Hacked: The Inside Story of America's Struggle to Secure Cyberspace

by Charlie Mitchell

Overview

The spectacular cyber attack on Sony Pictures and costly hacks of Target, Home Depot, Neiman Marcus, and databases containing sensitive data on millions of U.S. federal workers have shocked the nation. Despite a new urgency for the president, Congress, law enforcement, and corporate America to address the growing threat, the hacks keep coming—each one more pernicious than the last—from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, the Middle East, and points unknown. The continuing attacks raise a deeply disturbing question: Is the issue simply beyond the reach of our government, political leaders, business leaders, and technology visionaries to resolve? In Hacked, veteran cybersecurity journalist Charlie Mitchell reveals the innovative, occasionally brilliant, and too-often hapless government and industry responses to growing cybersecurity threats. He examines the internal power struggles in the federal government, the paralysis on Capitol Hill, and the industry's desperate effort to stay ahead of both the bad guys and the government.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442255227
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/20/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	944 KB

About the Author

Charlie Mitchell, former editor-in-chief of Capitol Hill’s Roll Call, is the editor and cofounder of Inside Cybersecurity, an independent, premium news service that goes inside Congress, the White House, corporate boardrooms, and security command centers to explain cyber policymaking to a professional audience. He resides in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Foreward
1. “Carry Out Our Demand If You Want to Escape Us”
2. The First Cyber President
3. Sirens on Capitol Hill
4. To Build a Framework
5. The Department of Insecurity
6. The Telecom Challenge
7. The FTC, “Protecting America’s Consumers”
8. Fear and Failure, Again, on Capitol Hill
9. The Information-Sharing Matrix
10. A New Congress Brings a New Energy to Cyber Debate 1
11. The Promise and Peril of “Strong Encryption”
12. Cyber Tensions Define the U.S.-China Relationship
13. Help Wanted, Desperately, for Cybersecurity
14. Senate Debate Takes Shape, Then—Surprise!—Stalls
15. At Long Last, the Political System Arrives at an Answer
16. The Unfinished Journey
Author’s Note
Bibliographical Essay
Index
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

07/25/2016
In 2014, a Federal Trade Commission report on consumer complaints put identity theft at the top of the list for the 15th consecutive year; as this book points out, U.S. lawmakers have taken almost that long to develop and implement a comprehensive policy to protect government, commerce, and citizens from digital crime. In this exhaustive overview, Mitchell, editor and cofounder of Inside Cybersecurity, an online news source dedicated to Internet policy in Congress, compares the online security discussions in Congress of the past decade to the evolution of environmental policy in the early 1970s. He traces the evolution of U.S. Internet security policy beginning with President George W. Bush, who established the first National Cybersecurity Initiative by signing two policy directives in early 2008, with most of the book focusing on the Obama Administration. The book draws largely from the author's daily reporting for Inside Cybersecurity; Mitchell livens the writing up with pop culture references to William Faulkner and the political satire film The Interview, but it's best suited for serious policy wonks seeking to understand the complexities of digital security policymaking in Washington. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Every one of 16 critical infrastructures in the U.S. economy is susceptible to cyberattacks: agriculture, transportation, the power grid, even the pacemakers already implanted in patient's chests. And still, according to Washington, D.C., cybersecurity journalist Charlie Mitchell, 'The effort to secure cyberspace, by government and industry, remains in the embryonic stages.' The military, technology experts, business and government agree that the threats are clear, new attacks are discovered all the time and the tools for building defenses are at hand—why hasn't the federal government done more? In Hacked, his first book, Mitchell explains the conflicting interests and political struggles in the messy business of creating and implementing effective cybersecurity policy.

Most of the structures that need to be protected in the U.S. are privately owned. This sets up a tension between national security interests and concerns for personal freedoms, business operations and privacy. In 2008, as the Obama administration began to address the question of cybersecurity, many officials began to realize that 'it was a mistake to view cybersecurity as a technical issue. It was about people, process and commitment.'

Mitchell dives deep into the negotiations, innovations and failed initiatives of both government and industry. His descriptions of the most tortured legislative battles are straightforward and comprehensible. This is an accessible insiders' guide to a difficult subject that will interest anyone concerned about national cybersecurity.

Shelf Awareness

The next Great War may not be televised but digitized. Sadly, what makes the issue of cybersecurity reform and implementation even more frustrating is that it is one of those rare issues where there is bipartisan agreement on the problem, just no clear solution. Hacked provides the most thorough explanation to date as to why we are still here without a plan. Mitchell, thanks to years of experience, has a no B.S. prism with which he reports and writes about Washington and it makes Hacked an important and accessible read on this vexing semi-invisible problem.

Chuck Todd

Hacked is an absolute must read written by one of the most talented journalists in the nation's capital. Charlie Mitchell provides a riveting, behind-the-scenes account of how Washington policymakers are trying to address the cybersecurity threat and what it means to everyday Americans. Hacked describes the choices policy makers face, and the grave dangers that lurk if solutions aren't found.

Bob Cusack

Mitchell comprehensively reviews the complex history of U.S. cybersecurity program and policy development. This well-written account is a must-read for anyone who wants to be successful in building a strong cybersecurity framework at the national level. Understanding the lessons to be learned from reading the debates that Mitchell documents can accelerate progress and reduce the learning curve.

Bruce W. McConnell

Hacked is an absolute must read written by one of the most talented journalists in the nation's capital. Charlie Mitchell provides a riveting, behind-the-scenes account of how Washington policymakers are trying to address the cybersecurity threat and what it means to everyday Americans. Hacked describes the choices policymakers face, and the grave dangers that lurk if solutions aren't found.”—Robert Cusack, Editor-in-Chief, The Hill

"Mitchell comprehensively reviews the complex history of U.S. cybersecurity program and policy development. This well-written account is a must-read for anyone who wants to be successful in building a strong cybersecurity framework at the national level. Understanding the lessons to be learned from reading the debates that Mitchell documents can accelerate progress and reduce the learning curve."—Bruce McConnell, Global Vice President, EastWest Institute and former deputy under secretary for cybersecurity, Department of Homeland Security.

"The next Great War may not be televised but digitized. Sadly, what makes the issue of cyber security reform and implementation even more frustrating is that it is one of those rare issues where there is bipartisan agreement on the problem, just no clear solution. Hacked provides the most thorough explanation to date as to why we are still here without a plan. Mitchell, thanks to years of experience, has a no B.S. prism with which he reports and writes about Washington and it makes Hacked an important and accessible read on this vexing semi invisible problem." — Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director and moderator of "Meet the Press"

From the Publisher