We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency [Hardcover]

** FYI: When considering this book, read the reviews people write about the book instead of just looking at the number of stars. As described in the book, one of the favorite tactics of internet pranksters is to "raid" a site/forum/review -- essentially overwhelm it with negative ratings/info in large numbers just for kicks. **

I just finished reading Parmy Olson's We Are Anonymous and wanted to provide a review with my thoughts about the book. As someone who followed the events with Anonymous and Lulzsec as they unfolded in the news, tech journals, and twitter, I found myself eagerly awaiting the release of this book. I was very hopeful that it would provide additional "behind-the-scenes" information about the events and the people involved.

The subject of Anonymous is a rather amorphous one, and fairly difficult to quantify for those not familiar with its background. I feel like the author does an excellent job of taking potentially confusing subject matter and presenting a clear narrative in a style that makes for an entertaining read. She begins in the middle -- starting the book by discussing a hack that was so audacious in scope and impact that the reader is immediately hooked. This outlandish event is even more stunning because it is not fiction -- it actually happened in Feb. 2011.

The author then goes on to discuss the roots of Anonymous -- how it spontaneously emerged / evolved from a place that most of the internet's travelers would never know existed. How it grew almost organically -- changing and morphing. Its character changed rapidly over time, and continues to do so. She has done a good job of presenting these concepts that many would find difficult to grasp in a manner that someone who has never heard of Anonymous could understand.

The book goes into depth about the rise of Lulzsec -- an offshoot of Anonymous comprised of 6 individuals that went on an audacious hacking spree in 2011 that left a lasting impact on many companies and organizations including Sony, PBS, the FBI, the CIA, the US Congress, British SOCA, Rupert Murdock's media empire, and many security and intelligence contractors in the US and around the world. They also left a lasting impact on the hundreds of thousands of individuals whose personal information they leaked to the web as a result of their cyber-incursions. What made this group so different and unique is that they didn't accomplish their feats stealthily and with discretion -- they boldly announced their targets to the world on nearly a daily basis on social media sites like Twitter. I believe the author does a fantastic job of presenting the information about what was happening behind-the-scenes within the group itself. She was one of a few to actually get to regularly communicate with the members of the group on a regular basis, and as such, was privy to a wealth of information about their motivations, techniques, and concerns.

The book delves into the fate of Lulzsec as a group and the individuals that comprised it. It concludes with a revelation in the Spring of 2012 that shook Anonymous to its core. But those who read the book will understand that the very nature of Anonymous - chaotic and leaderless - will force it to continue to evolve -- clawing its way up from the depths of the internet again and again.

Another beneficial aspect of the book is that it clearly illustrates the peril that anyone with a social media account (facebook, twitter, linked in) may be placed in if they are not familiar with the techniques that are practiced every day by "social engineers" on the internet. Read this book and you may find yourself rethinking how relaxed your security settings and practices are with regards to facebook.

Lastly, the book contains a chronological timeline of the events as they unfolded in an addendum, and a section of detailed references that indicates where the author sourced material. I found even this section an interesting read for the insights that it gave.

So in summary, I highly recommend this book. It is a very compelling and entertaining read.

TL;DR -- Great book - entertaining read - fascinating subject matter - buy it.

Olson appeared on The Daily Show on June 18, 2012. Hours later, her 4-5 star review average sank to just 3 stars after a barrage of poor reviews from people who couldn't possibly have actually read the book during that time. So I would ignore the less substantial reviews shown here, especially those posted by people with user names like "anonymous" (hello?!). The book might be light on technology in some areas or contain a technical glitch or two here and there but for regular people who are interested in a well-written story about the Anonymous group, I think it's a great place to start. She did actually do her own research and interviewed members face-to-face, so it's worth a read if you are interested in learning a bit more about the topic in a docu-drama type blend of non-fiction.

This is a well researched book. It avoids all of the mistakes that many other books on hackers and Anonymous do, like stating that all people involved in Anonymous are hackers - for they are not. It focuses on a small group of individuals who definitely are hackers, and are part of the Anonymous internet subculture - and it beautifully details how they got started, what their motivations were and what happened in the time they were active, both before they got big, during their peak, and after their fall.

The book also shows a good understanding on the various ways in which hacking as actually done, talking about how both real black hat hackers work but also explaining the more common situations where internet netizens might find free software that automates their attacks. In doing so, Olson tells of the real hackers who herd around hordes of fans that support them and spread the news of their actions - and the subsequent moral dilemmas and drama that arise in situations where the members of the group have to make hard choices on how to continue their activities.

For those who understand nothing of programming the book helps by explaining difficult concepts when their introduced, but someone with basic knowledge of coding will have an easier time reading the book.

A must read for anyone who wants understand modern hackers - for they aren't just greedy criminals who want your social security and credit card numbers anymore - they're teenagers with a lot of spare time, idealistic views on freedom of speech, who just want to have fun - and woe betide the organizations or governments who would stop them, for then they become targets.