Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime-From Global Epidemic to Your Front Door
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- Create Date：2021-10-05 09:54:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Brian Krebs
- ISBN：1492603236
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Summary
There is a Threat Lurking Online with the Power to Destroy Your Finances， Steal Your Personal Data， and Endanger Your Life。
In Spam Nation， investigative journalist and cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs unmasks the criminal masterminds driving some of the biggest spam and hacker operations targeting Americans and their bank accounts。 Tracing the rise， fall， and alarming resurrection of the digital mafia behind the two largest spam pharmacies-and countless viruses， phishing， and spyware attacks-he delivers the first definitive narrative of the global spam problem and its threat to consumers everywhere。
Blending cutting-edge research， investigative reporting， and firsthand interviews， this terrifying true story reveals how we unwittingly invite these digital thieves into our lives every day。 From unassuming computer programmers right next door to digital mobsters like "Cosma"-who unleashed a massive malware attack that has stolen thousands of Americans' logins and passwords-Krebs uncovers the shocking lengths to which these people will go to profit from our data and our wallets。
Not only are hundreds of thousands of Americans exposing themselves to fraud and dangerously toxic products from rogue online pharmacies， but even those who never open junk messages are at risk。 As Krebs notes， spammers can-and do-hack into accounts through these emails， harvest personal information like usernames and passwords， and sell them on the digital black market。 The fallout from this global epidemic doesn't just cost consumers and companies billions， it costs lives too。
Fast-paced and utterly gripping， Spam Nation ultimately proposes concrete solutions for protecting ourselves online and stemming this tidal wave of cybercrime-before it's too late。
"Krebs's talent for exposing the weaknesses in online security has earned him respect in the IT business and loathing among cybercriminals。。。 His track record of scoops。。。has helped him become the rare blogger who supports himself on the strength of his reputation for hard-nosed reporting。" -Bloomberg Businessweek
In Spam Nation， investigative journalist and cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs unmasks the criminal masterminds driving some of the biggest spam and hacker operations targeting Americans and their bank accounts。 Tracing the rise， fall， and alarming resurrection of the digital mafia behind the two largest spam pharmacies-and countless viruses， phishing， and spyware attacks-he delivers the first definitive narrative of the global spam problem and its threat to consumers everywhere。
Blending cutting-edge research， investigative reporting， and firsthand interviews， this terrifying true story reveals how we unwittingly invite these digital thieves into our lives every day。 From unassuming computer programmers right next door to digital mobsters like "Cosma"-who unleashed a massive malware attack that has stolen thousands of Americans' logins and passwords-Krebs uncovers the shocking lengths to which these people will go to profit from our data and our wallets。
Not only are hundreds of thousands of Americans exposing themselves to fraud and dangerously toxic products from rogue online pharmacies， but even those who never open junk messages are at risk。 As Krebs notes， spammers can-and do-hack into accounts through these emails， harvest personal information like usernames and passwords， and sell them on the digital black market。 The fallout from this global epidemic doesn't just cost consumers and companies billions， it costs lives too。
Fast-paced and utterly gripping， Spam Nation ultimately proposes concrete solutions for protecting ourselves online and stemming this tidal wave of cybercrime-before it's too late。
"Krebs's talent for exposing the weaknesses in online security has earned him respect in the IT business and loathing among cybercriminals。。。 His track record of scoops。。。has helped him become the rare blogger who supports himself on the strength of his reputation for hard-nosed reporting。" -Bloomberg Businessweek
Reviews
Wren
，
