Sandworm
by Andy Greenberg · first published 2019
77% recommend23% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Readable account of Russian GRU hacking, covering NotPetya and the Maersk infection, attacks on Ukraine's power grid and the investigations. Suits tech workers wanting a middle ground between dense infosec and media.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In 2014, the world witnessed the start of a mysterious series of cyberattacks. Targeting American utility companies, NATO, and electric grids in Eastern Europe, the strikes grew ever more brazen. They culminated in the summer of 2017, when the malware known as NotPetya was unleashed, penetrating, disrupting, and paralyzing some of the world’s largest businesses—from drug manufacturers to software developers to shipping companies. At the attack’s epicenter in Ukraine, ATMs froze. The railway and postal systems shut down. Hospitals went dark. NotPetya spread around the world, inflicting an unpre
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The book Sandworm by Andy Greenberg also goes a little into depth about attacking powerplants and other industrial control systems. Can highly recommend!
on “Running a fake power plant on the internet for a month” ↗…GRU has lead exceptionally aggressive cyber-attacks on just about everyone, particularly Estonia and Ukraine. If you're interested in this topic, I'd like to suggest the wondeful (and terrifying) book, Sandworm (https://www.amazon.com/Sandworm-Cyberwar-Kremlins-Dangerous-...) by Andy Greenberg.
on “Norway officially accuses Russia for cyberattacks on parliament” ↗If anyone is interested in how the original infection went down, along with the recovery, I can recommend the book "Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sandworm-Cyberwar-Kremlins-Dangerou... It covers Maersk, lots of infections that paralysed Ukraine,…
on “Maersk prepares to lay off the Maidenhead staffers who rescued it from NotPetya” ↗…South Korean Winter Olympics; a phishing email with a macro embedded Word doc got them in there. A great book on Russian, state-backed hacking group was by a senior Wired writer, Andy Greenberg, called "Sandworm" [0] [0] https://www.amazon.com/Sandworm-Cyberwar-Kremlins-Dangerous-...
on “FireEye Shares Details of Recent Cyber Attack” ↗There's a fantastic book about this group published recently titled "Sandworm" by Andy Greenberg. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/41436213-sandworm
on “Six GRU Officers Charged in Connection with Worldwide Deployment of Malware” ↗I'd highly recommend Sandworm by Andy Greenberg for more information about Russia's hacking capabilities.
on “U.S. Treasury, Commerce Depts. Hacked Through SolarWinds Compromise” ↗Some books I recently enjoyed, mostly focused on the infosec aspect but still somewhat on topic: The Kill Chain, by Christian Brose Active Measures, by Thomas Rid Sandworm, by Andy Greenberg Fatal System Error, by Joseph Mann
on “The French armed forces are planning for high-intensity war” ↗…should or should not be considered an act of war, cyber attacks in practice are in a de facto grey area. Something less than war, but something the US will sanction the leadership and units involved for. Sandworm by Andy Greenberg is a good book to get the details on how "persistent threat actors" (i.e. state sponsered hackers) are handled by the US government (tldr the US government's calculus is that the grey…
on “Germany names China as source of attack on government geospatial agency” ↗I can fully recommend reading the book "Sandworm" by Andy Greenberg. It explains NotPetya and all of the sorrounding investigation.
on “Maersk, Me and NotPetya” ↗Compiled from over 100 books read in 2019, "Cult of the Dead Cow" takes the top pick for this year. Other cybersecurity picks include "Sandworm", "The Hunt for Leroux", and science fiction book "Stealing Worlds".
on “Top Security, Technology, and Business Books of 2019” ↗Really enjoyed "The Idea Factory". I'm currently reading "Sandworm" - more cybersecurity related, but it's really good so far.
on “Ask HN: What are more books like “Masters of Doom” or “Showstoppers”?” ↗Thanks, that looks like an interesting read after I'm done with Sandworm by Andy Greenberg (also a good read)
on “'Ghost ship' washes up on Irish coast” ↗If you're looking for more computer security / hacking related books, I can recommend "Sandworm" (by Andy Greenberg) and "The Cuckoo's Egg" (by Cliff Stoll). Both appear to have audible versions.
on “Stuxnet's Legacy Lives on in New Windows Bug” ↗This is an excerpt from Andy Greenberg's book Sandworm, which I recommend, I grabbed it on audible earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed it
on “30 Lines of Code Blew Up a 27-Ton Generator” ↗I've enjoyed "Sandworm" by Andy Greenberg (around the Russian GRU organization) and "Countdown to Zero Day" by Kim Zetter (around Stuxnet)
on “Ask HN: What’s a Good Audiobook on Hacking” ↗