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Joseph Menn

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Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords Who Are Bringing Down the Internet Kindle Edition

by Joseph Menn (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 157 ratings

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In 2004, a California computer whiz named Barrett Lyon uncovered the identity of a hacker running major assaults on business websites. Without fully grasping the repercussions, he set on an investigation that led him into the heart of the Russian mob. Cybercrime was evolving. No longer the domain of small-time thieves, it had been discovered by sophisticated gangs. They began by attacking corporate websites but increasingly stole financial data from consumers and defense secrets from governments.

While Barrett investigated the cutting edge of technology crime, the U.S. government struggled to catch up. Britain, however, was a different story. In the late 1990s, the Queen herself had declared safe e-commerce a national security priority. Agents from the London-based National Hi-Tech Crime Unit sought out Barrett and enlisted his help. They also sent detective Andrew Crocker, a Welsh former boxer, to Russia to track down and prosecute the hackers -- and to find out who they worked for.

Fatal System Error penetrates both the Russian cyber-mob and the American mafia as the two fight over the Internet's massive spoils. It takes readers into the murky hacker underground, traveling the globe from San Francisco to Costa Rica, London, and Russia. Using unprecedented access to mob businesses and Russian officials, it shows how top criminals earned protection from the Russian government -- and how Barrett Lyon and Andrew Crocker got closer to the titans of the underground economy than any previous outsider. Together, their stories explain why cybercrime is much worse than you thought -- and why the Internet might not survive.

Editorial Reviews

Review

BBC Focus Magazine
“The issues raised are hugely important, and failure to deal with criminals behind so much online crime will be an embarrassment to governments worldwide.”

Business Week
“In profiling two eclectic cyber-crime fighters, Menn has crafted a fascinating high-tech whodunit that educates even as it entertains.”

The Guardian
“Menn spins racy tales of true-life cybercrime...The villains glory in handles such as ‘Bra1n’, and the heroes are portrayed respectively as Matthew Broderick from Wargames and Daniel Craig's Bond, but the narrative glitter is sprinkled on top of serious and thorough reporting. Menn concludes: ‘A number of enormously powerful national governments, especially those of Russia and China, have picked the blossoming of the internet age as the time to ally with organised crime.’”

Richard Stiennon, founder of T-Harvest and former VP of Threat Research at Webroot Software
“Not since Cliff Stoll’s The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage has there been a book that delves as deeply into the workings of criminal hackers. This book will be widely read by law enforcement, policy makers, and IT security professionals. Like Stoll’s book I predict it will inspire a generation of technologists to join the battle against cyber criminals."

Register“An informative and entertaining look at the roots of the burgeoning cybercrime economy and its links to government, featuring a rogue's gallery of international wrong 'uns…. It's one of the best descriptions of the formation of the underground economy I've read. It deserves to be read by those in the IT security industry, policy formation and with any interest in a hype-free expose of the true face of cybercrime.”

The Guardian“Menn's book is riveting, as much for the terrifying detail it includes – both about gambling sites and the extent of botnet infection and the feckless lack of high-level international cooperation – especially by George Bush's administration – that allowed their architects to enrich themselves.”

Slashdot

Richard A. Clarke, Counter-terror chief under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and author of Against All Enemies: Inside America 's War on Terror
“Fatal System Error accurately reveals the secretive global cyber cartels and their hidden multi-billion dollar business, proving cybercrime does pay and pays well."

Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; Co-Founder, Berkman Center for Internet & Society and author of The Future of the Internet—And How to Stop It
“Joseph Menn immerses us in the personalities and politics behind today's cybersecurity threats and countermeasures. This balanced, compelling account shows why the future of the Internet depends more on people of good will than on some technological magic bullet."

Vicky Raab, The New Yorker
“[Fatal System Error] kept me riveted to the couch all weekend”

Quentin Hardy, Forbes
“[A] well-reported book on some of the biggest (known) cybercrimes in the past decade… Menn's book could hardly be more timely.”

Network World
“As eye-popping as the book's portrayal of bookies and wise-guy swagger is… the second half of the book is even more mind-blowing.”

"Fatal System Error is an enjoyable read on par [with] books such as The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage and Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick."

Processor“Menn’s deconstruction of an especially sophisticated set of attacks, the victim’s countermeasures, and eventual criminal investigation of the web of attackers is a valuable wake-up call for IT pros that should serve to catalyze redoubled efforts to improve cybersecurity.”

Slashdot
Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords Who are Bringing Down the Internet is the wake-up call that those in Washington, and those charged with IT need to wake up to. Unfortunately, it is likely those that truly need to read this book, will press the information security snooze button yet again.

Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2010
“[E]ven an unbiased observer would say that Fatal System Error is a compelling read, despite the fact that it’s nonfiction (or maybe because it’s nonfiction). It’s also a very frightening book.”

About the Author

Joseph Menn covers cyber-security and other technology issues for the Financial Times, after a decade on the same beat for the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of 2003's All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning's Napster and a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award, the top prize in business reporting.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00440D82E
Publisher ‏ : ‎ PublicAffairs (October 26, 2010)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 26, 2010
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 880 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 306 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1586487485

Best Sellers Rank: #1,206,314 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #181 in Viruses & Malware
- #361 in Online Safety & Piracy
- #418 in Computer Viruses

Customer Reviews:
4.2 157 ratings

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Joseph Menn

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An investigative reporter for Reuters, Joseph Menn is the longest serving and most respected mainstream journalist on cyber security. He has won three Best in Business awards from the Society of American Business Editors & Writers and been a finalist for three Gerald Loeb Awards. His Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords who are Bringing Down the Internet exposed the Russian government’s collaboration with organized criminal hackers and was named one of the 10 best nonfiction books of 2010 by Hudson Booksellers. He also wrote the definitive All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning’s Napster, an Investigative Reports & Editors Inc. finalist for book of the year. He previously worked for The Financial Times, Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg and has spoken at conferences including Def Con, Black Hat and RSA. He grew up near Boston and lives in San Francisco.

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4.2 out of 5

157 global ratings

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Thomas J. Quinlan

More People Need To Know Stories Like These

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2010

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When Mikko Hyponnen (of F-Secure fame) posted about this book on Twitter, I immediately pre-ordered the book. I got it two days later. (I was only one-day advanced on the pre-order, it seems.) I wasn't quite sure what to expect exactly, only I knew it had to do with cyber-security, so I was intrigued.

What I got was a fascinating book with two main stories told from the perspectives of the good guys. The first was a story of how a young dyslexic man struggled against the odds to become one of the best people around at defeating Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDOS) attacks. His story, which spans at least two continents and his unwitting participation with some of the internet's shadier characters, is a fascinating one. That story comprises part one of the book, and ties into part two quite neatly. Part two is the story of a British detective and his exploits in foreign countries (particularly Russia) in his efforts to find and eventually catch several of the same cyber-criminals from part one. While it has the tempo of a fictional "cyber-thriller", this book is non-fiction and is based on the very thorough work of Joseph Menn, a reporter for the Financial Times (previously of the LA Times). The overall theme is that of the war that is taking place using the world's computers and networks as a battleground. Despite the chronicled successes outlined in these two stories, it's a war that's very quickly being lost.

I've been working in the cyber-security industry for a while now, so I'm not entirely unfamiliar with some of the more sinister aspects of what happens on the internet. However, I think for the "layman" or someone who doesn't work with technology and/or cyber-security, this book will be a really good look into a world that you don't ordinarily see, replete with real heroes, real villains, and real consequences to real people. Most people will understand some of the consequences from the flood of spam that they're used to getting; for the unlucky few, identity theft will bring the stories even closer to home. Even if you're fortunate enough to have never experienced any of those consequences yourself, you may have recently heard of the attacks on Google and several other companies. The war taking place in cyberspace is all too real, and while I would hope that most people never have to be involved, the opposite is likely the case. It is escalating, and there need to be more stories like the ones in this book if we ever hope to win.

10 people found this helpful

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BSD

Decent Overview of the Underground

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2010

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I first saw this book a day or two after it came out and I must admit that I was quite turned off due to the title. At the time there were no reviews, so I decided to go on chance and pick up a copy for my Kindle. I think all in all I ended up reading the book in a solid 2-3 days. This wasn't because I was eager to finish the book to review it, but rather because I found it interesting. I have been working in this field for close to 6 years now and details like this aren't always covered to the extent that they should be. I think the book was a great overview of how hackers (some, certainly not all) operate, but far from a comprehensive piece of work on cybercrime (wasn't meant to be that anyway).

To keep it short and sweet:
If you enjoy hearing about cybercrime stories and justice being served then this book is a good one to add to your collection. I would almost compare it to SPAM kings in regards to the level of detail and technical knowledge needed to understand the whole subject. Don't expect to learn any new techniques or new attack methods that hackers are using, but do expect to walk away with a story of cybercrime with some pretty detailed (almost too detailed at times) highlights.

7 people found this helpful

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Donald Hsu

A great book, ready made for a great movie!