This book is focused on a loose network producing pharmacy spam， mostly based in Eastern Europe， around 2007-ish。 Krebs developed personal contacts and was able to speak directly with several members of the network。 Their accounts mostly just add color and personality to the story - his main contact was such a huge liar that he wasn't much help as a source。The book is fairly interesting and worth a read， especially for someone who hasn't read a lot on this topic。 For people who are already famil This book is focused on a loose network producing pharmacy spam， mostly based in Eastern Europe， around 2007-ish。 Krebs developed personal contacts and was able to speak directly with several members of the network。 Their accounts mostly just add color and personality to the story - his main contact was such a huge liar that he wasn't much help as a source。The book is fairly interesting and worth a read， especially for someone who hasn't read a lot on this topic。 For people who are already familiar with the spam world， it is pretty basic and limited in scope。 The writing seems a bit clunky and repetitive for an experienced professional like Krebs。 If I had taken a drink of beer every time Krebs used the word "miscreant，" I would be dead from alcohol poisoning。This part applies only to the Audible version: the narrator gave me second-hand embarrassment by giving stereotypical accents to every direct quote。 。。。more
George
，
Cool book。 I enjoy learning about how this kind of stuff goes down， and there are a lot of details。 It's certainly not the most elaborate criminal activity out there， but seeing the end to end story of how it operates， how it succeeded， and how it fell apart was pretty interesting。 Cool book。 I enjoy learning about how this kind of stuff goes down， and there are a lot of details。 It's certainly not the most elaborate criminal activity out there， but seeing the end to end story of how it operates， how it succeeded， and how it fell apart was pretty interesting。 。。。more
Cody Copeland
，
It’s actually a 2。5/5。 Informative but a little dry。 It also over explains some things while it under explains others。
Kevin
，
REVIEW IN PROGRESSThings I learned from this book:The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 was created to regulate online internet prescriptions。-Krusha， -Compromat，-Partnerka，-Panitoi，Further reading -Despite Absurdity: How I Conquered Russia While It Conquered Me。 Lennart Dahlgren
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Umegbewe
，
Another Masterclass by Brian Krebs， this book details how spam business work and who are bosses。 A Good Read
Beluga
，
。
Kat Dixon
，
Spam email seems almost quaint when compared with today's multifarious cyber threats， but this book serves as a nice reminder that spam is part and parcel of the larger criminal networks that feed online。 It is clear that Brian Krebs is at the forefront of cybercrime investigation。 However， what is sorely lacking from this book is a cohesive narrative structure to guide a lay reader like myself。 There are occasional references to a figure dubbed （by the author） the book's "Virgil，" meant to guid Spam email seems almost quaint when compared with today's multifarious cyber threats， but this book serves as a nice reminder that spam is part and parcel of the larger criminal networks that feed online。 It is clear that Brian Krebs is at the forefront of cybercrime investigation。 However， what is sorely lacking from this book is a cohesive narrative structure to guide a lay reader like myself。 There are occasional references to a figure dubbed （by the author） the book's "Virgil，" meant to guide us into and through the darkness， yet this so-called Virgil does no such thing。 The book's chapters jump around from topic to topic seemingly at random and often feature side notes that reference other chapters （e。g。 "We'll meet him in chapter 9！" or "This was mentioned in Chapter 2。"）。 Rather than providing meaningful connection， though， these choose-your-own-adventure-style notes further highlight how the book presents a number of important puzzle pieces but fails to smoothly unite them into one clear picture。 Characters come and go without fanfare， leaving this reader puzzled over their significance， and - perhaps most frustratingly - when one （of two） main players is finally met in person， he receives perhaps the shortest chapter in the book， which fails even to document the bulk of his interview！ The author goes on to ponder whether to meet the second main player in the narrative but ultimately doesn't。 What！ 。。。more
Alex Cloak
，
I hate spam even more now。。
Spencer Heckathorn
，
Really fantastic reads like a dang good fiction novel！
D
，
Велик автор в своята област， но писането на книги не е за всеки。。。
Todd Cheng
，
I like to occasional season a cyber topic and this came up free with audible。 Obviously most of us have received spam。 Depending on the definition or filtering 50-90 percent of the email traffic is spam。 Recently this is being felt in robot calls tools。 Welcome to the Russian crime and mafia。 This is a journalist journey unfolding the email and online pharmasudical market。 Great share that every American could benefit to read to reduce risk to their online browsing， their parents risks， and to h I like to occasional season a cyber topic and this came up free with audible。 Obviously most of us have received spam。 Depending on the definition or filtering 50-90 percent of the email traffic is spam。 Recently this is being felt in robot calls tools。 Welcome to the Russian crime and mafia。 This is a journalist journey unfolding the email and online pharmasudical market。 Great share that every American could benefit to read to reduce risk to their online browsing， their parents risks， and to highlight deeper root issues in the the insurance industry。 About halfway through the book I recognized that I had been expertly phished five years ago when buying some antibiotics overseas。 Scary。 。。。more
