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eliel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Exciting and informative. However, sometimes the story felt a bit repetitive a phone on the breached list is investigated - the spyware is confirmed - owner of the phone is grumpy and sometimes the red thread was lost when the authors got sidetracked into unnecessary details of personal histories. Other than that I have no complaints, it's a great and well-written book about the scary surveillance technologies and oppressive governments.
keetabi_keeda's review
Thank you @panmacmillanindia for providing a media copy of the book
I am excited to share my thoughts on Pegasus: The Story of the World's Most Dangerous Spyware by Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaurd.
Pegasus is a fascinating book that takes readers on a thrilling journey through the murky world of cyber-surveillance. The authors, Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaurd, provide a detailed account of how Pegasus was uncovered by an international consortium of journalists, after they received a leaked list of 50,000 mobile phone numbers.
The book is well-researched and informative, with a fast-paced narrative that keeps readers engaged. The authors offer a comprehensive overview of Pegasus, its capabilities, and its potential for abuse by governments and corporations. They also highlight the urgent need for stronger privacy laws and protections for individual rights.
The authors describe the dangerous and secretive investigation that followed, as the journalists worked tirelessly to prove NSO's involvement in the scandal. The book is well-written and engaging, with a fast-paced narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.
While the authors' collaboration with an international consortium of journalists is commendable, it is unfortunate that they chose to collaborate with The Wire in India, which has been criticized for lacking credibility, especially after the whole Meta scandal that ‘unwired’ late last year. However, this does not detract from the overall quality of the book, which provides a compelling account of the far-reaching implications of state-sponsored surveillance and the urgent need to protect individual privacy and human rights. The most frightening aspect of Pegasus is its ability to infect mobile phones or other devices without the knowledge of their owners, leaving them completely unaware that they are under surveillance. This powerful spyware has reportedly been used to monitor countless innocent individuals, including diplomats, heads of state, and journalists, among others. The scope of its use is truly terrifying.
Thanks to a data leak, the existence of Pegasus was exposed, and the subsequent investigation and public disclosure of its capabilities left me thoroughly disturbed.
Despite its engaging subject matter, some readers, including devoted journalists and tech enthusiasts, may struggle with the extensive and complex geopolitical subplots that dominate parts of Pegasus. At times, the level of detail can be overwhelming and could be described as "in the weeds," particularly in the book's first half. In fact, the intricacy of the narrative was almost enough to make me abandon it altogether. The authors personal experience at the time of the Charlie Hebdo shootings, although not much relevant to the context, was deeply moving to read about.
Overall, Pegasus is a must-read for anyone interested in cybersecurity, privacy, and human rights. It is a sobering reminder of the power and potential abuses of technology, and a call to action for governments, corporations, and individuals to work together to ensure that these abuses do not continue unchecked.
Do purchase the book from this link if you wish to support us. We get a small commission at no added cost to you: https://amzn.to/40kuijn
I am excited to share my thoughts on Pegasus: The Story of the World's Most Dangerous Spyware by Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaurd.
Pegasus is a fascinating book that takes readers on a thrilling journey through the murky world of cyber-surveillance. The authors, Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaurd, provide a detailed account of how Pegasus was uncovered by an international consortium of journalists, after they received a leaked list of 50,000 mobile phone numbers.
The book is well-researched and informative, with a fast-paced narrative that keeps readers engaged. The authors offer a comprehensive overview of Pegasus, its capabilities, and its potential for abuse by governments and corporations. They also highlight the urgent need for stronger privacy laws and protections for individual rights.
The authors describe the dangerous and secretive investigation that followed, as the journalists worked tirelessly to prove NSO's involvement in the scandal. The book is well-written and engaging, with a fast-paced narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.
