61 pages • 2-hour read
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race
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Key Figures
Nicole Perlroth
In addition to authoring This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends, Perlroth is one of the world’s top information security journalists and has worked for over a decade as the lead cybersecurity journalist for the New York Times, one of the most prestigious and widely read newspapers in the United States. She has published hundreds of articles, including many major stories that have influenced government policy, public opinion, and corporate practices all over the world. Her work has been widely cited in global publications and books, as well as on mainstream news networks. In recognition of the quality and impact of her work, Perlroth has received a nomination for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Journalism.
Perlroth has an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree from Stanford University. Prior to her employment with the New York Times, she was an assistant editor for Forbes Magazine and covered stories on Silicon Valley corporations and entrepreneurs. Her popular podcast To Catch A Thief explains how the Chinese government developed a dominant position in the global cyber-arms race. She has lectured on information security at Stanford University and many other major American educational institutions. She has also given speeches on the topics of information security and the cyber-arms race at major international conferences and events like the Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development. She has spoken to numerous government agencies and international bodies, including the World Bank and US State Department.
Perlroth’s significant experience as an investigative journalist in the field of information security has allowed her to achieve massive success with her first book, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends (2021). Designed to be accessible to a lay audience, the book was favorably viewed despite its complex subject matter and soon became a bestseller, winning the prestigious 2021 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award. Perlroth provides the narrative voice by relating events through the lens of her own experiences of investigating the zero-day market. She blends factual information with her own perspective, openly criticizing the policies of politicians such as Donald Trump, and she also retains a staunchly Americentric focus. Her dedication and tenacity are evident in the successful completion of her arduous, self-assigned mission to produce a comprehensive account of the evolution of cyberwarfare. Perlroth is an advocate for reform in the field of information security and emphasizes The Responsibility to Safeguard Digital Infrastructure.
Following the success of her first book, Perlroth changed careers to take on a more active role in defending the American nation and public from cyberthreats. She is now the managing director of the cyber mission fund called Silver Buckshot, and she is also a venture partner at a cybersecurity venture capital company called Ballistic Ventures. Additionally, she has served on the cyber-defense advisory committee for the US government’s Department of Homeland Security, as well as the cyber task force for the Council on Foreign Relations.
Hackers
Hackers are individuals who analyze and dissect the code that makes up computer programs. Their goal is to discover and make use of bugs and vulnerabilities that grant access to closed systems and the data contained therein. Hackers are the ones who discover zero-day exploits and develop them into cyberweapons and cyberespionage tools, and they also receive payments from governments and other buyers for their discoveries through the zero-day market. Many hackers work as freelancers, while others are employed by government agencies or private companies all around the world.
Hackers belong to a diverse community with wildly different skill levels— from “script kiddies” with only the most rudimentary abilities to world-class experts who are capable of circumventing the most sophisticated security systems in existence. Most hackers characterize themselves as “tinkerers” or “innovators” who like to take things apart to see how they work. However, Perlroth’s accounts of specific hackers show that even within the hacker community, individuals have very different ethical systems, life experiences, and loyalties. Although the USA used to dominate cyberspheres with its unparalleled share of talented hackers, there are now many centers of hacking across the world. China, Russia, Israel, and Argentina all host thriving communities of hackers, many of whom make a living by discovering and selling zero-day exploits or by working for government agencies.
There are “black hat” hackers who work outside the law to break into computer systems and “white hat” hackers who take the opposite side and work legally to strengthen and develop security systems. Historically, hackers have been victimized by large tech companies even when they attempted to report vulnerabilities and bugs for patching. Recent years have seen changes in attitude and policy from major tech giants like Google and Microsoft, who now offer significant bounties for reported vulnerabilities, particularly zero-days. Even so, hackers often find themselves targeted by the legal system, even—or rather, especially— when they use their skills for good.
