This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race

This short section, which introduces Perlroth’s mission to investigate zero-days and explains her investigative methods, is deliberately written in the same style as the rest of the book in order to establish Perlroth’s narrative voice. In a nonfiction book such as this, the author’s voice becomes the most immediate touchpoint of emotional connection between the reader and the text, and the flavor and tone of the narrative also serves as a guide for that readers to more easily parse the details of complex and often unfamiliar topics. Additionally, the Author’s Note provides important metacontext about the reliability of Perlroth’s sources, one of the most important aspects of investigative journalism. These comments are designed to disarm potential criticism of the text’s incompleteness or inaccuracy, and Perlroth’s decision to include these notes illustrates her conscientious approach and core ethical code, reflecting the high standards of journalistic integrity that she has developed through her work at the New York Times.

In addition to setting the stage, the Prologue provides a snapshot of Perlroth’s boots-on-the-ground style of investigative journalism. By depicting her work “in the field” in Ukraine, Perlroth provides a sense of her methodology, and the Prologue itself also reflects her characteristic blend of dialogue, vivid descriptions, and personal accounts, all of which are buttressed by concrete data. By describing a singularly dramatic and drastic cyberattack, she immediately establishes the high stakes involved in the zero-day market and associated forms of cyberwarfare. Finally, she explicitly clarifies the book’s title and emphasizes its importance to all Americans, given the cyberthreats that the USA is facing. By striking a tense, dramatic tone that nonetheless demonstrates balance and rings true, she boldly establishes her own authority and ethos on the topic of information security.

The prologue also introduces several of the text’s key themes, the most prominent of which is The Role of Hacking in Modern International Relations and Conflicts. As Perlroth examines Russia’s use of hacking to attack Ukraine, she illustrates the unique power dynamics between nations in the cybersphere in order to stress that the USA is also vulnerable to cyberattack. Coupled with her focus on The Responsibility to Safeguard Digital Infrastructure, these two issues form the core of her entire presentation and her ultimate call to action. In her reasoned judgment, hacking clearly poses a stark threat to critical computerized infrastructure, and her ultimate goal is to point out the need to correct what she sees as evidence of the USA’s under-preparedness in this arena.