While the authors' collaboration with an international consortium of journalists is commendable, it is unfortunate that they chose to collaborate with The Wire in India, which has been criticized for lacking credibility, especially after the whole Meta scandal that ‘unwired’ late last year. However, this does not detract from the overall quality of the book, which provides a compelling account of the far-reaching implications of state-sponsored surveillance and the urgent need to protect individual privacy and human rights. The most frightening aspect of Pegasus is its ability to infect mobile phones or other devices without the knowledge of their owners, leaving them completely unaware that they are under surveillance. This powerful spyware has reportedly been used to monitor countless innocent individuals, including diplomats, heads of state, and journalists, among others. The scope of its use is truly terrifying.
Thanks to a data leak, the existence of Pegasus was exposed, and the subsequent investigation and public disclosure of its capabilities left me thoroughly disturbed.
Despite its engaging subject matter, some readers, including devoted journalists and tech enthusiasts, may struggle with the extensive and complex geopolitical subplots that dominate parts of Pegasus. At times, the level of detail can be overwhelming and could be described as "in the weeds," particularly in the book's first half. In fact, the intricacy of the narrative was almost enough to make me abandon it altogether. The authors personal experience at the time of the Charlie Hebdo shootings, although not much relevant to the context, was deeply moving to read about.
Overall, Pegasus is a must-read for anyone interested in cybersecurity, privacy, and human rights. It is a sobering reminder of the power and potential abuses of technology, and a call to action for governments, corporations, and individuals to work together to ensure that these abuses do not continue unchecked.
Do purchase the book from this link if you wish to support us. We get a small commission at no added cost to you: https://amzn.to/40kuijn
lizandra's review against another edition
5.0
I actually listened to the audiobook, but GoodReads doesn't have it listed.
rainbowbookworm's review
5.0
Fascinating not just in terms of cyber-security, but in terms of the journalistic endeavor.
rereinis's review
2.0
Unfocused and self-centered
A title of a book should at least be an indicator of what it is about and its main focus. However, here, it seems the authors were more interested in their experiences and the path of exposing the "scoop" than what the title suggests the topic would be. The book mainly talks about the journalistic process and the behind the scenes characters of getting an article out. Mired in descriptions of rather mundane meetings without a clear goal and backstories of people that are seemingly in the book just to pad the page count. Even this is a bit unfocused and it is hard to understand what kind of a story the book is trying to tell. Descriptions of people talking about how one of them has sent an e-mail and the other one not receiving it only to receive it 5 minutes later without an issue (who was this even for!?) do not help either. This book could have used a critical eye of an editor.
The worst thing though is that what gets left out is actually Pegasus itself. While there are some descriptions of the company behind Pegasus and its odious man in charge, the technology itself is barely explained and its workings seemingly incomprehensible to the authors. They do not seem to be particularly tech-savvy and as such, maybe they were not the right people to write a book with this title. The book is about journalism and as such it is fine, but at the end of the day it is not about Pegasus. And this was very disappointing.
A title of a book should at least be an indicator of what it is about and its main focus. However, here, it seems the authors were more interested in their experiences and the path of exposing the "scoop" than what the title suggests the topic would be. The book mainly talks about the journalistic process and the behind the scenes characters of getting an article out. Mired in descriptions of rather mundane meetings without a clear goal and backstories of people that are seemingly in the book just to pad the page count. Even this is a bit unfocused and it is hard to understand what kind of a story the book is trying to tell. Descriptions of people talking about how one of them has sent an e-mail and the other one not receiving it only to receive it 5 minutes later without an issue (who was this even for!?) do not help either. This book could have used a critical eye of an editor.
The worst thing though is that what gets left out is actually Pegasus itself. While there are some descriptions of the company behind Pegasus and its odious man in charge, the technology itself is barely explained and its workings seemingly incomprehensible to the authors. They do not seem to be particularly tech-savvy and as such, maybe they were not the right people to write a book with this title. The book is about journalism and as such it is fine, but at the end of the day it is not about Pegasus. And this was very disappointing.
savoirplus's review
Not about what I thought it would be.
More about the behind the scenes of reporting, rather than more of the official "story".
More about the behind the scenes of reporting, rather than more of the official "story".
frantear's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
3.5