Cult of the Dead Cow How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World

The shocking untold story of the elite secret society of hackers fighting to protect our freedom, “a hugely important piece of the puzzle for anyone who wants to understand the forces shaping the internet age” (The New York Times Book Review) 

Cult of the Dead Cow is the tale of the oldest active, most respected, and most famous American hacking group of all time. With its origins in the earliest days of the internet, the cDc is full of oddball characters – activists, artists, and musicians – some of whom went on to advise presidents, cabinet members, and CEOs, and who now walk the corridors of power in Washington and Silicon Valley.

Today, the group and its followers are battling electoral misinformation, making personal data safer, and organizing to keep technology a force for good instead of for surveillance and oppression. Cult of the Dead Cow describes how, at a time when governments, corporations, and criminals hold immense power, a small band of tech iconoclasts is on our side fighting back.

An investigative reporter for Reuters, Joseph Menn is the longest serving and most respected mainstream journalist on cyber security. He has won three Best in Business awards from the Society of American Business Editors & Writers and been a finalist for three Gerald Loeb Awards. His Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords who are Bringing Down the Internet exposed the Russian government's collaboration with organized criminal hackers and was named one of the 10 best nonfiction books of 2010 by Hudson Booksellers. He also wrote the definitive All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning's Napster, an Investigative Reports & Editors Inc. finalist for book of the year. He previously worked for The Financial Times, Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg and has spoken at conferences including Def Con, Black Hat and RSA. He grew up near Boston and lives in San Francisco.