The Top 10 Cybercrime And Hacking Books In 2025

Looking to read the best cybercrime and hacking books in 2025?

In this blog, we're counting down the top 10 must-read books that you won't be able to put down.

These books dive into the minds, methods, and mayhem of the digital underworld, covering hacking, espionage, the dark web, and everything in between.

Let's dive in.

Jump To The #1 cybercrime and hacking book in 2025

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

What's This Book About?

This book is about one of the most influential groups ever formed, The Cult Of The Dead Cow (cDc). What started as a Texas-based group of pranksters in the 1980s unexpectedly grew into a supergroup of hackers. The members pioneered hacktivism, exposed major security flaws, and helped shape the foundation of modern online privacy and cybersecurity principles. Joseph Menn traces their rise from building one of the first remote-access Trojans to becoming a powerhouse that shaped today's cybersecurity landscape.

Why It's Awesome

Menn entertains by combining politics, culture, technology, and rebellion. This book is such a hit because it's not just about the chaos caused by smart-mouthed teenager hackers. It tells you what happens when chaos turns into unexpected purpose. They exposed just how vulnerable Microsoft systems were, forcing the industry to take security seriously. They were the loud, brilliant troublemakers who forced the industry to evolve. This book proves that causing trouble can sometimes change the world, and readers love that.

#9 The Dark Net: Inside The Digital Underworld

What's This Book About?

Jamie Bartlett dives into the dark web, the hidden layers of the internet where anonymity reigns and morality gets murky. From encrypted marketplaces to digital drug dens, extremist forums, and controversial communities, the book explores the people who operate in the shadows and what draws them there. The Dark Net doesn't confuse you with technical jargon. It's about psychology. What drives them? What are they escaping? This book is a journey through the psychology of anonymity, the lure of unfiltered freedom, and the blurred lines between right and wrong in the digital underworld.

Why It's Awesome

He doesn't glorify or condemn the dark web. Instead, he breaks it down for readers, focusing on how it's often used by individuals seeking anonymity, not just criminal intent. Whether it's driven by freedom, privacy, rebellion, or identity, people turn to the dark web to escape a hyper-surveilled world. The book paints a raw, honest picture of people who reject the polished surface of the internet and seek out spaces where they can say, sell, or share anything, free from judgment or control.

#8 Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion‑Dollar Cybercrime Underground

What's This Book About?

This is the true story of Max Butler, a master hacker who ran a billion-dollar cybercrime network. Kevin Poulsen, a reformed hacker himself, tells the story of Max Butler, a brilliant hacker turned kingpin who didn't just join the cybercrime underworld, he took it over. The book pulls back the curtain on hacking techniques like phishing, trojans, point-of-sale attacks, and real-time data theft.

Why It's Awesome

Kevin Poulsen knows this world inside out. He writes like he's narrating a cyber heist movie. It's fast-paced, detailed, and darkly funny. You'll find yourself rooting for the villain one moment and wanting to throttle him the next. As amusing as it sounds, even hackers crave hierarchy, structure, and scalable operations.

#7 Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon

What's This Book About?

This is the true story of how the world's first digital weapon, a cyberattack called Stuxnet, was designed, deployed, and discovered. The attack physically sabotaged nuclear equipment in Iran, quietly spinning centrifuges out of control while showing fake data to operators. The book shows how its creation by world powers blurred the line between espionage and warfare, proving that digital weapons can be just as destructive as physical ones and forever changing how nations think about conflict.

Why It's Awesome

Kim Zetter takes one of the most complex and technical cyberweapons in history and makes it surprisingly readable without dumbing it down. At first glance, most non-technical readers might look at a book about Stuxnet and think, “I’ll never understand this.” But Kim Zetter delivers it in a clear, understandable way so everyone can keep up, even if you've never written a line of code. It’s cyberwar meets detective thriller, which is both gripping and educational at the same time. This book helps you understand how code isn’t just theoretical. It can be weaponized to destroy infrastructure physically.

#6 This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race

What's This Book About?

This isn’t just another book about hackers, it’s an investigative deep dive into the hidden global market for cyberweapons. Nicole Perlroth, a cybersecurity journalist for The New York Times, uncovers the shadowy world where governments, contractors, and hackers quietly buy and sell digital exploits. These zero-days can break into virtually any system on Earth. The story takes readers from Silicon Valley to Washington, Tel Aviv, and Moscow, revealing how nations hoard vulnerabilities instead of fixing them, turning the internet into a modern battlefield. She shows how these invisible weapons have already been used in attacks on major institutions, governments, and critical infrastructure.

Why It's Awesome

What makes this book stand out is how Nicole Perlroth exposes the global cyber arms race unfolding behind closed doors, not just between governments, but also among criminals, brokers, and hackers. Her investigative reporting and storytelling give the book a deeply human feel. Backed by hundreds of interviews with agents, insiders, hackers, and brokers, it’s clear she’s done her homework. Better yet, it doesn’t drown you in jargon, so even non-technical readers can keep up. The book is a wake-up call. Cyberwarfare isn’t coming. It’s already here.

#5 Permanent Record

What's This Book About?

Permanent Record traces Edward Snowden's path from a computer-obsessed kid to a systems engineer deep inside the CIA and NSA, where he discovered surveillance programs collecting data on millions of ordinary people. What begins as curiosity about digital systems turns into a personal and ethical crisis. The book details how he decided to leak classified documents, flee the U.S., and reveal one of the biggest intelligence scandals in modern history, permanently changing how the world thinks about privacy, government overreach, and digital freedom.

