@War: The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex - Hardcover

Cloak-and-dagger, high tech, and big business converge in this revelatory, page-turning account of a new kind of conflict, less visible but more invasive than any wars America has fought before.

The United States military views cyberspace as the “fifth domain” of warfare (alongside land, air, sea, and space), and the Pentagon, the National Security Agency, and the CIA field teams of hackers who launch cyber strikes against enemy targets — and amass staggering quantities of personal information on all of us. These same virtual warriors, along with a growing band of private-sector counterparts, are charged with defending us against the vast array of criminals, terrorists, and foreign governments who attack us with ever-increasing frequency and effectiveness.

Shane Harris infiltrates the frontlines of this fifth domain, explaining how and why government agencies are joining with tech giants like Google and Facebook to collect vast amounts of information. The military has also formed a new alliance with tech and finance companies to patrol cyberspace, and Harris offers a more penetrating and unnerving view of this partnership than we have ever seen before. Finally, he details the welter of opportunities and threats that the mushrooming “military-Internet complex” poses for our personal freedoms, our economic security, and the future of our nation.
 

“@War is a remarkable achievement. Harris uses dogged shoe-leather reporting to take us deep inside the government’s surveillance and cyber operations to give an unsparing look at what the NSA and other agencies are really doing with all our data. In the age of abstract Snowden documents, @War actually introduces us to the people running America’s electronic spying machine, and offers invaluable insights into how their ambition and turf battles impact our financial security, our privacy, and our freedom.” — James Risen, author ofPay Any Price: Greed, Power, and Endless War
 
“A great overview of our new cyber fronts. Unlike most books about cyber war, this one is enjoyably readable. At times it feels like a modern spy novel, but it is a guide to tomorrow’s headlines.” — Thomas E. Ricks, author of Fiascoand The Generals

“@WAR is a tour de force of reporting on the past, present, and future of cyber conflict. It will be required reading both in the Pentagon and among the army of Chinese cyber spies now assaulting American businesses. Hackers, policymakers, and others will find this book both intriguing and alarming, not to mention very well written." — Peter Bergen, author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad