Hack to the Future: The Us Government’s Relentless Pursuit of Hackers

Understand the history of hacking culture and the genesis of a powerful modern subculture

In Hack to the Future: How World Governments Relentlessly Pursue and Domesticate Hackers, veteran information security professional Emily Crose delivers a deep dive into the history of the United States government’s nuanced relationship with hacker culture and the role the latter has played in the former’s domestic policy and geopolitics. In the book, you’ll learn about significant events that have changed the way the hacking community has been perceived by the public, the state, and other hackers.

The author explains how the US government managed to weaponize a subculture widely seen as misanthropic and awkward into a lever of geopolitical power. You’ll also discover how:

• The release of the Morris worm and the Melissa virus changed the way hackers were seen and treated in the United States
• Different government agencies, including the National Security Agency and NASA treated - and were treated by - domestic hackers
• Hacking went from being an exclusive hobby for socially awkward nerds to a substantial lever of geopolitical power in just a few decades

Perfect for anyone with an interest in hacking, tech, infosec, and geopolitics, Hack to the Future is a must-read for those who seek to better their understanding of the history of hacking culture and how we got to where we are today.

EMILY CROSE is a senior technical director at Sophos Labs. She works on Linux runtime threat detection and has over a decade’s experience in the field of information security. She served in the U.S. intelligence community for seven years before entering the private sector and is the co-founder of Hacking History, a project investigating the United States government’s handling of the hacking community.