Intercept: The Secret History of Computers and Spies

Description

The computer was born to spy, and now computers are transforming espionage. But who are the spies and who is being spied on in today's interconnected world? This is the exhilarating secret history of the melding of technology and espionage. Gordon Corera's compelling narrative, rich with historical details and characters, takes us from the Second World War to the internet age, revealing the astonishing extent of cyberespionage carried out today. Drawing on unique access to intelligence agencies, heads of state, hackers and spies of all stripes, INTERCEPT is a ground-breaking exploration of the new space in which the worlds of espionage, geopolitics, diplomacy, international business, science and technology collide. Together, computers and spies are shaping the future. What was once the preserve of a few intelligence agencies now matters for us all.

Gordon Corera is Security Correspondent for BBC News. He has presented major documentaries for the BBC on GCHQ, NSA and cybersecurity including CRYPTO WARS and UNDER ATTACK - ESPIONAGE, SABOTAGE, SUBVERSION AND WARFARE IN THE CYBER AGE for Radio 4. He is the author of the THE ART OF BETRAYAL: LIFE AND DEATH IN THE BRITISH SECRET SERVICE (MI6 in paperback) and SHOPPING FOR BOMBS: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE AQ KHAN NETWORK. In 2014 he was named Information Security Journalist of the Year at the BT INFORMATION SECURITY AND JOURNALISM AWARDS. @gordoncorera

Riveting ... Making use of excellent sources, Corera, the BBC's security correspondent, has produced a highly relevant read that addresses the key debate in intelligence gathering - the balance between privacy and security - THE SUNDAY TIMES A clear and comprehensive guide to how communications have been intercepted, from cable-cutting in the First World War to bulk data collection exposed by Ed Snowden ... A most readable account of how computers and the internet have transformed spying - GUARDIAN Gordon Corera, best known as the security correspondent for BBC News, somehow finds time to write authoritative, well-researched and readable books on intelligence. Here he explores the evolution of computers from what used to be called signals intelligence to their transforming role in today's intelligence world. The result is an informative, balanced and revealing survey of the field in which, I suspect, most experts will find something new - SPECTATOR Never mind all those cold-war thrillers set in 1970s Berlin. The true golden age of spying and surveillance - whether carried out by states or, increasingly, by companies - is now - ECONOMIST