Black Code: Surveillance, Privacy, and the Dark Side of the Internet

by Robert J. Deibert

Cyberspace is all around us. We depend on it for everything we do. We have reengineered our business, governance, and social relations around a planetary network unlike any before it. But there are dangers looming, and malign forces are threatening to transform this extraordinary domain.

In Black Code, Ronald J. Deibert, a leading expert on digital technology, security, and human rights, lifts the lid on cyberspace and shows what’s at stake for Internet users and citizens. As cyberspace develops in unprecedented ways, powerful agents are scrambling for control. Predatory cyber criminal gangs such as Koobface have made social media their stalking ground. The discovery of Stuxnet, a computer worm reportedly developed by Israel and the United States and aimed at Iran’s nuclear facilities, showed that state cyberwar is now a very real possibility. Governments and corporations are in collusion and are setting the rules of the road behind closed doors.

This is not the way it was supposed to be. The Internet’s original promise of a global commons of shared knowledge and communications is now under threat.

Drawing on the first-hand experiences of one of the most important protagonists in the battle — the Citizen Lab and its global network of frontline researchers, who have spent more than a decade cracking cyber espionage rings and uncovering attacks on citizens and NGOs worldwide — Black Code takes readers on a fascinating journey into the battle for cyberspace. Thought-provoking, compelling, and sometimes frightening, it is a wakeup call to citizens who have come to take the Internet for granted. Cyberspace is ours, it is what we make of it, Deibert argues, and we need to act now before it slips through our grasp.

Genres: Technology, Nonfiction, Science, Computers, Internet

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2013

Reviews

[Ben]

Digital Battle

This was a superb book on cracking cyber espionage around the world.

It detailed some really fascinating and troubling events and I found it very interesting.

Well researched and well written.

I recommend this book for those in fields at all related to cybersecurity or technology in general.

4.4/5

[Grant]

Although it’s a little dated, I’ve been looking for a book like this that breaks down the general network of online spying, hacking and security.

[Wayne]

When I got this book I thought it would be about how our personal computers, cell phones and even TV's are being hacked and how this threa twould affect the way we use these devices. Instead the book is mostly about how the internet is being used by private companies and governments to spy on one another and us. The book succeeds in making the reader aware of the growing menace to ourselves and how the internet is changing but there were many spots where the book gave us information such as how often Turkey asked Google to remove information from the internet. In short I learned about countries spying on their citizens but the book was tedious.

[Robert Bor]

First off, the author is obviously very knowledgeable and a titan in the field. The situations he describes are impressive and so are the feats of his non-profit organization, Citizen Lab.

What worries me most is the political agenda of the author. Let us just look at one of the issues mentioned in the book – the Arab Spring. Mr Deibert is quite pleased with the role that hacktivists played in supporting the Arab Spring. Somehow, the Arab Spring succeeded in ejecting autocratic rulers from power. But right after that, something nasty happened, with the sole exception of Tunisia (so far); either anarchy ensued, islamists took over or the military regained control. Helping the secular, democratic forces at play in the Arab World is a noble sentiment and it will probably certainly feel good. But will it be worth it if the outcome is the same as the Arab Spring?

I fear that the morality displayed by mr Deibert is most unpractical. Sometimes there are situations where one has to choose between two evils and one does not have the luxury of picking a favorable outcome. Just the least worst. Since the secular, democratic forces in the Arabic World seem to be unable to stay in power, but only serve as the unwilling instruments of Islamic power grabs (as happened before, and will happen again and again), it is unwise to bet on these forces. Until these forces are strong enough, it would be wiser to pursue stability instead.

Same with Stuxnet. The author seems to be negative about the (probably) American / Israeli play to destroy the Natanz centrifuges using a powerful virus. Yes, it is nasty that the virus blueprint is now out there, ready to be used by all actors that wish to do so. However, the Iran regime is also openly dedicated to destroying Israel. Why should we consider it to be a bad thing if they get a setback in their nuclear program? Indeed, it would be applaudable if Iran's ambitions in this direction would be thwarted.

Mr Deibert is openly negative about the military-industrial complex. There is a lot to dislike about it, just like President Eisenhower warned his country for. But to work against this complex at the expense of your own security and lifestyle? Is that a wise thing to do?

