What to read to understand cyber-security

IN “THE REPUBLIC” Plato asked readers to consider the implications of the ring of Gyges, which makes its wearer invisible. How would (and should) people act if they knew that their bad behaviour would never be found out? In the digital world such anonymity is not a fantastical idea but a real possibility. The virtual ring of Gyges, and its consequences, is just one of the themes explored by these five engrossing books about cyber-security. They cover issues ranging from cyberwar and online crime to cryptography and efforts to “hack” people who know login credentials. These books portray the cyber world as a site of many simultaneous battles, in which attackers, whether criminals or states, often have an advantage over the institutions that are their targets. States and legitimate businesses spend enormous amounts to defend themselves but present a large number of “attack surfaces”. Aggressors need to find just one vulnerability. Many successful attacks never make the news. Much depends, these books show, on who prevails in these electronic wars.