The Invisible Cyber-War

<p>When you hear the word <i>cyber-attack</i>, what comes to mind? Someone hacking into your email, or stealing your Facebook password?</p><p>As it turns out, our most critical infrastructure can be hacked. Our banks, water treatment facilities, and nuclear power plants can be deactivated and even controlled simply by finding bugs in the software used to operate them. Suddenly, <i>cyber-attack</i> takes on a different meaning.</p><p>This week on <a href="https://www.humanetech.com/podcast"><i>Your Undivided Attention,</i></a> we're talking with cyber-security expert Nicole Perlroth. Nicole spent a decade as the lead cyber-security reporter at The New York Times, and is now a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee. She recently published “This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends” — an in-depth exploration of the global cyber arms race.<br /><br />CORRECTIONS: In the episode, Nicole says that "the United States could have only afforded 2 to 3 more days of Colonial Pipeline being down before it ground the country — our economy — to a halt." The correct number is actually <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/politics/pipeline-hack.html">3 to 5 days</a>. She also refers to a 2015 study researching why some countries have significantly fewer successful cyber-attacks relative to cyber-attack attempts. That <a href="https://www.cs.umd.edu/~vs/pubs/FDD-writeup.pdf">study</a> was actually published in 2016.<br /><br /><strong>RECOMMENDED MEDIA </strong></p><p><a href="https://thisishowtheytellmetheworldends.com">This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends</a></p><p>Nicole Perlroth’s 2021 book investigating the global cyber-weapons arms race</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/nicole-perlroth">Reporter Page at the New York Times</a></p><p>Nicole’s articles while the lead cyber-security reporter at the New York Times</p><p><a href="https://www.cs.umd.edu/~vs/pubs/FDD-writeup.pdf">The Global Cyber-Vulnerability Report (in brief)</a></p><p>Brief of a 2015 study by the Center