Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The men were recruited to hit as many ATMs as possible in the Indian city of Kolhapur, and they did. By 10 p. m. , the operation was over. They handed the cash to their bosses and pocketed their share. They were paid up to $500. #2 The Lazarus Group, a hacking unit, is believed to be behind the August heist. They have co-ordinated attacks on international banking systems with breath-taking efficiency. North Korea’s government hackers have become some of the most effective and dangerous on the planet. #3 North Korea’s financial situation has become increasingly dire since the 1990s, when the country began developing nuclear weapons. The country has little chance of making money legitimately, so it has turned to crime to fund itself. #4 The hackers accessed the bank’s ATM withdrawals system, and began to send staccato messages across the globe to make sure that the right person was getting the right amount of money. This system is the reason why you can visit any ATM in the world and receive cash, even if the ATM isn’t run by the bank where you have your account.

BASED ON THE NO 1 HIT PODCAST 'The Lazarus Heist' 'You'll never see North Korea the same way again' Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland 'One of the most incredible cyber-espionage stories I've ever heard, told by one of the UK's best tech journalists' Jamie Bartlett, author of The Missing Crypto Queen 'Pacy and eye-popping, this book shows us what happens when the world of Barbara Demick's Nothing to Envy meets the world of Misha Glenny's McMafia' - Tom Burgis, author of Kleptopia Meet the Lazarus Group, a shadowy cabal of hackers accused of working on behalf of the North Korean state. It's claimed that they form one of the most dangerous criminal enterprises on the planet, having stolen more than $1bn in an international crime spree. Their targets allegedly include central banks, Hollywood film studios and even the British National Health Service. North Korea denies the allegations, saying the accusations are American attempts to tarnish its image. In this staggering, global investigation, award-winning journalist Geoff White examines how the hackers have harnessed cutting-edge technology to launch a decade-long campaign of brazen and merciless raids on its richer, more powerful adversaries. It's not just money they're after. The Lazarus Group's tactics have been used to threaten democracies, gag North Korea's critics and destabilize global peace. From the bustling streets of Dhaka, to the glamorous studios of Hollywood, to the glittering casinos of Macau and the secretive dynastic court of Pyongyang, this shocking story uncovers the secret world of the Lazarus Group, their victims and the people who have tried - and ultimately, so far failed - to stop them. 'Madly intriguing' Guardian 'Cyber warfare and criminal hacking has never been more pertinent. This a must read to understand the threats currently facing all of us globally' Annie Machon, author of Spies, Lies and Whistleblowers

"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 May 4, 2000, an email that read "kindly check the attached LOVELETTER" was sent from a computer in the Philippines. Attached was a virus, the Love Bug, and within days it had been circulated across the globe, paralyzing banks, broadcasters, and businesses in its wake, and extending as far as the UK Parliament and, reportedly, the Pentagon. The outbreak presaged a new era of online mayhem: the age of Crime Dot Com. In this book, investigative journalist Geoff White charts the astonishing development of hacking, from its conception in the United States' hippy tech community in the 1970s, through its childhood among the ruins of the Eastern Bloc, to its coming of age as one of the most dangerous and pervasive threats to our connected 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 to make millions are being harnessed by nation states to target voters, cripple power networks, and even prepare 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, what the future has in store, and how we might protect ourselves from it.

BASED ON THE NO 1 HIT PODCAST 'The Lazarus Heist' 'You'll never see North Korea the same way again' Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland 'One of the most incredible cyber-espionage stories I've ever heard' Jamie Bartlett, author of The Missing Crypto Queen 'Pacy and eye-popping' - Tom Burgis, author of Kleptopia They have been accused of causing mayhem in Hollywood with 2014's infamous Sony hack. They're allegedly behind WannaCry, a cyber-attack which brought NHS hospitals to a dangerous standstill. And it has been claimed that they have stolen more than $ 1bn in an international crime spree. They are the Lazarus Group, a shadowy cabal of hackers accused of working on behalf of the North Korean state. From the streets of Dhaka to the casinos of Macau to the secretive capital of Pyongyang, this shocking story uncovers the secret world of the Lazarus Group, their victims and those who have tried - and so far, failed - to stop them. 'Madly intriguing' Guardian

A top cybersecurity journalist tells the story behind the virus that sabotaged Iran’s nuclear efforts and shows how its existence has ushered in a new age of warfare—one in which a digital attack can have the same destructive capability as a megaton bomb. “Immensely enjoyable . . . Zetter turns a complicated and technical cyber story into an engrossing whodunit.”—The Washington Post The virus now known as Stuxnet was unlike any other piece of malware built before: Rather than simply hijacking targeted computers or stealing information from them, it proved that a piece of code could escape the digital realm and wreak actual, physical destruction—in this case, on an Iranian nuclear facility. In these pages, journalist Kim Zetter tells the whole story behind the world’s first cyberweapon, covering its genesis in the corridors of the White House and its effects in Iran—and telling the spectacular, unlikely tale of the security geeks who managed to unravel a top secret sabotage campaign years in the making. But Countdown to Zero Day also ranges beyond Stuxnet itself, exploring the history of cyberwarfare and its future, showing us what might happen should our infrastructure be targeted by a Stuxnet-style attack, and ultimately, providing a portrait of a world at the edge of a new kind of war.

WINNER OF THE FT & McKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2021 The instant New York Times bestseller A Financial Times and The Times Book of the Year 'A terrifying exposé' The Times 'Part John le Carré . . . Spellbinding' New Yorker We plug in anything we can to the internet. We can control our entire lives, economy and grid via a remote web control. But over the past decade, as this transformation took place, we never paused to think that we were also creating the world's largest attack surface. And that the same nation that maintains the greatest cyber advantage on earth could also be among its most vulnerable. Filled with spies, hackers, arms dealers and a few unsung heroes, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is an astonishing and gripping feat of journalism. Drawing on years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, Nicole Perlroth lifts the curtain on a market in shadow, revealing the urgent threat faced by us all if we cannot bring the global cyber arms race to heel.

The Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints about rogue debt collecting than about any activity besides identity theft. Dramatically and entertainingly, Bad Paper reveals why. It tells the story of Aaron Siegel, a former banking executive, and Brandon Wilson, a former armed robber, who become partners and go in quest of "paper"—the uncollected debts that are sold off by banks for pennies on the dollar. As Aaron and Brandon learn, the world of consumer debt collection is an unregulated shadowland where operators often make unwarranted threats and even collect debts that are not theirs. Introducing an unforgettable cast of strivers and rogues, Jake Halpern chronicles their lives as they manage high-pressure call centers, hunt for paper in Las Vegas casinos, and meet in parked cars to sell the social security numbers and account information of unsuspecting consumers. He also tracks a "package" of debt that is stolen by unscrupulous collectors, leading to a dramatic showdown with guns in a Buffalo corner store. Along the way, he reveals the human cost of a system that compounds the troubles of hardworking Americans and permits banks to ignore their former customers. The result is a vital exposé that is also a bravura feat of storytelling.