A hacker's mind : how the powerful bend society's rules, and how to bend them back / Bruce Schneier.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schneier, Bruce, 1963- author.

Contributor:

Esther F. Kantrowitz & Lionel Kantrowitz Collection Endowed Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hacking--Social aspects.

Hacking.

Hacking--Political aspects.

Hacking--Economic aspects.

Hackers.

Artificial intelligence.

Physical Description:

284 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

How the powerful bend society's rules, and how to bend them back

Place of Publication:

New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2023]

Summary:

The legendary cybersecurity expert discusses ways that developing a hacker's mindset can help us better understand the systems and institutions that underpin society.

"It's not just computers--hacking is everywhere. Legendary cybersecurity expert and New York Times best-selling author Bruce Schneier reveals how using a hacker's mindset can change how you think about your life and the world. A hack is any means of subverting a system's rules in unintended ways. The tax code isn't computer code, but a series of complex formulas. It has vulnerabilities; we call them 'loopholes.' We call exploits 'tax avoidance strategies.' And there is an entire industry of 'black hat' hackers intent on finding exploitable loopholes in the tax code. We call them accountants and tax attorneys. In A Hacker's Mind, Bruce Schneier takes hacking out of the world of computing and uses it to analyze the systems that underpin our society: from tax laws to financial markets to politics. He reveals an array of powerful actors whose hacks bend our economic, political, and legal systems to their advantage, at the expense of everyone else. Once you learn how to notice hacks, you'll start seeing them everywhere--and you'll never look at the world the same way again. Almost all systems have loopholes, and this is by design. Because if you can take advantage of them, the rules no longer apply to you. Unchecked, these hacks threaten to upend our financial markets, weaken our democracy, and even affect the way we think. And when artificial intelligence starts thinking like a hacker--at inhuman speed and scale--the results could be catastrophic. But for those who would don the "white hat," we can understand the hacking mindset and rebuild our economic, political, and legal systems to counter those who would exploit our society. And we can harness artificial intelligence to improve existing systems, predict and defend against hacks, and realize a more equitable world." -- description from publisher's website. https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393866667

Contents:

Introduction

Part 1: Hacking 101. What is hacking?

Hacking systems

What is a system?

The hacking life cycle

The ubiquity of hacking

Part 2: Basic hacks and defenses. ATM hacks

Casino hacks

Airline frequent-flier hacks

Sports hacks

Defending against hacks

More subtle hacking defenses

Removing potential hacks in the design phase

The economics of defense

Resilience

Part 3: Hacking financial systems. Hacking heaven

Hacking banking

Hacking financial exchanges

Hacking computerized financial exchanges

Luxury real estate

Societal hacks are often normalized

Hacking the market

"Too big to fail"

Venture capital and private equity

Hacking and wealth

Part 4: Hacking legal systems. Hacking laws

Legal loopholes

Hacking bureaucracy

Hacking and power

Undermining regulations

Jurisdictional interactions

Administrative burdens

Hacking common law

Hacking as evolution

Part 5: Hacking political systems. Hidden provisions in legislation

Must-pass legislation

Delegating and delaying legislation

The context of a hack

Hacking voting eligibility

Other election hacks

Money in politics

Hacking to destruction

Part 6: Hacking cognitive systems. Cognitive hacks

Attention and addiction

Persuasion

Trust and authority

Fear and risk

Defending against cognitive hacks

A hierarchy of hacking

Part 7: Hacking AI systems. Artificial intelligence and robotics

Hacking AI

The explainability problem

Humanizing AI

AI and robots hacking us

Computers and AI are accelerating societal hacking

When AIs become hackers

Reward hacking

Defending against AI hackers

A future of AI hackers

Governance systems for hacking

Concluding thoughts.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-276) and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Beardwood Fund bookplate.

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Esther F. Kantrowitz & Lionel Kantrowitz Collection Endowed Fund.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9780393866667

0393866661

OCLC:

1320808337

Publisher Number:

99992925256