Impostor Syndrome

In a friendly tone: Julia Lerner is living in Moscow, a recent university graduate in computer science, when she’s recruited by Russia’s largest intelligence agency. She would go on to help the agency infiltrate the highest echelons of American government, including the White House.

In 2006 Julia Lerner is living in Moscow, a recent university graduate in computer science, when she’s recruited by Russia’s largest intelligence agency. She would go on to help the agency infiltrate the highest echelons of American government, including the White House. This is the true story of The Sparrow Hackers.

This book is both an espionage thriller and a reflection on what it means to be an American in today’s world. Lerner’s story was first reported by BuzzFeed News and has been reprinted widely, with most sources crediting her as “The Woman Who Hacked The White House.” Her story will be told through interviews and original reporting from BuzzFeed News reporters Aram Roston and Ali Watkins.

Julia Lerner is living in Moscow, a recent university graduate in computer science, when she’s recruited by Russia’s largest intelligence agency. Soon after, she finds herself on a mission tracking down information that could reveal the identities of dozens of Russian sleeper agents—and, in the process, she becomes a target herself.

A Spy Among Friends is an exciting and revealing memoir. It’s also the first-ever account by a non-Russian about life inside Russia’s spy agencies and their secret operations. Julia Lerner was recruited as an agent for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) while working as an intern at a technology company in San Francisco. She was then sent to Moscow to begin her training as a Russian spy. She would later take part in missions throughout Europe and the United States to identify Russian sleeper agents and recruit new ones here in America.