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The Cyber Defense Review

 
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Book Review: Dawn of the Code War

By Philip C. Shackelford | November 14, 2019

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With this final sentence in the Epilogue, John Carlin, former Assistant Attorney General for National Security, summarizes the central thrust of his book— telling the story of how “criminals, terrorists, and spies made themselves at home on a global network that was never designed with safety and security in mind” and detailing the ways in which the United States government, prosecutors, the FBI, and our allies around the world have spent twenty-five years “playing catch-up.” Dawn of the Code War is part memoir, as Carlin himself was intimately involved with many of the struggles he describes; part history that chronicles high points in the development of cyber threats since the beginning of the Internet; and part warning as Carline reminds us that we have “built our modern society on top of fragile technology, with far too little thought as to the creativity of our adversaries.” Carlin does not rest his argument solely on the con­text of his direct involvement in the “Code War,” but supports his narrative with a robust combination of public media sources and government and corporate documents and press releases. Carlin covers technical details in a manner that allows the reader to have a broad understanding of developments without bogging the text down in unnecessary minutiae. This result is a novice-friendly approach that promotes the “big picture” perspective Carlin seems to favor. Carlin succeeds in “demystifying” the realm of cyber war, raising aware­ness of the threat landscape, and highlighting thought-provoking questions about our dependence on the Internet and approach to cyber threats.

 

Read the Book Review: Dawn of the Code War: America’s Battle Against Russia, China, and the Rising Global Cyber Threat

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