Introduction
The intent of this book is to celebrate the world of computer security defenders by profiling some of the worldās best white hat hackers, defenders, privacy protectors, teachers, and writers. Itās my hope that youāll walk away with a greater appreciation of the behind the scene efforts it took to give us the fantastic world of computers we live in today. Without all the good people on our side fighting against those who would do us harm, computers, the Internet, and everything connected to them would not be possible. This book is a celebration of the defenders.
I want to encourage anyone contemplating a career in computers to consider a career in computer security. I also want to encourage any budding hackers, especially those who might be struggling with the ethics of their knowledge, to pursue a career in computer security. Iāve made a good life fighting malicious hackers and their malware creations. Iāve been able to explore every single hacking interest Iāve had in an ethical and law abiding way. So, too, do tens of thousands of others. Computer security is one of the hottest and best paying careers in any country. It has been very good to me, and it can be for you, too.
For most of this book, I provide a chapter that summarizes how a particular style of hacking is accomplished, and then I follow it with one or more profiles of computer security defenders lauded in that field. Iāve tried to pick a variety of representative industry legends, luminaries, and even some relatively unknowns who are brilliant for what they have accomplished even if they are obscure outside their industry. I tried to choose a good cross section of academics, corporate vendors, teachers, leaders, writers, and private practitioners located in the United States and around the world. I hope readers interested in computer security careers can find the same motivation I did to help to make computing significantly safer for all of us.
Go fight the good fight!
Table of Contents
- Title Page
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 What Type of Hacker Are You?
- Most Hackers Arenāt Geniuses
- Defenders Are Hackers Plus
- Hackers Are Special
- Hackers Are Persistent
- Hacker Hats
- 2 How Hackers Hack
- The Secret to Hacking
- Hacking Ethically
- 3 Profile: Bruce Schneier
- For More Information on Bruce Schneier
- 4 Social Engineering
- Social Engineering Methods
- Social Engineering Defenses
- 5 Profile: Kevin Mitnick
- For More Information on Kevin Mitnick
- 6 Software Vulnerabilities
- Number of Software Vulnerabilities
- Why Are Software Vulnerabilities Still a Big Problem?
- Defenses Against Software Vulnerabilities
- Perfect Software Wonāt Cure All Ills
- 7 Profile: Michael Howard
- For More Information on Michael Howard
- 8 Profile: Gary McGraw
- For More Information on Gary McGraw
- 9 Malware
- Malware Types
- Number of Malware Programs
- Mostly Criminal in Origin
- Defenses Against Malware
- 10 Profile: Susan Bradley
- For More Information on Susan Bradley
- 11 Profile: Mark Russinovich
- For More on Mark Russinovich
- 12 Cryptography
- What Is Cryptography?
- Why Canāt Attackers Just Guess All the Possible Keys?
- Symmetric Versus Asymmetric Keys
- Popular Cryptography
- Hashes
- Cryptographic Uses
- Cryptographic Attacks
- 13 Profile: Martin Hellman
- For More Information on Martin Hellman
- 14 Intrusion Detection/APTs
- Traits of a Good Security Event Message
- Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
- Types of Intrusion Detection
- Intrusion Detection Tools and Services
- 15 Profile: Dr. Dorothy E. Denning
- For More Information on Dr. Dorothy E. Denning
- 16 Profile: Michael Dubinsky
- For More Information on Michael Dubinsky
- 17 Firewalls
- What Is a Firewall?
- 18 Profile: William Cheswick
- For More Information on William Cheswick
- 19 Honeypots
- What Is a Honeypot?
- Interaction
- Why Use a Honeypot?
- Catching My Own Russian Spy
- Honeypot Resources to Explore
- 20 Profile: Lance Spitzner
- For More Information on Lance Spitzner
- 21 Password Hacking
- Authentication Components
- Hacking Passwords
- Password Defenses
- 22 Profile: Dr. Cormac Herley
- For More Information on Dr. Cormac Herley
- 23 Wireless Hacking
- The Wireless World
- Types of Wireless Hacking
- Some Wireless Hacking Tools
- Wireless Hacking Defenses
- 24 Profile: Thomas dāOtreppe de Bouvette
- For More Information on Thomas dāOtreppe de Bouvette
- 25 Penetration Testing
- My Penetration Testing Highlights
- How to Be a Pen Tester
- 26 Profile: Aaron Higbee
- For More Information on Aaron Higbee
- 27 Profile: Benild Joseph
- For More Information on Benild Joseph
- 28 DDoS Attacks
- Types of DDoS Attacks
- DDoS Tools and Providers
- DDoS Defenses
- 29 Profile: Brian Krebs
- For More Information on Brian Krebs
- 30 Secure OS
- How to Secure an Operating System
- Security Consortiums
- 31 Profile: Joanna Rutkowska
- For More Information on Joanna Rutkowska
- 32 Profile: Aaron Margosis
- For More Information on Aaron Margosis
- 33 Network Attacks
- Types of Network Attacks
- Network Attack Defenses
- 34 Profile: Laura Chappell
- For More Information on Laura Chappell
- 35 IoT Hacking
- How Do Hackers Hack IoT?
- IoT Defenses
- 36 Profile: Dr. Charlie Miller
- For More Information on Dr. Charlie Miller
- 37 Policy and Strategy
- Standards
- Policies
- Procedures
- Frameworks
- Regulatory Laws
- Global Concerns
- Systems Support
- 38 Profile: Jing de Jong Chen
- For More Information on Jing de Jong Chen
- 39 Threat Modeling
- Why Threat Model?
- Threat Modeling Models
- Threat Actors
- 40 Profile: Adam Shostack
- For More Information on Adam Shostack
- 41 Computer Security Education
- Computer Security Training Topics
- Training Methods
- 42 Profile: Stephen Northcutt
- For More Information on Stephen Northcutt
- 43 Privacy
- Privacy Organizations
- Privacy Protecting Applications
- 44 Profile: Eva Galperin
- For More Information on Eva Galperin
- 45 Patching
- Patching Facts
- Common Patching Problems
- 46 Profile: Window Snyder
- For More Information on Window Snyder
- 47 Writing as a Career
- Computer Security Writing Outlets
- Professional Writing Tips
- 48 Profile: Fahmida Y. Rashid
- For More Information on Fahmida Y. Rashid
- 49 Guide for Parents with Young Hackers
- Signs Your Kid Is Hacking
- Not All Hacking Is Bad
- How to Turn Around Your Malicious Hacker
- 50 Hacker Code of Ethics
- Hacker Code of Ethics
- End User License Agreement
Happy learning!
