Dr. Scherling, a researcher, designer, and educator, has spent years mapping the evolving cybersecurity landscape. Drawing from international research, theory, and firsthand expert interviews, her book brings the cybersecurity world into focus not by a mere retelling of historic hacking incidents, but by focusing on the people behind them. She writes about ethical hackers who quietly defend our infrastructure before bad actors can strike. She interviews small business owners (artists, small makeup brand owners, plant sellers) who experienced ransomware and devastating financial loss. She hones in on the overlooked costs of cybercrime: not just financial, but also through generating fear, confusion, and social stigma.
In Chapter 3 while she guides us through some of the most memorable hacks in current history, she also writes about damaged healthcare institutions, where cyberattacks have left deep scars. Dr. Scherling revisits major breaches and shows how these digital intrusions ripple outward, affecting mothers in labor, patients in crisis, and the emergency personnel trying to help.
In Chapter 5, we meet the ethical hackers, often called “white hats”, who have quietly helped shape this digital frontier, as diverse as hacking pioneers, security researchers, and today’s hacking collectives. They use their skills to protect computer systems, while also challenging social and political injustices.
Chapter 9 zooms in on everyday Americans (a lab technologist in Columbus, an IT manager, a sales associate from Illinois, a fire lieutenant in Kentucky) who recount the personal toll of online scams. For them, or someone close, the consequences weren’t just inconvenient. They were life-altering.
Threaded through every page is a quiet insistence: behind every machine and software breach is a human being affected. Curious. Imperfect. Just trying to stay safe.