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Dark Market: Cybercriminelen, cyberpolitie en onze veiligheid in een digitale wereld by Misha Glenny
mintlovesbooks's review against another edition
2.0
DarkMarket: Cyberthieves, Cybercops and You follows the story of the now-defunct cybercrime forum DarkMarket.
Based on the description my local library provided, I thought this book would be more like [b:American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road|31920777|American Kingpin The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road|Nick Bilton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578216397l/31920777._SY75_.jpg|52573415] by Nick Bilton - an exploration of the people behind a criminal enterprise and the impacts of the site itself on average people. In other words, I was expecting a book that was more focused on DarkMarket and the case itself, and this book did not meet my expectations.
Glenny writes a fair amount about global cybersecurity practises in this book. I found this to be somewhat tangent to what I thought the focus of the book was: the DarkMarket investigation. For example, an interlude is dedicated to discussing Estonia's cybersecurity practises. I'm still not sure how this is relevant to DarkMarket.
On top of that, Glenny also has a more dry writing style, which made this book even more difficult to read for me.
As to be expected with the subject matter of this book, there is a lot of technical lingo being used. I get the feeling that it's already less technical than similar books and Glenny did a decent job of explaining the concepts. But, the trouble with too much detail is that it can make the book difficult to follow, particularly for the lay reader.
I acknowledge that as a true crime fan who knows nothing about cybersecurity, I'm probably not the right reader for this book. However, if you're more interested and knowledgeable about the technical aspects of cybersecurity, you might want to consider giving this one a read.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
Based on the description my local library provided, I thought this book would be more like [b:American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road|31920777|American Kingpin The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road|Nick Bilton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578216397l/31920777._SY75_.jpg|52573415] by Nick Bilton - an exploration of the people behind a criminal enterprise and the impacts of the site itself on average people. In other words, I was expecting a book that was more focused on DarkMarket and the case itself, and this book did not meet my expectations.
Glenny writes a fair amount about global cybersecurity practises in this book. I found this to be somewhat tangent to what I thought the focus of the book was: the DarkMarket investigation. For example, an interlude is dedicated to discussing Estonia's cybersecurity practises. I'm still not sure how this is relevant to DarkMarket.
On top of that, Glenny also has a more dry writing style, which made this book even more difficult to read for me.
As to be expected with the subject matter of this book, there is a lot of technical lingo being used. I get the feeling that it's already less technical than similar books and Glenny did a decent job of explaining the concepts. But, the trouble with too much detail is that it can make the book difficult to follow, particularly for the lay reader.
I acknowledge that as a true crime fan who knows nothing about cybersecurity, I'm probably not the right reader for this book. However, if you're more interested and knowledgeable about the technical aspects of cybersecurity, you might want to consider giving this one a read.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
zare_i's review against another edition
5.0
In his very reader-friendly manner Misha Glenny ( of McMafia and Brazilian underworld fame to name the few books by the same author) guides us through Internet underworld and introduces creators of sites for enticing and (this is something I found very interesting) support and mediation for various criminal activities.
Along the way we also meet law enforcement agencies who are chasing down criminals but don't cooperate, intelligence agencies utilizing same criminals for their own purposes, police officers blocked by bureaucracy and forced to act on their own [as they say in some cases it is better to ask forgiveness than permission] and security people that get chased down by their own agencies because you cannot trust anyone on the net and rumor can put the person in prison in no time.
Very interesting chapters linked to Turkey were a little bit down-played by the author. Considering entire schizophrenia and complete paranoia that rules the Internet [and especially shady parts of network] it is sometimes very difficult to discern lies and outright fantasies from the actual facts. And then I guess it is better to keep tone down.
Some readers said that writing style was condescending and/or long-winded. I did not have that experience. Everything presented is not given from the expert point of view. Misha Glenny is investigative journalist and it shows [in a good way], he knows a lot about a lot of things but does not use buzz words to let everyone know how smart he is. He lets experts speak through interviews and builds his story from there while making materiel understandable and available to everyone.
Highly recommended to all interested in current politics, crime-fighting and in general how technology changes our lives in not always good ways.
Along the way we also meet law enforcement agencies who are chasing down criminals but don't cooperate, intelligence agencies utilizing same criminals for their own purposes, police officers blocked by bureaucracy and forced to act on their own [as they say in some cases it is better to ask forgiveness than permission] and security people that get chased down by their own agencies because you cannot trust anyone on the net and rumor can put the person in prison in no time.
Very interesting chapters linked to Turkey were a little bit down-played by the author. Considering entire schizophrenia and complete paranoia that rules the Internet [and especially shady parts of network] it is sometimes very difficult to discern lies and outright fantasies from the actual facts. And then I guess it is better to keep tone down.
Some readers said that writing style was condescending and/or long-winded. I did not have that experience. Everything presented is not given from the expert point of view. Misha Glenny is investigative journalist and it shows [in a good way], he knows a lot about a lot of things but does not use buzz words to let everyone know how smart he is. He lets experts speak through interviews and builds his story from there while making materiel understandable and available to everyone.
Highly recommended to all interested in current politics, crime-fighting and in general how technology changes our lives in not always good ways.
bakudreamer's review against another edition
3.0
Lot of things I didn't know about. ( IAACA : International Association for the Advancement of Criminal Activity ... )
jendella's review against another edition
5.0
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. A fascinating story that you couldn't make up in some parts. Thoroughly engaging, action-packed and incredibly well-researched. This a densely woven story of intrigue, featuring a cast of fascinating characters and technological props that I didn't know existed. Misha Glenny has done an amazing job and although I purchased this book out of a mere passing interest, I will most certainly be reading his other one.
minsies's review against another edition
2.0
This book is a mess, and it's only getting the second star because I find the subject matter interesting.
I realise that trying to find a timeline for the book would've been difficult, but this thing jumps all over the damn place (in both time and space) that it's difficult to follow the various threads of the story. There doesn't really seem to be a central character in all of it, which would've helped - even the focus on DarkMarket is muddied by the way Glenny sets it up in the context of other carder sites.
It also doesn't come to any particular conclusion; it is more of a 'here is a thing' book than a 'here is a thing and how it affects you' book (whatever the subtitle on the edition Goodreads picked says). There is very little practical information for the average person.
I realise that trying to find a timeline for the book would've been difficult, but this thing jumps all over the damn place (in both time and space) that it's difficult to follow the various threads of the story. There doesn't really seem to be a central character in all of it, which would've helped - even the focus on DarkMarket is muddied by the way Glenny sets it up in the context of other carder sites.
It also doesn't come to any particular conclusion; it is more of a 'here is a thing' book than a 'here is a thing and how it affects you' book (whatever the subtitle on the edition Goodreads picked says). There is very little practical information for the average person.
svarnyp's review against another edition
3.0
A good history, but sometimes it is quite confusing. A better kept chronology would probably help the clarity, now it looks more as the rambling of an old hacker.
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