukraine， it also explores other major malware families that have， intentionally or not， attacked critical infrastructure all over the world。 The book explores the question of "who？" from multiple angles， not just relying on the US government's statements and indictments。 The author makes frequent use of metaphor to explain complicated topics。 Sometimes the comparisons are a bit contrived。 Contrived metaphors notwithstanding， I consider the author’s approach to explaining complex topics better than ignoring the complicated stuff completely， as is so common in general audience books in this field。 This is an excellent book and has become my go-to recommendation to friends， technical and not， wanting to learn more about the intersection of computer security and critical infrastructure。 。。。more
Glenn
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Strode a lot of familiar ground and relied heavily on secondary sources that I'd read previously。 Even so， a solid historical primer on state-sponsored hacking and Russia's endless shenanigans。 Strode a lot of familiar ground and relied heavily on secondary sources that I'd read previously。 Even so， a solid historical primer on state-sponsored hacking and Russia's endless shenanigans。 。。。more
Parker
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This stuff is terrifying。 I had no idea about the reach that was possible here， or about how much had already been done。 It's way more than influencing an election， there are true warfare actions being performed here， and it's all in the digital world。 Andy Greenberg mentioned it multiple times， “the world needs a new， digital Geneva Convention”。 This stuff is terrifying。 I had no idea about the reach that was possible here， or about how much had already been done。 It's way more than influencing an election， there are true warfare actions being performed here， and it's all in the digital world。 Andy Greenberg mentioned it multiple times， “the world needs a new， digital Geneva Convention”。 。。。more
Elizabeth
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One of those must-reads that offers deep evidence-backed insights about the history and real dangers of future cyber attacks。 Made me rethink so many aspect of daily living in the western world that relies soo much on software operations。
Mark Vayngrib
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