Dark Territory

Dark Territory offers thrilling insights into high-level politics, eccentric computer hackers and information warfare. In 15 chapters–some of them named after classified codenames and official (and unofficial) hacking exercises–Kaplan has encapsulated the past, present and future of cyber war.– “The Financial Express”“Dark Territory captures the troubling but engrossing narrative of America’s struggle to both exploit the opportunities and defend against the risks of a new era of global cyber-insecurity. Assiduously and industriously reported… . Kaplan recapitulates one hack after another, building a portrait of bewildering systemic insecurity in the cyber domain… . One of the deep insights of Dark Territory is the historical understanding by both theorists and practitioners that cybersecurity is a dynamic game of offense and defense, each function oscillating in perpetual competition.”– “The Washington Post”“Dark Territory is a remarkable piece of reporting. Fred Kaplan has illuminated not merely the profound vulnerabilities of our nation to cyber warfare, but why it has taken so long for our policy-makers to translate indifference into concern and concern into action. This is a vitally important book by a meticulous journalist.”–Ted Koppel, author of Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath“A consistently eye-opening history of our government’s efforts to effectively manage our national security in the face of the largely open global communications network established by the World Wide Web… . The great strengths of Dark Territory … are the depth of its reporting and the breadth of its ambition… . The result is not just a page-turner but consistently surprising… . One of the most important themes that emerges from Mr. Kaplan’s nuanced narrative is the extent to which defense and offense are very much two sides of the same coin… . The biggest surprise of Dark Territory is the identity of the most prominent domestic heroes and villains in the “secret history.” … Dark Territory is the rare tome that leaves the reader feeling generally good about their civilian and military leadership.“– “The New York Times”“Everyone has heard the term ‘cyber warfare.’ Very few people could explain exactly what it means and why it matters. Dark Territory solves that problem with an account that is both fascinating and authoritative. Fred Kaplan has put the people, the technologies, the dramatic turning points, and the strategic and economic stakes together in a way no author has done before.”–James Fallows, national correspondent, The Atlantic“Fascinating … To understand how deeply we have drifted into legally and politically uncharted waters, read Kaplan’s new book, Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War.”–George F. Will “The Washington Post”

Fred Kaplan is the national-security columnist for Slate and the author of five previous books, Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War, The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War (a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestseller), 1959, Daydream Believers, and The Wizards of Armageddon. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Brooke Gladstone.