Description

Its not just computershacking is everywhereA hack is any means of subverting a systems rules in unintended ways The tax code isnt computer code but a series of complex formulas It has vulnerabilities we call them loopholes We call exploits tax avoidance strategies And there is an entire industry of black hat hackers intent on finding exploitable loopholes in the tax code We call them accountants and tax attorneysIn A Hackers Mind Bruce Schneier takes hacking out of the world of computing and uses it to analyze the systems that underpin our society from tax laws to financial markets to politics He reveals an array of powerful actors whose hacks bend our economic political and legal systems to their advantage at the expense of everyone elseOnce you learn how to notice hacks youll start seeing them everywhereand youll never look at the world the same way again Almost all systems have loopholes and this is by design Because if you can take advantage of them the rules no longer apply to youUnchecked these hacks threaten to upend our financial markets weaken our democracy and even affect the way we think And when artificial intelligence starts thinking like a hackerat inhuman speed and scalethe results could be catastrophicBut for those who would don the white hat we can understand the hackingmindset and rebuild our economic political and legal systems to counter those who would exploit our society And we can harness artificial intelligence to improve existing systems predict and defend against hacks and realize a more equitable world