misterfix's review against another edition
3.0
Broadly covers issues of Crime Inc vs citizenry and privacy issues in general. If your looking for an introductory book then this is fine although the surface treatment finds the author occasionally making errors in his explanations of tech. I prefer reading more focused books that deal with the range of topics in this book more specifically.
mikepearce's review against another edition
Much longer than it needs to be. So much repetition. However, some fascinating and ultimately frightening knowledge.
sidetracked's review against another edition
4.0
A rather interesting and disturbing review and depiction of the future of crimes that are taking place in the virtual environment and their consequences, which are not always loss of money. The first part of the book takes us on a journey through cyberspace, clearly explaining what criminals are using the world wide web for and how they do it. Welcome to the dark web, the area that not even Google indexes. In this part of the book you can find more information in relation to the Stuxnet virus, key loggers, why Google, Facebook and LinkedIn are free and we are not their customers, the Silk Road, The Onion Router etc.
In the second part of the book the author tries to forecast where cyber crimes may go next and how the Internet of Things may allow criminals unlimited access to our entire lives. Synthetic biology, quantum computing, medical or military nanobots, drones, medical devices (like prosthetic limbs, pace-makers) which are connected to the Internet and so on.
Lastly, in the third and final part Marc Goodman highlights what some of the steps to secure our safe use of the world wide web may be. The solutions he proposes are primarily aimed at governments or government-backed organizations, but also at individual users.
All in all the book fulfilled my expectations and I gladly recommend it to anyone who is interested in finding out more about the grey or dark areas of our connected (on-line) lives.
In the second part of the book the author tries to forecast where cyber crimes may go next and how the Internet of Things may allow criminals unlimited access to our entire lives. Synthetic biology, quantum computing, medical or military nanobots, drones, medical devices (like prosthetic limbs, pace-makers) which are connected to the Internet and so on.
Lastly, in the third and final part Marc Goodman highlights what some of the steps to secure our safe use of the world wide web may be. The solutions he proposes are primarily aimed at governments or government-backed organizations, but also at individual users.
All in all the book fulfilled my expectations and I gladly recommend it to anyone who is interested in finding out more about the grey or dark areas of our connected (on-line) lives.
shawnwhy's review against another edition
5.0
so pretty much anything that you put online can and will be used to social engineer you into giving away your identity.... the book is about hackers, Russian mob, terrorists. pretty exciting stuff, makes me want to read Reamde again.
jaclynday's review against another edition
4.0
This book is terrifying. For every paranoid person running around saying the Internet will eventually take us down, there’s a Marc Goodman—a smart, reasonable guy, by all accounts—saying, “Well, yeah. It probably will.” So now we have fringe crazies, yes, but we’ve also got this tangible evidence and research that the world we live in now can also destroy the modern conveniences and safety that we take for granted.
The “we almost nuked ourselves multiple times” nonfiction Command and Control by Eric Schlosser wasn’t as scary as this.
It’s almost impossible for us to wrap our minds around technology today, and though Goodman goes into things like robots and synthetic biology, he also keeps the book accessible. Identity theft, for example, features prominently. The potential hacking susceptibility of the smartphone is another topic he visits at length. The reason the book is so readable is because much of what he discusses could, or maybe even has, affected the average person. Future Crimes isn’t all cyber warfare on a massive scale. Goodman brings it close to home.
The “we almost nuked ourselves multiple times” nonfiction Command and Control by Eric Schlosser wasn’t as scary as this.
It’s almost impossible for us to wrap our minds around technology today, and though Goodman goes into things like robots and synthetic biology, he also keeps the book accessible. Identity theft, for example, features prominently. The potential hacking susceptibility of the smartphone is another topic he visits at length. The reason the book is so readable is because much of what he discusses could, or maybe even has, affected the average person. Future Crimes isn’t all cyber warfare on a massive scale. Goodman brings it close to home.
gothwin's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting and very readable. Covers the risks we face in an age of hacking, cyber crime, 'big data', social networks, drone, AI, synthetic biology, IoT, nanotechnology and more.
alex_ellermann's review against another edition
2.0
The problem with ‘Future Crimes’ is that anyone interested in reading it already knows everything it has to say.
The book pulls together a bunch of tales of high-tech crime to warn the reader, “Nothing is secure and everything is dangerous.” Problem is, any reader who who already skims Wired Magazine or the Science and Technology section in the paper already knows this stuff. This leads to me to wonder for whom this book was actually written.
Even you, yes you, the kind of person who reads a review of a book about books like these, already knows this stuff. You can safely move along to the next title.
The book pulls together a bunch of tales of high-tech crime to warn the reader, “Nothing is secure and everything is dangerous.” Problem is, any reader who who already skims Wired Magazine or the Science and Technology section in the paper already knows this stuff. This leads to me to wonder for whom this book was actually written.
Even you, yes you, the kind of person who reads a review of a book about books like these, already knows this stuff. You can safely move along to the next title.
rickycatto's review against another edition
4.0
At first I thought about this amazing quote I heard at a conference: "don't ever raise fear if you don't have somewhere to channel it". It seemed like a long doomsayer rant. The points he raises are somewhat based in speculation but he seems to have a very rich wealth of understanding of the history.
By the end of the book though, he gives an attainable and thorough call to action.
This book is terrifying and though provoking. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone sensitive - there are truly awful people on this earth and all the amazing tech we make to help good people can be used for evil. If, however, you have a strong stomach and can deal with a lot of tech talk then this might inspire you to help us all prepare for the future.
By the end of the book though, he gives an attainable and thorough call to action.
This book is terrifying and though provoking. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone sensitive - there are truly awful people on this earth and all the amazing tech we make to help good people can be used for evil. If, however, you have a strong stomach and can deal with a lot of tech talk then this might inspire you to help us all prepare for the future.