This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: A True Story

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE FT & McKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2021

‘An intricately detailed, deeply sourced and reported history of the origins and growth of the cyberweapons market … Hot, propulsive … Sets out from the start to scare us out of our complacency’ New York Times

‘A terrifying expose’ The Times

‘Part John le Carre and more parts Michael Crichton … Spellbinding’ New Yorker

Zero day: 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.