Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber-Terrorism [Hardcover]

Dan Verton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0072227877 | ISBN-13: 978-0072227871 | Edition: 1

The first book to define the clear and present danger posed by a cyber-terrorist attack on the U.S. computer- and network-dependent infrastructure. The pages are packed with interviews from members of terrorist groups, including al-Qaida, as well as key insiders involved in planning and executing the U.S. plan for the defense of cyberspace, including Tom Ridge, James Gilmore, CIA and NSA officials--and even al-Qaeda supporters. Internet security expert Dan Verton investigates how cyber-terrorism could occur, what the global and financial implications are, the impact this is having and will continue to have on privacy and civil liberties, and how to prepare and prevent against cyber-terrorism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The examples Verton unearths are certainly spooky... Genuine cyberterrorism will be as physical as a punch to the gut. -- The Washington Post, August 10, 2003

From the Back Cover

The new face of terrorism--cyber-terrorism--is all too clear. Gone are the days when the only victims are those who are unfortunate enough to be standing within striking distance of the blast. Today's terrorists have learned that America's national security depends upon its computer- and network-dependent infrastructure. A strategic attack on those systems would undoubtedly have devastating consequences for the nation and the economy.

Written by former U.S. intelligence officer Dan Verton, Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber-Terrorism investigates how cyber-terrorism could occur, what the global and financial implications are, the impact this has on privacy and civil liberties, and how to prepare for and prevent cyber attacks. The book is packed with revealing interviews and commentary from leading government authorities on national security, including Tom Ridge, James Gilmore, Richard Clarke, CIA and NSA intelligence officials--and even supporters of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

This compelling work will add much to the national debate on homeland security issues. Verton argues forcefully and convincingly that real-time intelligence sharing is the key to ensuring that the high-tech future of terrorism does not become like black ice stretched across the information superhighway­­alerting us to its presence only after we are spinning out of control.

"Reveals a real threat to Homeland Security that the Feds are not fixing." --Richard A. Clarke, Former Special Advisor to the President for Cyber Security, and the Former National Coordinator for Security & Counterterrorism

"Dan Verton has 'connected the dots' like no one else can. He has written this book in such a way that it is relevant to the masses as well as the security experts. [This is] a 'must-read' as it contains a clear message: there is much to be done on the cyber security front to protect us from 'weapons of mass disruptions.'" --Howard A. Schmidt, Former Chair, President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, and Cyber Security Advisor for the White House

"In Black Ice, Dan Verton has done a masterful job in explaining why cyber security is important for every American." --Roger Cressey, Former Chief of Staff to the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, and former Director for Transnational Threats at the National Security Council

"I've spent the better part of 30 years involved in computer security, cyber-incident investigation, and computer forensics. As I read the material that Dan Verton has compiled here, I'm frightened. And you should be too." --Alan E. Brill, Senior Managing Director of Kroll Worldwide's Technology Services Group, and the former Director of the Information Systems and Information Security Bureau of the New York Department of Investigation

"[This book is] one of near incomparable importance in an uncertain post-September 11th world. Black Ice may be the most important book we read in a long while, because it brings to the immediate attention of the leaders of government and commerce a sense of electric urgency and of the consequences of inaction." --MacDonnell Ulsch, Managing Director of Janus Risk Management, Inc., and a former Trusted Advisor to the United States Secrecy Commission

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (August 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072227877
• ISBN-13: 978-0072227871
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #858,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Black Ice falls into a black hole November 29, 2003

By william j richards

Format:Hardcover

Verton's book is full of hyperbole, repetition, unsupported statements, and contradictions. It is poorly written, poorly organized, and poorly edited. His "research" consists mostly of quoting his own magazine articles (29 times) and the magazine he writes for (16 times). By comparison, he quotes from only three books. Example of hyperbole: In commmenting on a admittedly fictional scenario called Dark Winter, the author claims that, "entire communities and cities could be rendered as helpless as those affected by the Black Death of the 14th century, a bubonic plague that killed one third of Europe's population." Yet, he fails to support that claim with any evidence or even a reference to the report on the exercise.

He repeats the same story about an al Qaeda interview with an Italian journalist in his introduction and again at p. 98. He writes nearly the same sentence about radical terrorists living in the U.S. once in the main text on p. 5 and again in a footnote on the same page. He tells a story about the Ptech company at p. 111 and again at p. 223-25, and uses nearly the identical paragraph in each. Where is the editing to catch these duplications?

