Despite the growing importance and virtual ubiquity of the Internet, the open nature of this 20th century innovation makes the Internet vulnerable to attack. Worm: The First Digital World War, by veteran journalist and bestselling author Mark Bowden, looks at the evolving cyber arena and the serious threats that will continue to challenge the security of all Internet users, including individuals, the private sector, and governments.

This real world account tracks the discovery of the Conficker worm, which proliferated to infect millions of computers, and focuses on the determined efforts of a disparate group of hackers, academics, and computer security experts who came together to neutralize this threat. While pointing out the vulnerabilities inherent in our current Internet architectures, this story also illustrates the innovation and teamwork required to confront ever more challenging threats to cyber security. This is a highly relevant, compelling read for non-computer scientists and the tech savvy alike.