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2010

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Barrett Lyon and Andy Crocker connected through the cyber criminals, hacker
asking $40000 for one year of peace, Ron Sacco founder of BetCris and Gambino
family connection, Ivan Maksakov bad guy in Russia, Yishai Habari porn to poker
scams, Ruth Parasol lawyer to PartyPoker billionaire, Party Gaming IPO 8.5 billion,
Prolexic, e-gold, botnet, zombie, FBI, Scotland Yard, Igor Yakovlev good Russian,
BetCris, DDOS distributed denial of service, ID theft, corrupted Russian police,
Russian Business Network, Igor Klopov credit card theft, Kimberly Zenz security
analyst, China hackers downloading 10 terabyte data from US Dept Defense, major banks, etc.

The list goes on and on. Sometimes the writing tend to repeat, and unorganized.

But overall, you can see the documentation of facts and stories is first class.
It is a perfect book for movies. Who should be the casting characters? That is the question.

Helpful

K. Scott Proctor

Interesting, Important, yet Disjointed

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2010

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"Fatal System Error" offers an interesting portrait of crime on the Internet. Joseph Menn, the author, exhibits a passion for this subject and he covers a number of unique facets of the topic at hand.

The topic of crime on the Internet is an important one in today's world. Menn provides readers with a story-driven view of his topic, with a focus on two protagonists. Despite the compelling topic, I found the narrative and overall story arc to be difficult to follow at times. Times and places switched quickly and often without many guideposts for the reader.

Despite the disjointed flavor of the book, I found it to be good reading. This is a topic of major global interest, and Menn gives readers a unique view of the subject matter.

One person found this helpful

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S. Jamal

Not very technical, one not so interesting part, but overall a good read

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2012

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Overall, I very much enjoyed reading this book. Previously I read Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground , and I found that more to my taste because got a bit more into detail about how the Max, the main character, conducted his activities. This book focused more on the law enforcement side, which others might find more to their taste.

The author is a good story teller, and I definitely recommend this book (and especially the Kingpin book I mentioned above) to those who are interested in the subject. There is a section on recommendations which I found not very interesting, but I cannot find a reason to rate it fewer than five stars.

p.s. I have started reading Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker , and so far this one looks good too.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Glowacka

RAS

Reviewed in France on June 5, 2013

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LIVRE CONFORME AU DESCRIPTIF/ ANGLAIS DE PRESSE JOURNALISTIQUE / PAS ÉVIDENT POUR LES DÉBUTANTS MAIS TRÈS INTÉRESSANT A CONSEILLER A TOUT LE MONDE

Manfred Stelzer

Wirkliche Dimension und Hintergründe der Computerkriminalität

Reviewed in Germany on August 2, 2011

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Die wirkliche Dimension und Hintergründe der Computerkriminalität sind erschreckend. Es hat mich sehr überrascht welch hoher wirtschaftliche Schaden in den letzten 10 Jahren entstanden ist, und das die Herkunft der meisten Computerangriffe aus Russland oder China kommt. Dies wurde bisher weder in Presse noch in offiziellen Darstellungen so dargelegt. Man versucht uns immer wieder
einzureden, daß solche Angriffe von jugendlichen Hackern kommen, um die nationalen Sicherheitsgesetze zu verschärfen, drückt sich
jedoch vor einer politischen Auseinandersetzung mit o.g. Ländern.
Das Buch selbst ist etwas schleppend geschrieben. Der Versuch, den gescheiterten Protagonisten Barrett als eine Art Helden im Krieg gegen die Böslinge des Internets aufzubauen ist nicht überzeugend. Bezeichnend ist auch, daß gerade die Mafia in den USA zum Opfer der Mafia aus Russland geworden ist, und die Rolle Barretts darin nicht sehr überzeugend wirkt.
Dennoch, am Ende des Buches wird dann wirklich Klartext gesprochen, leider etwas spät im Buch. man muß sich schon vorher etwa 200 Seiten durch den englischen Text mit viel Umgangssprache und Fachjargon hindurchkämpfen. Ohne gute Übersetzung und deutliche Straffung wird aus dem Buch wohl kein Bestseller werden.

2 people found this helpful

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Agile Andy

Brilliant!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 8, 2010

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Have just finished reading Fatal System Error, and all I can say is, "Brilliant".

From the beginning dicussion of DDOS attacks, to Mafia run gambling websites all the way through to credit card fraud and even military decisions, this book will change the way you think about the internet, and the dynamics of politics and the world.

Menn has a way of drawing you in and making you feel like you are there, a part of the team investigating high profile hackers, or being courted by playboy gambling website owners.

If you enjoyed "The Cuckoo's Egg" (Stoll) then this book takes it up a notch.

R. S. Boyce

Fatal System Error

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 14, 2022

Verified Purchase

An interesting read.

Charles in Lincs.

Good Read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2014

Verified Purchase

Well written . Hope it isnt true.