Some of you may have noticed that a new element recently debuted in the sidebar: The cover art for my upcoming book, Spam Nation, due to hit bookshelves (physical and virtual) November 18, 2014. Please allow me a few moments to explain what this book is about, and why you should pre-order it today.
The back of Spam Nation. Click to enlarge.
Spam Nation delves deeper than perhaps any other publication into the workings of the cybercrime underground, giving readers unprecedented access to a well-hidden world that few outside of these communities have seen up close.
Update, Dec. 9, 2014: Spam Nation has just landed on the New York Times bestseller list!
Original post:
The backdrop of the story is a long-running turf war between two of the largest sponsors of spam. A true-crime tale of political corruption and ill-fated alliances, tragedy, murder and betrayal, this book explains how the conditions that gave rise to this pernicious industry still remain and are grooming a new class of cybercriminals.
But Spam Nation isn’t just about junk email; most of the entrepreneurs building and managing large-scale spam operations are involved in virtually every aspect of cybercrime for which there is a classification, including malware development, denial-of-service attacks, identity theft, credit card fraud, money laundering, commercial data breaches and extortion.
Spam Nation looks at the crucial role played by cybercrime forums, and how these communities simultaneously weave the social fabric of the underground while protecting scam artists from getting scammed.
The book also includes a detailed history of the Russian Business Network (RBN); how it became the virtual boogeyman of the Internet and prefigured an entire industry of “bulletproof” hosting providers.
Along the way, we meet numerous buyers who explain what motivated them to respond to spam and ingest pills ordered from shadowy online marketers. In the chapter “Meet the Spammers,” readers get a closer look at the junk emailers responsible for running the world’s largest botnets.
In addition, Spam Nation includes first-hand accounts of efforts by vigilante groups to dismantle spam and malware operations, and the vicious counterattacks that these campaigns provoked from the spam community.
Now, here’s the important bit: Anyone who pre-orders the book and emails their proof-of-purchase to this address before Nov. 18, 2014 will receive a signed copy. This extends even to those who opt for a digital copy of the book. That’s because the signature will come on a bookplate, which is simply a decorative label that is affixed to the inside front cover. Bookplates allow my publisher Sourcebooks to distribute signed copies of Spam Nation without having to constantly ship me very heavy truckloads of books to sign and then ship back again for reshipment.
The pre-order link for Amazon is here; readers who wish to purchase the book from Barnes & Noble can do so here. Fans of the Washington D.C. literary landmark Politics and Prose can pre-order the book from them at this link. Forward your emailed proof-of-purchase, or a scan/photo of your receipt. Basically anything that says you purchased the book, the quantity purchased, as well as your name and mailing address.
Judging from the thousands of longtime subscribers to my email list (no spam there!) and from the community that has built up around this blog, many of you have been faithful readers and contributors since I started this blog after leaving The Washington Post way back in 2009. And that’s about how long I have been working on this book!
If just a fraction of the incredible community here pre-orders the book, Spam Nation should emerge the week of Nov. 18 as a top contender in the non-fiction space. More importantly, readers of this book will almost certainly come away far more worldly and aware of their own crucial role in combating cybercrime.
Whether or not you decide to buy the book, I can’t say this enough: Thank you all for your continued readership, encouragement and support!
Would be awesome to have the book translated to Russian!
No pun intended, it will be revealing for many people in Russia to know who runs them for their money.
There should also be Ukrainian and Chinese editions.
That, my friend, is the comment of the year!
Just pre-ordered! Any chance you’re planning a book tour when it becomes available? Thanks!
Yes, the week of Nov. 17 I will be coming through D.C., NY, Chicago, Austin, San Fran and Seattle.
OK…now I only have to wait the interminable 131 days to get my book. Thanks so much for all you, Brian.
Any chance you could PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE add Colorado Springs or even Denver to the book tour?
I would like to ask if I pre-order the book from Amazon.de or bookdepository.com, I will also receive the bookplate? I always enjoy your blog but living in Europe gives me only a couple of options but not from Amazon.com or B&N to order the hardcopy. Thank you.
Just pre-ordered! 131 days to wait :/
Brian: does this mean that you plan to do a reading or signing at Politics and Prose? If so, do you know when?
That’s the plan, although I think it’s not a done deal yet. That would be ideal, yes, the week of Nov. 17. Will have more info as we get closer.
