PMISV Monthly Book Club | Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime - From Global Epidemic to Your Front Door by Brian Krebs

PMISV Monthly Book Club | Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime - From Global Epidemic to Your Front Door by Brian Krebs

The Monthly Book Club is a forum for talking about books that touch on the widely varied challenges of project and program management.

About the Book

Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime - From Global Epidemic to Your Front Door by Brian Krebs 

A New York Times bestseller and winner of a 2015 Prose Award!

There is a threat lurking online. A secret war with the power to destroy your finances, steal your personal data, and endanger your life.

In Spam Nation, investigative journalist and cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs unmasks the criminal masterminds driving some of the biggest spam and hacker operations targeting Americans and their bank accounts. Tracing the rise, fall, and alarming resurrection of the digital mafia behind the two largest spam pharmacies—and countless viruses, phishing, and spyware attacks—he delivers the first definitive narrative of the global spam problem and its threat to consumers everywhere.

Blending cutting-edge research, investigative reporting, and firsthand interviews, this terrifying true story reveals how we unwittingly invite these digital thieves into our lives every day. From unassuming computer programmers right next door to digital mobsters like "Cosma"—who unleashed a massive malware attack that has stolen thousands of Americans' logins and passwords—Krebs uncovers the shocking lengths to which these people will go to profit from our data and our wallets.

Not only are hundreds of thousands of Americans exposing themselves to fraud and dangerously toxic products from rogue online pharmacies, but even those who never open junk messages are at risk. As Krebs notes, spammers can—and do—hack into accounts through these emails, harvest personal information like usernames and passwords, and sell them on the digital black market. The fallout from this global epidemic doesn't just cost consumers and companies billions, it costs lives too.

Fast-paced and utterly gripping, Spam Nation ultimately proposes concrete solutions for protecting ourselves online and stemming this tidal wave of cybercrime—before it's too late.

"Krebs's talent for exposing the weaknesses in online security has earned him respect in the IT business and loathing among cybercriminals… His track record of scoops...has helped him become the rare blogger who supports himself on the strength of his reputation for hard-nosed reporting." —Bloomberg Businessweek

 

About the Author

Brian Krebs is the editor of KrebsonSecurity.com, a daily blog dedicated to in-depth cyber security news and investigation. For the third year running, KrebsonSecurity.com was voted the Blog That Best Represents the Security Industry by judges at the 2013 RSA Conference, the world’s largest computer security gathering. KrebsOnSecurity also won the “Most Educational Security Blog” award, and last year Krebs was presented with the “Security Bloggers Hall of Fame Award,” alongside noted security expert Bruce Schneier. From 1995 to 2009, Krebs was a reporter for The Washington Post, where he covered internet security, technology policy, cybercrime and privacy issues for the newspaper and the website. His stories and investigations have also have appeared in Popular Mechanics, Wired.com and dozens of other publications. Krebs is a 1994 graduate of George Mason University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations.

 

List of Books for 2023 & 2024 : Click Here for more information

About the SV Monthly Book Club : 

The SV Monthly Book Club is a no-cost forum to discuss books and publications that touch on various topics about project and program management. It recurs on the 3rd Thursday each month, virtually. There is no club membership, and anyone can join the discussion forum of the month. To attend the forum, please pre-register (for free) and be sure you have pre-read the book of the month. Registration is necessary as we are limiting the number of attendees, so that everyone has a chance to express their opinion and listen to others.

This is a professional event. While we are open to opinions from all angles during the book discussions, please be respectful to the host and all attendees.

About the Event Leader

Marc Scotchlas is the event leader and discussion moderator

 

 

 

 

 

Registration

• Required and limiting attendees. First come first serve.
• Zoom link to be distributed to registrants on the day of the event. Look for a Zoom invitation the day of the event from scotchlas@gmail.com. Feel free to set that not to go to your junk mail.

  

Additional Information

Event Leader: Marc Scotchlas  {Click here to contact Marc}

PDU: Up to 5.0 PDU to complete the pre-reading; 1.0 to participate in the monthly meeting. PDU claim code available to attendees at end of event.

♦PDU claiming instruction

 

Recognize that PDU credit may be partial if you've read only the part of the book that you will read, or that full credit can be taken later after the discussion event is complete and you have completed the entire book.  There's no drop-dead requirement by the discussion date for reading, but the discussion is much fuller if you've read the entire book.

Speakers

Marc Scotchlas - Event Host

Shot Director at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Marc served a career in the Navy prior to joining Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2018, serving as Shot Director at the National Ignition Facility. Managing operations at the world’s premier laser facility that is leading the way to ignition and solving humanity’s energy needs has been his passion since. Residing in the Bay area and perpetually expanding his horizons has been his pastime.