Antonin
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Un bon livre sur le milieu criminel russe du spam。 On comprend bien le business plan de l'industrie et leur soutiens politiques achetés chèrement。 Comme la conclusion l'indique， l'industrie change vite et est plutôt tournée vers le ransomware。 Un bon livre sur le milieu criminel russe du spam。 On comprend bien le business plan de l'industrie et leur soutiens politiques achetés chèrement。 Comme la conclusion l'indique， l'industrie change vite et est plutôt tournée vers le ransomware。 。。。more
Doug Newdick
，
For those interested in cybercrime， its origins， history and how criminal markets work this is useful reading。 Lots of interesting detail， lots of funny stories。 My one complaint is that it is too "journalistic" - perhaps not surprising - in that Krebs lets his involvement dominate the narrative too much and the analysis is light。 There are other， better books on cybercrime out there， but none that provide this amount of detail on this aspect。 For those interested in cybercrime， its origins， history and how criminal markets work this is useful reading。 Lots of interesting detail， lots of funny stories。 My one complaint is that it is too "journalistic" - perhaps not surprising - in that Krebs lets his involvement dominate the narrative too much and the analysis is light。 There are other， better books on cybercrime out there， but none that provide this amount of detail on this aspect。 。。。more
ShaunaCook
，
Informative。 At times a little above my understanding of things （I consider myself an average tech user）。 But learned a lot and am more scared than before so you know a book is good when it does that。
Jurgita Lapienytė
，
Labai įtraukiančiai ir lengvai surašyta knyga apie gana komplikuotus dalykus。 Man patiko dėl t0， kad pasakoja žurnalistas， tai tiesiog ir profesiškai įtraukia。
Ionut
，
Gave me a lot of info on the urderground life of spam empire。
Alexander Fitzgerald
，
As an email marketer， I can tell you that there's about 30 Billion separate rules you have to follow to do it ethically。 Every country has their separate rules。 The watch dog organizations seem to come up with new rules all the time。 To do things the right way takes a ton of work， and you're always double checking again and again that you did it right。For this reason， I was fascinated to read about the people who just don't care about any of these laws， and take over PCs to send out garbage。 I k As an email marketer， I can tell you that there's about 30 Billion separate rules you have to follow to do it ethically。 Every country has their separate rules。 The watch dog organizations seem to come up with new rules all the time。 To do things the right way takes a ton of work， and you're always double checking again and again that you did it right。For this reason， I was fascinated to read about the people who just don't care about any of these laws， and take over PCs to send out garbage。 I know that wormhole goes deep， but I didn't feel Brian Krebs got to as many details as you'd expect。 He has some sections of this book that are riveting， but then he gets deep into his personal vendettas with email spammers， and his fascination with certain players in the industry。 The true dissection of the industry is only visited on varying occasions， and you desire more each time。 Still was a fun read and I learned a lot， but I think people who don't work in the field would probably not get as much out of it。 。。。more
Lisa
，
I expected this to be a tale of espionage and cyber-adventure in the vein of The Cuckoo's Egg。 It was more of a recap of the experience。 Still enjoyable as it contained two of my favorite topics: cyber-naughtiness and Russians。 This one will reinforce topics of interest to elected officials， if only they would read （or listen to） the book！ I expected this to be a tale of espionage and cyber-adventure in the vein of The Cuckoo's Egg。 It was more of a recap of the experience。 Still enjoyable as it contained two of my favorite topics: cyber-naughtiness and Russians。 This one will reinforce topics of interest to elected officials， if only they would read （or listen to） the book！ 。。。more
Skyqi
，
An in-depth look into the flood of email spam that millions of computer users received during the early 2000s。 The author was a reporter for the Washington Post focusing on cybercrime。 He lost his job when he refused to stop investigating these crimes， so he goes it alone and reveals the figures behind the spamming， how the spam reached so many email boxes and the customers driving the market。The author is very knowledgeable and even has a now proven prediction regarding future online cybercrime An in-depth look into the flood of email spam that millions of computer users received during the early 2000s。 The author was a reporter for the Washington Post focusing on cybercrime。 He lost his job when he refused to stop investigating these crimes， so he goes it alone and reveals the figures behind the spamming， how the spam reached so many email boxes and the customers driving the market。The author is very knowledgeable and even has a now proven prediction regarding future online cybercrimes。 There are good tips that are still very valuable on how to protect yourself。 Unfortunately， the telling of the story is very dry。 It's somewhat difficult to keep the names straight， so you may want to take a few notes。 Overall， this is a very informative book and I would recommend it。 。。。more
Ian
，
Not that bad。 Interesting dive into the spam world centered around Russia。The narrator was pretty dry and almost monotone for nearly all of the book （minus a mediocre Russian accent） which is pretty disappointing considering there are some very colorful characters that lead the Russian spam bot armies。For someone who works in IT and has an interest in cybersecurity， the story is a pretty good window into all of it， but I found myself loosing interest as the book progressed and the narrator remai Not that bad。 Interesting dive into the spam world centered around Russia。The narrator was pretty dry and almost monotone for nearly all of the book （minus a mediocre Russian accent） which is pretty disappointing considering there are some very colorful characters that lead the Russian spam bot armies。For someone who works in IT and has an interest in cybersecurity， the story is a pretty good window into all of it， but I found myself loosing interest as the book progressed and the narrator remained dry and monotone。 No emotional range in the performance， even when Krebs was sitting in Moscow interviewing some really shady characters。I would probably enjoy this book on paper or by a different narrator。 。。。more
sillypunk
，
Very quick and interesting read: https://blogendorff。com/2020/01/11/bo。。。 Very quick and interesting read: https://blogendorff。com/2020/01/11/bo。。。 。。。more
Zaron
，
An interesting read with insights into Russian cyber crime。 The most interesting parts of the book are the end where we learn how the botnet managers are adjusting to a post pharma spam world and the fact that online pharmacy aren't as scammy as you'd imagine。 The meds， it seems， were quite often legit and cheaper。 An interesting read with insights into Russian cyber crime。 The most interesting parts of the book are the end where we learn how the botnet managers are adjusting to a post pharma spam world and the fact that online pharmacy aren't as scammy as you'd imagine。 The meds， it seems， were quite often legit and cheaper。 。。。more
Brett
，
~ A Great Overview on the Spam Industry ~As mentioned by Brian Kerbs in the book， spam email ‘impacts every one of us every day’。Well it’s definitely true for me。 My email spam / junk folder continues to grow and grow。Yet up until reading this book， I never took the time to actually learn what‘s actually inside these spam emails around the world and what kind of businesses are actually pushing out these messages。Thankfully this book gives an outstanding overview on both those questions and gives ~ A Great Overview on the Spam Industry ~As mentioned by Brian Kerbs in the book， spam email ‘impacts every one of us every day’。Well it’s definitely true for me。 My email spam / junk folder continues to grow and grow。Yet up until reading this book， I never took the time to actually learn what‘s actually inside these spam emails around the world and what kind of businesses are actually pushing out these messages。Thankfully this book gives an outstanding overview on both those questions and gives the reader an overview of a very mysterious industry: the spam industry。For example， I was fascinated to learn that a significant majority of all email sent worldwide each day， is spam mail relating to Online Pharmacy websites - the type that sell all kind of pills online。I do agree with other reviewers in their comments that the book was a bit hard to follow at times and that it seemed a bit disjointed in its flow。Nonetheless， a great overview of this topic and industry。 。。。more
Arvid
，
Yawn。
Will Semin
，
Must-read for every dev。
Roland
，