Worse yet, his uses the Ptech story to draw two contradictory conclusions. In the first telling, he says that Ptech is an example of al Qaeda using American companies as fronts for terrorist financing. He claims that "evidence was uncovered" to show this connection. Yet, two pages later, he asserts that the FBI has been "unsuccessful in finding any evidence linking Ptech to terrorism financing." Then in the second telling of the Ptech story, he uses it as an example of how the War on Terrorism has turned into a "virtual witch-hunt," using a "scorched-earth strategy" [more hyperbole] that has "left many innocent casualties in its wake." The reader is left confused whether Ptech serves as an example of al Qaeda using American companies as fronts for terrorist financing, or an example of the War on Terrorism spoiling the reputation of innocent American enterprises.

Even his definition of cyber-terrorism is contradicted by his own material. He defines cyber-terrorism as either the use of cyber-tools to destroy critical infrastructure, or traditional terrorism that has a destructive effect on electronic and Internet infrastructure. See Introduction at xx. But in his appendix, he quotes the FBI definition of cyber-terrorism, which is narrower--the use of cyber-tools to shut down or destroy critical national infrastructures.

From his overly broad definition of cyber-terrorism, the author strays into three fictional scenarios of terrorism that seem to be the centerpiece of his book. They are supposed to scare us into thinking that cyber-terrorism can really happen. But if they are fictional, how can they alarm us? And, even as fiction, none of them even fits the FBI's definition of cyber-terrorism. The first, Black Ice, starts with a ice storm, not a cyber-attack. The second, Blue Cascades, was described vaguely as "a cyber system failure ... caused by a prolonged power outage." The third, Dark Winter, was a smallpox outbreak.

Many years ago, a famous fast food restaurant ran an ad that said, "where's the beef?" After reading this book, I have to ask, "where's the cyber-attack?"

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun to read and enlightening September 23, 2003

By Dr Anton Chuvakin

Format:Hardcover

Cyberterrorism, does it exist? A weapons-grade hype or a nightmare from the near future, which we are all soon to face? This fascinating book seeks to answer the above question by collecting and evaluating many stories during author's "6 year research" trying to piece the puzzle together.

Undoubtfully, the book is written by a journalist, thus it sometimes feels sensationalistic, "newspaperish" and fluffy. Some things (such as the "doomsday" scenario from chapter 1 and "al-Qaeda certified hackers") are "lighter" than others, but all are well-written and fun to read. At times, it feels that the author seeks to replace proving things by quoting many potentially unreliable sources talking about the thing. Thus "such and such ex-government guy said cyberterrorism is real" subtly mutates into "cyberterrorism is real!" Similarly, if a PC was discovered in some hideout or it becomes known that terrorists surfed the web, suddenly the specter of cyber-terror rises high, although the facts themselves can be interpreted in a less ominous manner.

Another subject covered extensively in the book is whether al-Qaeda is really going in the direction of cyberterror. I find the case built by the author somewhat convincing, but not completely compelling. However, if truck bombs against data storage facilities and IT infrastructure as well as EMP weapons are added to the fray (as suggested in the book), suddenly cyberattacks are not about hacking anymore and the damage potential rises dramatically.

As for the conclusion, one of the main points I realized after reading the book is that everything is modern society is so a) interdependent and b) dependent upon computers that a push applied in a certain place from within the "cyber-world" does stand a chance of wrecking something in a "real world". Thus, while cyberterrorism might remain a myth, possibilities of doing damage to physical infrastructure by purely virtual actions will grow and multiply - a scary thought indeed.

Anton Chuvakin, Ph.D., GCIA, GCIH is a Senior Security Analyst with a major information security company. His areas of infosec expertise include intrusion detection, UNIX security, forensics, honeypots, etc. In his spare time, he maintains his security portal info-secure.org

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific, high-quality investigative journalism May 4, 2004

By Connie Lapenta

Format:Hardcover

Without a doubt a book of monumental importance to the nation during this time of war and increased threat from terrorism. I recommend this book to anybody who is interested in homeland security and how terrorism may be changing and evolving its strategy against the U.S.

Well-written, full of intrigue and first-hand interviews with top security officials from both the Clinton and Bush administrations. Verton had unfettered access to those directly involved in the Sept. 11 response, including Richard Clarke.

You will not find another book on this subject that is this well researched and written. And because Verton is a journalist, he wrote this book so that you don't have to be a computer expert to understand the issues.

Buy this book. You will not be disappointed.