An incisive exploration of how cyberattacks are transforming geopolitics
Cyberattacks are the ultimate geopolitical weapon of the 21st century. They are used to damage presidential campaigns, shut down electric grids, sway public sentiment, and cost businesses and governments alike billions of dollars.
Popular culture portrays cyberattacks as unstoppable and mysterious actions taken by shadowy, unpredictable forces.
Code War: How Nations Hack, Spy, and Shape the Digital Battlefield shatters this depiction, revealing nation-state cyberattacks for what they are: calculated, measured actions to achieve state objectives.
World-renowned cybersecurity expert Allie Mellen draws on her extensive experience with nation-state cyberattacks and AI threats to break down how and why nations deploy cyberattacks in their own unique ways, driven by their military doctrine, national history, and, most importantly, geopolitical strategy.
Mellen deconstructs the most infamous cyberattacks of our time to reveal how and why attacks like Stuxnet, WannaCry, NotPetya, and the Sony Pictures hack happened and how their success altered the international landscape.
Code War also demonstrates how individuals, business professionals, and government officials can use this knowledge to understand and respond to the practical realities of nation-state cyberattacks.
Readers will also find:
- An overview of how cyberattacks operate, where governments most frequently use them, their limitations, and where they provide the most value.
- A breakdown of threats from countries like Iran, Russia, Israel, North Korea, and many others, who fund cyber threat actors like Fancy Bear, Scattered Spider, the Lazarus Group, and the Equation Group.
- Deep dives into the histories and attacks perpetrated by governments with the most prolific cyberattacks: China, Russia, and the United States.
An eye-opening guide to the world of nation-state cyberattacks, Code War is a must-read for business and government leaders responsible for protecting against these attacks. It’s also a fascinating look into the world of cyberattacks for anyone interested in foreign relations who wants to keep up with the evolving weapons of war.
Table of Contents:
Introduction xv
Chapter 1: The Currency of Control 1
Chapter 2: The First Information War 7
Chapter 3: The Social Contracts of the Cyber Powers 15
PART I: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 21
Chapter 4: The Wars That Wrote the Code 23
Chapter 5: Splintering the Internet 33
Chapter 6: Crimes and WarGames 39
Chapter 7: Eligible Receiver 57
Chapter 8: Private Power, Public Risk 67
Chapter 9: The Coop of Amontillado 77
Chapter 10: Fractured Truths 83
Chapter 11: No Holds Barred 97
Chapter 12: The Hacker Ethic 109
Chapter 13: Crypto War 119
Chapter 14: Sabotage by Design 131
Chapter 15: Defend Forward 135
PART II: THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 145
Chapter 16: From Nationalism to Informatization 147
Chapter 17: New Bricks in the Great Wall 155
Chapter 18: The New Danwei 167
Chapter 19: The Red Guests 177
Chapter 20: Borrow a Corpse to Raise the Spirit 183
Chapter 21: Beijing's Trojan Dragon 187
Chapter 22: Stealing Fresh Air 195
Chapter 23: Learn from the Barbarians to Control the Barbarians 201
Chapter 24: The State's Loyal Ears, Eyes, and Tongue 209
Chapter 25: The Paper Dragon 215
Chapter 26: All Under Heaven 221
Chapter 27: Reunification by Other Means 225
Chapter 28: The Revolution Will Be Erased 233
Chapter 29: Ghosts in the Himalayas 237
Chapter 30: Breaking Their Roots 241
PART III: THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION 245
Chapter 31: Red Assembly 247
Chapter 32: Jamming Zagranitsa 257
Chapter 33: Killing Samizdat 263
Chapter 34: Centralized Defense, Centralized Control 279
Chapter 35: The Kremlin's Information Monopoly 283
Chapter 36: Information Confrontation 301
Chapter 37: The Red Orchestra Rewired 313
Chapter 38: Disinformation, Inc. 319
Chapter 39: Olympic Mind Games 329
Chapter 40: A Bear for a Brother 333
Chapter 41: The Bronze Night 337
Chapter 42: The Hybrid Crucible 341
PART IV: THE FUTURE 361
Chapter 43: Three Broken Promises 363
Chapter 44: The Fourth Power 369
Chapter 45: Reality Does Not Exist 375
Chapter 46: Conclusion 379
Index 381
About the Author :
ALLIE MELLEN is a leading industry analyst who advises the Global 2000 on cybersecurity policy and practice, with a focus on detecting and responding to nation-state attacks. She has held various engineering and research roles at MIT and multiple early-stage technology startups. Previously, she worked with government agencies on election and information security, conducted hardware security research, and partnered with product and infrastructure security teams as a hands-on security practitioner.
