This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends

Zero a software bug that allows a hacker to break in and scamper through the world’s computer networks invisibly until discovered. One of the most coveted tools in a spy’s arsenal, a zero day has the power to tap into any iPhone, dismantle safety controls at a chemical plant and shut down the power in an entire nation – just ask the Ukraine. Zero days are the blood diamonds of the security trade, pursued by nation states, defense contractors, cybercriminals, and security defenders alike. In this market, governments aren’t regulators; they are clients – paying huge sums to hackers willing to turn over gaps in the Internet, and stay silent about them. This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth’s discovery, unpacked. A intrepid journalist unravels an opaque, code-driven market from the outside in – encountering spies, hackers, arms dealers, mercenaries and a few unsung heroes along the way. As the stakes get higher and higher in the rush to push the world’s critical infrastructure online, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is the urgent and alarming discovery of one of the world’s most extreme threats. Nicole Perlroth covers cybersecurity for the New York Times. She is the recipient of several journalism awards including best technology reporting by the Society of Business Editors and Writers. Her 2014 Times profile of security blogger Brian Krebs was optioned by Sony Pictures and a 2016 story of Chinese hackers in a welding shop server was optioned for a television series. Prior to joining the New York Times in 2011, she covered venture capital and start-ups for Forbes Magazine. She is a guest lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and lives in Los Angeles.