Why It's Awesome

This book isn't just a tech memoir, it’s a moral reckoning told like a spy thriller. We've all heard Snowden’s name in the news, but this lets you understand why he did it. It’s raw, personal, and surprisingly emotional. Everyone’s curious about what goes on behind government firewalls, and this book feeds that curiosity while making you question where the line between right and wrong really is. Love him or hate him, you’ll finish this book with a whole new perspective. It's human nature to be curious. So when a book like this surfaces, everyone races to read it.

#4 Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker

What's This Book About?

This is the true story of Kevin Mitnick, once the most wanted hacker in the world, told by the man himself. Before cybercrime hit the mainstream, Mitnick was outsmarting phone companies, breaking into corporate networks, and staying one step ahead of the FBI. Most hackers did it for money or fame. He did it because he could. It was the thrill of the chase, the intellectual high of beating the system. This book is his confessional, his play-by-play, and his chance to set the record straight, from teenage phone phreaker to national cybersecurity fugitive.

Why It's Awesome

The book is fast, clever, and surprisingly funny, like hearing the story over drinks with someone who knows exactly how to hold a crowd. You’re not just reading about hacks, you’re watching how his obsession, ego, and sheer genius collide. Whether you admire him or not, Mitnick makes it impossible to look away. The guy didn’t just break into systems... he broke the mold for what a hacker could be.

#3 American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road

What's This Book About?

This is the rise and fall of Ross Ulbricht, the idealistic coder who created the Silk Road, a dark web marketplace where users could anonymously buy narcotics and other illegal goods, all paid for in Bitcoin. What began as a digital experiment quickly turned into a criminal empire that drew the attention of nearly every law enforcement agency on the planet. The book flips between Ulbricht's double life and the agents hunting him, each side playing a high-stakes game that ends with a dramatic takedown in a public library.

Why It's Awesome

The book keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. It’s fast-paced and packed with twists, betrayals, and tension, so much that it feels like fiction, but it’s all real. Nick Bilton builds the story from a mountain of sources and somehow humanizes both Ross and the agents chasing him. It’s perfect for anyone curious about the darker corners of the internet, from the dark web and Bitcoin to the illusion of online anonymity. The sheer chaos of the story is what keeps you hooked.

#2 Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers

What's This Book About?

Andy Greenberg follows an elite group of Russian hackers known as Sandworm, responsible for some of the most destructive cyberattacks in history. From disrupting power grids and targeting NATO to unleashing the NotPetya malware in 2017, their actions caused more than 10 billion dollars in damage. Greenberg reveals how these state-backed hackers blurred the line between military conflict and cyber sabotage.

Why It's Awesome

Andy Greenberg has a gift for turning complex cyberwarfare into something you can actually picture. One minute you’re in a freezing Ukrainian server room, the next you’re inside Western intelligence agencies scrambling to make sense of digital chaos. All while tracking Sandworm, arguably the most dangerous hacking units ever backed by the Kremlin. This book makes you realize just how fragile our modern world really is. Power grids, shipping giants, and governments were brought to their knees without a single bullet being fired. It’s unsettling, brutally honest, and a wake-up call about how unprepared we are for the cyber wars already being fought in the shadows.

#1 The Cuckoo's Egg

What's This Book About?

This book tells the true story of Clifford Stoll, an astrophysicist turned systems administrator who spotted a tiny account error, 75 cents to be exact. Most people would have ignored it, but not Stoll. Instead, he pulled the thread and uncovered something much bigger: an international hacker code named "Hunter," who was breaking into U.S. military systems and stealing classified data. What followed was a solo manhunt across both digital and physical lines, chasing spies linked to the KGB, fueled by cocaine, cash, and chaos.

Why It's Awesome

It’s an oldie but a goldie. This book earns the top spot because it came out before cybersecurity was even a concept. The Cuckoo’s Egg is one of the earliest accounts to expose the reality of cyber espionage, long before most people even knew what hacking was. It’s the godfather of all cybercrime books, the one that started it all. It’s packed with 1980s charm and serves as a wild reminder of how far we’ve come. For older readers, it’s a nostalgic trip down memory lane. For younger readers, it’s a full-blown eye opener. Stoll was hunting a hacker with printed logs, a dial up modem, and a phone. No internet. No alerts. No AI to lean on. The book might be old, out of date, and hilariously analog, but that’s exactly what makes it legendary.

Wrapping up

So there you have it!

10 must-read books that'll have you flipping the pages faster than a virus on your hard drive.

From digital kingpins and rogue teenagers to state-sponsored sabotage and whistleblowers, these books all share one thing. They expose the truth behind the world's most notorious cybercrimes.

They don't just tell you what happened. They explain how it happened, why it matters, and what the world should've learned from it.

In a world where fiction struggles to keep up with reality, these real stories prove the cyber underworld is far stranger (and more fascinating) than anything Hollywood could dream up

Bonus Fiction Book: Zero Days

If 10 books weren't enough for all you bookworms, here's a cracker fiction novel that deserves an honorable mention.

What's This Book About?

Jack Cross and her husband Gabe break into buildings and hack systems for a living. In other words, they are penetration testers. One night, Jack comes home to find Gabe murdered. Suddenly she’s the prime suspect, and with the police closing in, she’s forced to go on the run. While dodging capture, Jack uses her hacking skills to trace a trail of deception, digital sabotage, and a shocking secret that threatens more than just her life.

Why It's Awesome

This one is like Die Hard... but make it cyber. Zero Days throws you into a high stakes game of cat and mouse with a female ethical hacker on the run after a job goes sideways and her partner ends up dead. She’s not just grieving, she’s hacking, dodging, and digging for the truth with every tool in her digital arsenal. Ruth Ware doesn’t just keep the tension high, she keeps it personal. It’s smart, fast, and scarily believable, especially in a world where surveillance is everywhere and trust is a luxury. You’ll burn through the chapters like malware through an unpatched system.