Can i pay with cc?
Looking forward to its release. I hope there will be an audio book version i can buy – ideally from audible.co.uk as i have a subscription there.
Just preordered
Preordered!
Pumped about this read.
WTG!
Brian – I may have missed this somewhere, but is there any deal if I purchase the physical book where I can get a digital copy at a reduced price. I love real books when I am at home, but they are a pain to travel with so for that I use my iPad…
Thanks and keep up the great work!!!
dcc
Pre-ordered mine, thanks for signed copy! 🙂
Will there be an audiobook version?
I hope the offer (mailing a bookplate sticker) also applies to overseas readers?
Just pre-ordered a copy from Amazon Germany.
Brian,
Can’t believe you don’t have Atlanta on your book-tour list given we are ranked in the top Georgia is home to some of the world’s most impressive Information Security companies and a strong Information Security cluster, which includes industry giants such as IBM, which acquired ISS – a company founded by two Georgia Tech students in 1994 – and Verizon Business, which bought Cybertrust in 2007. The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) estimates Georgia to be third in the nation in the Information Security cluster, based on overall industry revenue.
As an entrepreneur working in the Information Security Space and the current Board Chair of TAG, I would like to invite you to consider Atlanta and if you are interested in doing so, perhaps I could hook you up with our Information Security Society, one of the 34 special interest groups that exist within the TAG framework.
Cheers,
Patrick D. Gaul
Board Chair
TAG
I’m from Lancope (a NBAD software company)…another GA tech spinoff. I’d love to see you come to Atlanta too.
Any bets on how long before folks get spam email ‘selling’ the book ?(with malware link included, at no extra charge of course)
As with Apple iphones in China, the knockoffs might even front run the real thing.
All sad humor aside, spam has an intangible cost component that eventually makes it’s way to very real costs paid by EVERYONE (including the miscreants regardless of which county they reside).
The more people understand that’s it’s not just ‘harmless’ email the better. Folks might consider buying an extra copy for the parent sending chain spam, or the co-worker that forwards the spam jokes and pictures.
anyway, congratulations on the release of your book.
Ordered!
From Sweden… also like to ask about the signed copy (bookplate) when ordering from Amazon.de…
Just pre-ordered! Great to see you doing something really in-depth. Does the book also cover the growing problem of social media spam?
Ordered one with badb dump, thenks krabs
But I only do audiobooks! Can you get some real thug mafia-sounding russian guy to read it for audible?
Brian – Does the book have graphics, photos, or tables? These tend to to render well in Kindle. I am deciding where to by the hardcover or Kindle edition.
I meant to say “These tend to not render well in Kindle.” Sorry – typo
Sadly, no.
What about for B&N?
What about B&N? There are buy links in the story and in the sidebar for buying the book at B&N, but here it is again
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spam-nation-brian-krebs/1119574514?ean=9781402295614
Thanks Brian but what I mean is, what about the quality of the images / figures for B&N?
As I said to Paulette, there are no images or graphs in the book.
Just preordered the hardcover via amazon. Going the old-fashioned way. Congrats on the release, Brian!
Preordered via Amazon. Looking forward to it!
Just preordered the Kindle version on amazon.co.uk. Can’t wait!
Hello to Brian, congratulations on your new book, looking forward to reading it.
Speaking of SPAM, please warn your readers of a new spam menace. A mass email has just started going around from a so-called law firm. Green Winick Lawyers, with a supposed Notice to Appear in Court, with a link to “read carefully” the details of the alleged lawsuit. A couple of the media outlets have picked it up, e.g. The Epoch Times has screenshots. It contains nasty malware, a trojan. Even savvy people might find this irresistible, and dangerous. Maybe we of the Krebs circle can help get the word out.
Hey Brian, what’s the score with us UK readers in terms of a signed copy, are we included?
Thanks
Chris
Brian, Congrats on this effort. So many members of our security club here in Northern Virginia love your work. Your last name is a single word reference to us.
On behalf of all of them, we wish you well and hope this will be a best seller.
Just pre-ordered on amazon.uk as I’m interested in the story you are telling, including the psychology of those who actually respond to spam.
Observation: I can order a book from Amazon without changing my noscript settings. To download a podcast from npr, you have to ‘temporarily enable all this page’. Madness.
Not available on iBooks bookstore. Will it be offered there?
$18!! Lol, I’ll get it when it comes out.