From the writer and narrator of the BBC podcast The Lazarus Heist
'Brilliantly researched and written.' Jon Snow, Channel 4 News
'A comprehensive and intelligible account of the elusive world of hacking and cybercrime over the last two decades . . . Lively, insightful and, often, alarming.' Ewen MacAskill, Guardian
On 4 May 2000, an email that read 'kindly check the attached LOVELETTER' was sent from the Philippines. Attached was a virus, the Love Bug, and within days it had paralysed banks, broadcasters and businesses across the globe. The outbreak presaged a new era of online mayhem: the age of Crime Dot Com had begun.
Investigative journalist Geoff White charts the astonishing development of hacking, from its conception in America's hippy tech community in the 1970s, through its childhood among the ruins of the Eastern Bloc, to its coming of age as the most pervasive threat to our digital world. He takes us inside the workings of real-life cybercrimes, drawing on interviews with those behind the most devastating hacks and revealing how the tactics employed by high-tech crooks are being harnessed by nation states to target voters, cripple power networks and prepare, even, for cyber-war.
From Anonymous to the Dark Web, Ashley Madison to election rigging, Crime Dot Com is a thrilling, dizzying and terrifying account of hacking, past and present, and of what the future has in store and how we might protect ourselves from it.
'Geoff White is one of the most authoritative reporters on cybercrime, and Crime Dot Com is an informative, accessible and entertaining tour of the cyber underworld.' Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC News
'White offers a well-written, expertly researched examination of the topic. Relying on published reports and in-depth interviews, the author looks at three different facets: cybercrime gangs, "hacktivist" movements, and ways in which nation states use cybercrimes . . . This is a fascinating, often gripping read.' Library Journal
'Geoff White writes with insight and flair about a subject that concerns everyone or should do. Criminals, hooligans, hostile state actors and terrorists attack our computers and networks every minute of the day . . . Crime Dot Com joins the dots, painting a well-informed, easy-to-understand picture.' Edward Lucas, author of Deception: Spies, Lies and How Russia Dupes the West
Geoff White is an investigative journalist who has covered technology for numerous outlets, including the BBC and Channel 4 News. He is the author and narrator of the BBC podcast The Lazarus Heist