There is a lot to like about political hacktivists. Generally, they are well-meaning, nice people. That said, it is unwise to use the heart or the gut to make the right calls. The head is a far better instrument for this purpose.

On the content-side, I would have loved to see more on the technical side of 'Black Code', than the political one. Too many pages have been dedicated to mr Deibert's agenda, instead of historical and engineering accounts.

[Matt]

Whilst some interesting insights into cybercrime and the evolution of the 'Wild West' of the Internet, there is a fundamental prejudgement that pervades the whole book and makes it a difficult read to take seriously in all aspects. A 'good West, evil East' narrative permeates the entire book, in extremely explicit ways, even when discussing the role nations including the US and the UK have played in the development of cyber warfare. The portrayal of the global South as full of authoritarian, criminal regimes, utilising cybercrime to achieve their goals and opposed to the golden, simply misguided light of the liberal democratic West, is absolute, and does real harm to the valid points the author tries to make. A perfect example of this is when looking at Internet governance, where attempts to shift it to a more international forum are discussed only as a shift towards more pervasive online censorship, without even a mention of the incredible and outsized influence the USA alone currently holds over said governance. What should be an interesting book about how the Internet has changed over the last several decades and one full of the insights its author has gathered over the years instead comes off too often as geopolitical propaganda.

[Knarik]

Introductory.

[Blithe]

An excellent exploration of the security and privacy landscape as it relates to the individual, the consumer, the business and the state.

[Herr]

Credible author with interesting stories.

[Jon]

Given that this was published in 2013, it should be less than useless by now. It was certainly dated, but pertinent enough to finish.

[min]

I thought it would be interesting to re-read this book, now many years later.

[Kevin]

"In a world characterized by technologically driven change, we necessarily legislate after the fact, perpetually scrambling to catch up." -William Gibson, Pg. 145

Things I learned from this book:

AnonOp - Operations undertaken by Anonymous.
Hisbah - Islamic, Suppression of Vice.
Lèse-majesté - The crime of insulting royalty.

[N.b. This took a long time to read, misplaced the book after moving.]

[Barry]

Largely insightful and very well informed, but with a slightly annoying style (a hundred times he must have said 'South and East', where South implies all of sub-Saharan Africa, both sides of the equator, and doesn't seem to include Australia and New Zealand; he has a very odd meaning of 'download'; and he's such a fan of Gibson's term cyberspace apparently without having read Neuromancer).

[Steve Callahan]

Full of facts and figures proving how everything we do on the internet can be and is viewed by governments, not always our own, corporations and thieves. Nothing we didn't already know, just the proof to back up what we always knew.

[Brian]

Excellent book providing useful discussion points about security and privacy of the Internet as well as the role of government and IT companies with the way forward for the Internet

[Luke Anderson]

Excellent read, a fantastic insight to what is wrong with the internet & surveillance. Not technical at all.

[Othello]

Pre-Snowden depiction of the global surveillance industry complex. Alarming, sometimes astonishing read.

[Sha Li]

Your worst fears

All your worst fears substantiated and exposed-- Sovereign nations do it and criminals do it. Everyone is in a race to dominate the net below the net.

[Katharine]

Accessible even to people without a background in comp sci or related areas. It'll make you want to change some of your online habits!

[Sam]

Really interesting, but lapses of basic terminology were a disappointment that mildly damaged the credibility of the book. A technically solid proof reader should have been involved.

[Kim Leandersson]

Overall an ok book on the topic, but it lacked details so it became to much overviews, high level descriptions etc. Maybe good as an introduction for someone, but not sure about that either.

[Jasper Burns]

View my best reviews and a collection of mental models at jasperburns.blog.

[Jeff]

Some chapters were really thought provoking and others I had no interest in and wanted to skip.

[Lee Candilin]

Tim May had once spoken of the "clueless 95". In this book, it reads like the "helpless 95", the 95% (or more) of the net population who are directly or indirectly being monitored. The "helpless 95" who are also clueless about the inner workings of cyber crime and the political fight to rule the cyberworld. A very insightful and good read. To write a better review, I am going to read this book all over again!