Open Secrecy
How Technology Empowers the Digital Underworld
$41.53
- Paperback
304 pages
- Release Date
7 August 2025
Summary
Examines how the global digital underground is liberated by “open secrecy”—a novel and ominous mix of tools for mass communication and anonymity
Shadowy groups are increasingly capable of collective action. Using military-grade encryption, rerouting software, and cryptocurrencies, anonymous and pseudonymous actors can now communicate, solve problems, recruit members, and manage resources across multiple public and semipublic spaces. This swirling mix of secrecy and op…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780520397293 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0520397290 |
| Author: | Isak Ladegaard |
| Publisher: | University of California Press |
| Imprint: | University of California Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 304 |
| Release Date: | 7 August 2025 |
| Weight: | 454g |
| Dimensions: | 25mm x 152mm x 229mm |
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Critics Review
“It would be a mistake to assume that Open Secrecy is simply another book about cybercrime, the dark internet, or even the possibilities of deviance in a digitized world… Open Secrecy is a work of political theory [and] it will continue to be read long after the fleeting relevance of its object of study.” * Journal of White Collar and Corporate Crime *
“Ladegaard develops a thesis about the darker side of digitalization, something which is extensively documented, but sparsely theorized… . The work is timely and innovative. It is broad in scope, and I recommend it to all who wish to understand the disruptive potential of technology.” * Acta Sociologica *
“Ladegaard’s work stands out for the range and depth of his data collection… . Since the seemingly siloed subcultures of online forums, trolls, and hackers spilled into the mainstream, we are still finding out how our social tools of identity, anonymity, privacy, and publicity have shifted.”
* London School of Economics Review *“The book expresses an unexplored technological determinism—that these illicit platforms are inevitable and unstoppable, at least by state and conventional corporate actors… . Highly recommended.”
* CHOICE Connect *“Compelling work… . After finishing it, readers are likely to reconsider the dynamics between the digital spaces they inhabit daily and the powers exercised by states and corporations.”
* International Criminal Justice Review *Isak Ladegaard
Isak Ladegaard is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Hong Kong.
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