Spam nationtOne of the important things I got about this book is theories on how to stop cyber-crime。 Krebs lays out 3 implicit ways to stop it and I have added on a fourth that I think is actually the best way。 The theories are all focused on what the onus of security should be on: the private sector， the government， the user and the system， itself。 By giving legitimate opportunities to these cyber criminals I believe they will make the rational choice away from cybercrime。 The first way is the Spam nationtOne of the important things I got about this book is theories on how to stop cyber-crime。 Krebs lays out 3 implicit ways to stop it and I have added on a fourth that I think is actually the best way。 The theories are all focused on what the onus of security should be on: the private sector， the government， the user and the system， itself。 By giving legitimate opportunities to these cyber criminals I believe they will make the rational choice away from cybercrime。 The first way is the private sector can better regulate itself。 Though these criminals can hide themselves， there is always a money trail; always a financial institution。 If these financial institutions do a better job policing themselves then the funds for these cybercriminals will dry up。 The problem with this is that there will always be a financial institution that will be greedy。 There wil laways be technical ways around policies and those who will rationalizes their subversion。 Another option is for governments to become better at punishing criminals。 Whether this actually deters crime is debatable and im generally against increased punitive incarceration。 This can be accomplished Krebs claims by having better extradition laws and by having better policies on initiations that process payments。 I think government regulation on private companies is generally a good idea。 A large problem with this is that a lot of these attacks seem to be coming out of Russia and Russia seems to turn a blind eye towards attacks not affecting itself。 In fact Krebs mentions several times how low level government officials take money from these cyber criminals。 So corruption is a problem。 Also Russia does not extradite citizens to the U。S。 This has a problem as the nature of cybercrime allows the cybercriminal to be in another location than when the crime occurs。 This not only makes it harder to find out who is responsible harder but also makes it harder to prosecute。 The third way to educate the public。 He includes in his epilogue ways to be safer online。 He goes as far to say that if aren’t being safe and instead turn apathetic then we become part of the problem。 Making general security practices common knowledge is a great idea （strong passwords， don’t click on links you don’t trust， update your devices） but convenience will always outweigh caution。 The internet is there to make things more convenient for us so having to reset passwords that are complicated or having your system unavailable due to updates will lead people to get around these for convenience sake。 Though all of these have their weaknesses， if combined， they should all help stem the flow of cybercrime。 I believe the best way to combat crime， is to manipulate the rationale behind doing it。 The person that the author follows （he calls him his Virgil） states that he was in college studying when his parents couldn’t afford it anymore forcing him to drop out to get a full time job。 Since he couldn’t get a legitimate job that payed as well as creating spam he broke bad。 Another idea Krebs floats is that these cybercriminals don’t necessarily see themselves as evil。 They see themselves as providing a service。 The only real people they are hurting is the big pharmaceutical companies。 This logic might be flawed or a way for them to rationalize their illegal activity but it shows that the main motivation for these cybercriminals isn’t always greed but greed mixed with apathy towards “the system”。 Side note: This is not to say that Krebs is sympathetic at all to the people he reports on。 He calls them miscreants， metaphorical pimps and consistently mentions the ties most the “bad guys” have to child pornography。 Multiple times Krebs points out most of the spammers or owners of the botnets are not making huge profits。 It seems to be the same solution to illegal immigration: invest money in where illegal immigrants are coming from and help them with opportunities， we wouldn’t need to spend that money on a wall。 This is a smarter application of our resources。 I also found interesting the inner workings。 Towards the end of the book， spam was only 67% of the total email sent: spread through hacked or malicious sites that exploit web browser vulnerabilities to pass along malware。 This malware doesn’t seem to be necessarily interested in stealing info but rather using the computer’s hardware （CPU processing power） to send out spam。 This spam could be either trying to add to the bot army that the computer has now become part of， or could be used to inform recipients of services like the illegal pharmacies。 tAnother side of this is the buyers。 The companies selling these drugs illegally provide drugs made in China and/or India that do not have to go through the DEA’s process。 This allows them to be cheaper and except for few exceptions， they are safe。 So if we make access to drugs more affordable in the West， these people providing the cheap drugs would go out of business。 So instead of combating the symptom of the problem， we should focus on the root cause。 t 。。。more
Andrew Shumate
，
An interesting look at how insidious spam really is and how well vertically integrated a criminal enterprise can be。
Frank
，
Ok， a bit dated。
Joshua Bartholomew
，