Future Crimes

One of the world’s leading authorities on global security, Marc Goodman takes listeners deep into the digital underground to expose the alarming ways criminals, corporations, and even countries are using new and emerging technologies against you – and how this makes everyone more vulnerable than ever imagined.

Technological advances have benefited our world in immeasurable ways, but there is an ominous flip side: Our technology can be turned against us. Hackers can activate baby monitors to spy on families, thieves are analyzing social media posts to plot home invasions, and stalkers are exploiting the GPS on smartphones to track their victims’ every move. We all know today’s criminals can steal identities, drain online bank accounts, and wipe out computer servers, but that’s just the beginning. To date, no computer has been created that could not be hacked – a sobering fact given our radical dependence on these machines for everything from our nation’s power grid to air traffic control to financial services.

Yet, as ubiquitous as technology seems today, just over the horizon is a tidal wave of scientific progress that will leave our heads spinning. If today’s Internet is the size of a golf ball, tomorrow’s will be the size of the sun. Welcome to the Internet of Things, a living, breathing, global information grid where every physical object will be online. But with greater connections come greater risks. Implantable medical devices such as pacemakers can be hacked to deliver a lethal jolt of electricity and a car’s brakes can be disabled at high speed from miles away. Meanwhile, 3-D printers can produce AK-47s, bioterrorists can download the recipe for Spanish flu, and cartels are using fleets of drones to ferry drugs across borders.

With explosive insights based upon a career in law enforcement and counterterrorism, Marc Goodman takes listeners on a vivid journey through the darkest recesses of the Internet.

Reviews

“Starred Review. A powerful wake-up call to pay attention to our online lives.”

– Kirkus

“There’s a tinge of dystopian paranoia here, but if a fraction of what Goodman forecasts comes true then this is a timely wake-up call.”

– Publishers Weekly

“Marc Goodman is a go-to guide for all who want a good scaring about the dark side of technology.”

– New Scientist

“Utterly fascinating stuff… Goodman weds the joy of geeky technology with the tension of true crime. The future of crime prevention starts here.”

– NPR, San Francisco

About the Author

Marc Goodman is a renowned global security expert and author of the best-selling book “Future Crimes: Inside the Digital Underground and the Battle for Our Connected World.” He is a sought-after keynote speaker and has delivered talks at prestigious forums such as TED Global and Google Zeitgeist. Goodman advises industry leaders, security executives, and policymakers on the risks and opportunities of emerging technologies and has operated in more than 70 countries worldwide. He is the founder of the Future Crimes Institute and serves as the Global Security Advisor and Chair for Policy and Law at Silicon Valley’s Singularity University. Goodman’s research focuses on the security implications of exponential technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, big data, synthetic biology, virtual worlds, genetics, the Internet of Things, and location-based services. He holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University and a Master of Science in the Management of Information Systems from the London School of Economics.