Many of the most significant figures in This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends are hackers, and several chapters are named for the notable individual hackers they cover. Charlie Miller, known as “Zero-day Charlie” in Chapter 2, is one of the most well-known and skilled discoverers of zero-day exploits in commercial Apple and Android devices. He is motivated by intellectual curiosity and a desire for “street cred,” but during the 2000s, he found that his willingness to go public with information on the zero-day market frequently put him into conflict with powerful organizations, as did his strong sense of justice about the mistreatment of hackers. Another notable figure is James R. Gosler, “The Godfather” featured in Chapter 7, who helped to found and develop the NSA’s information security policies and protocols. Perlroth also features Sinan Eren (Chapter 11’s “The Kurd”), who began hacking in order to fight government oppression in his native Turkey. Eren’s commitment to civil liberties compelled him to abandon his work as a security consultant and a developer of zero-days when the market failed to live up to his high ethical standards.
Perlroth also discusses trends and collective pressures influencing foreign hackers on a general scale. Argentine hackers, for instance, tend to develop their skills as a means of escaping poverty, and as an expression of the “held together with wire” (253) cultural mindset. By contrast, Russian government-backed troll farms and web brigades consist of hackers who are allegedly motivated by nationalism and their love of the job, as well as being presumably pressured by government edicts. Perlroth also claims that members of Chinese hacking groups such as Legion Yankee may have been conscripted by their government to engage in hacking activities, regardless of their own wishes. Ultimately, because hacking is a skillset that can be developed by just about anyone, there are no restrictions on the characteristics and behaviors that hackers can have.
Government Agencies
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends features many government agencies from all over the world. These agencies are established as part of the machinery of government and are responsible for overseeing and administrating specific functions involved in the governance of a nation-state. Many of these agencies, particularly in America, are customers in the zero-day market and are involved in the development of digital tools for espionage or sabotage. They are key actors in Perlroth’s exploration of The Impact of Digital Espionage on Privacy and Civil Liberties and The Role of Hacking in Modern International Relations and Conflicts.
Many different American government agencies, from law enforcement agencies and the Department of Homeland Security to the FBI, buy zero-day exploits from hackers and brokers. The most prominent agency discussed in the text is the USA’s National Security Agency (NSA), which was established in the 1950s as part of the Department of Defense. As the nation’s main intelligence agency, the NSA is responsible for the collection and processing of communication data and information for intelligence and counterintelligence. The NSA often works closely with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which conducts covert operations and gathers foreign intelligence abroad. Part 3 of the text covers the establishment of the NSA’s information security division under Gosler, and Perlroth also explains the development of the NSA’s capabilities into one of the foremost cyberpowers in the world. The NSA employs many hackers in its Tailored Access Operation (TAO) team, and it also outsources a great deal of work to freelancers and private contractors. Perlroth is critical of the fact that American government agencies like the NSA often prioritize offensive cyber-tools over defensive security measures, illustrating their unwillingness to take responsibility for safeguarding digital infrastructure.
The NSA was responsible for major US cyberattacks such as the Stuxnet sabotage of Iranian nuclear facilities, and it currently has a large stockpile of exclusive zero-day exploits at its disposal. In recent decades, there have been numerous scandals around the NSA’s domestic espionage activities; a prime example can be found in the 2013 Snowden Leaks, which precipitated Perlroth’s investigation into zero-days. Many of the tools developed by this agency have been weaponized against American interests in the aftermath of the Shadow Brokers leaks of 2017. Former NSA workers often remain involved in hacking circles and activities, and many were major informants to Perlroth despite the nondisclosure agreements that limited their freedom of speech.
Most foreign governments have their own equivalent agencies to the NSA. Some of these organizations play an important role in the events described in This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends. For example, Israel has its cybersecurity taskforce, Unit 8200, under the banner of Mossad, the nation’s intelligence agency. With Israel being an American ally and leading global tech power, Unit 8200 has worked closely with the NSA in developing and implementing zero-day exploits and on cyberattacks such as Stuxnet.
Russian intelligence agencies have their roots in the KGB (Committee for State Security), a security agency of the Cold War, and other Russian agencies include the FSB (Federal Security Service), the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service), and the GRU (Military Intelligence). These agencies, working with web brigades of freelance hackers, are some of the world’s most prolific and proficient conductors of cyberattacks and cyberespionage activities. The Chinese Ministry of State Security conducts intelligence operations through conscripted groups of hackers known to the USA by nicknames such as “Legion Yankee.” These agencies are best known for conducting cyberespionage campaigns against commercial targets in the USA and across the world and resulting in billions of dollars’ worth of intellectual property theft, as Perlroth discusses in Chapter 14 with the example of the “Aurora” hacks.
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