Messing With The Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of
Hackers, Terrorists, Russians and Fake News - Clint Watts (Harper)
Author Clint Watts serves up a dynamic book that is part
autobiography, part call to arms, the makings of a high tech thriller and a bit
of a political screed, in the form of Messing With The Enemy: Surviving in a
Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians and Fake News. This is
all based on his real world interactions with dirtbag terrorists, hackers and
his meandering career path that has included stints in the U.S. Army, the FBI
as an agent (twice) and as a cyber security guru/expert/blogger.
When he writes about playing high tech cyber-tag with terrorists
as he tracks them around the wild frontier of the world wide web he offers up
close insight into how the evil doers have transformed their game;
transitioning their recruitment efforts from dodgy audio and video
pronouncements to a steady diet of social media outposts and content. He paints
a truly chilling portrait of this almost wholly un-policed realm.
While he clearly has first hand knowledge of the nefarious
dealings that are ongoing in this online world and he paints a detailed if albeit
scarry portrait of the new global jihad, it is when he shifts to politics that
the book devolves into a bitter liberal screed, bashing Fox News, conservative
media and the President.
He questions the level of expertise to be found in the current administration,
which leads me to wonder what exactly so-called “expertise” of prior Washington
leaders has gotten us? Never-ending wars on poverty and drugs that clearly
aren’t working. Add to that terrible and expensive government healthcare
(Medicare/Medicaid/VA), not to mention failing schools and infrastructure. So
much for expertise.
Watts should stick to what he knows best; sound the warning bell
on the negative impact of social media and offer up some insight into how to
address the problem.
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