Security Reading

December 2, 2005 —

Here are some infosec and related books you might consider or rule out. I've given each book a ranking - with four stars being the best.

Security and Usability

By Lorrie Faith Cranor, Simson Garfinkel

O'Reilly

$44.95

***

This book is a good insight into the ideas behind instilling usability and security into products and processes of the future. It's more policy and insight than technical detail. It would make an excellent holiday gift for a product manager or security/software architect. The graphics are well used and the text is very frank and easily understandable.

Stealing The Network: How to Own an Identity

By Timothy Mullen, Ryan Russell, Riley (Caezar) Eller, Jeff Moss, Jay Beale, Johnny Long, Chris Hurley, Tom Parker, Brian Hatch

Syngress

$39.95

****

The Stealing the Network series has been well received and is a great way to spend an evening or a trip to the beach. Written in a very adventurous style, the book contains fictional stories with real-life technical details and insights. The reader can easily learn about identity creation, identity theft and all kinds of tricks used today. While the writing can be a bit choppy due to the myriad of writers and styles, the book is very easy to read for the most part.

Inside Network Perimeter Security, Second Edition

By Lenny Zeltser, Karen Kent, Stephen Northcutt, Ronald Ritchey, Scott Winters.

$49.99

**

While this is a very technical book with a plethora of knowledge on firewall, router, IDS and perimeter security - it does seem to be a bit aged. With the current focus shifting to asset-centric security, the book seems out of touch. The details are very deep, if not overly technical for all but the deepest diving technicians, and the topics are well covered. It would be useful for exam prep and reference, but not very useful at all for an easy to remember read.

Ending Spam

By Jonathan A. Zdziarski

No Starch Press

$39.95

*

This book reads like a doctorate-level thesis. It is full of mathematical equations and arcane knowledge about spam, spam filters and language analysis. Unless you are planning to write your own spam filtering software, this book is of little use. Average users will find little here that they can apply. Even admins, who the book is targeted towards, will find little here. Few simple processes for deploying and managing spam filters and tools are given - while details about spam analysis and filter software tricks are fully explained.

Ship It!

By Jared Richardson, Will Gwaltney

Pragmatic Bookshelf

$29.95

****

Reading more like an interview with a group of effective managers, this is a tome of wisdom and insight. If you have to manage a group that ships software or computer projects, this book is full of the stuff you need to make it happen. It took years for the authors to learn and they communicate it in less than 200 pages. Insights like how to handle testing, difficult engineers and new features that break things are all included along with a myriad of others. Great reading and valuable knowledge - this book is fantastic!

CISSP Study Guide, Third Edition

By James Michael Stewart, Ed Tittel, Mike Chapple

Wiley/Sybex

$69.99

***

A hefty 750+ pages makes this a heavy duty read indeed. The book covers the topics and knowledge needed to pass the CISSP exam in very nice detail. Packed with explanations and sample quizzes, this is a very popular book for exam takers. The book is written in a usable format and in everyday language - making it a very good investment.

Linux Firewalls, Third Edition

By Steve Suehring, Robert Ziegler

Novell Press

$49.99

***

This book is an excellent reference manual for building and managing firewalls in Linux. If your organization is looking to deploy Linux systems for security tools, the insights here will be very helpful. From creation of the firewall system, installation, management, troubleshooting and such to incident handling and basic investigation techniques - it's all here.

Write Portable Code

By Brian Hook

No Starch Press

$34.95

***

The writer covers the reasons and the methods used to create portable code across many platforms. The details are relevant and easily explained, while the examples reinforce the lessons learned. Geared for the advanced developer, this book still reaches out to the less experienced with an excellent style of teaching and explanation. The sections on finding bugs in the code and fixing them stands out as especially useful in today's programming environment. Buy a copy for any developers you know tasked with such projects. They will likely thank you!

Extreme Exploits

By Victor Oppleman, Oliver Friedrichs, Brett Watson

McGraw Hill/ Osborne

$49.99

****

So, you thought you knew how to compromise systems and networks, huh? This book details some new and very advanced thought on the subject. Penetration teams and incident response folks need to read this book. The examples and techniques are tricky, wild and engaging. The writing style is friendly and easy to understand while still containing immense amounts of technical content.

Cisco IOS in a Nutshell, Second Edition

By James Boney

O'Reilly

$39.95

****

Everything you ever wanted to know about IOS and then some is contained here. Like the other Nutshell books, the information is presented in a useable and quickly searchable format. From the basics to the advanced functions and tools - this is IOS in full detail. Security, management and setup are given coverage, along with a host of other topics. Better than the user manuals, this is one IOS book that every IOS user needs.

19 Deadly Sins of Software Security

By Michael Howard, David LeBlanc, John Viega

McGraw Hill/Osborne

$39.99

***

Do you write code or manage people who do? If so, this book can help you and your team avoid the most common and serious errors in secure code development. Regardless of language (many are detailed here), the lessons learned apply across the board. From SQL injection problems to information leakage and cryptography errors, examples and useful mitigations are here.

Switching to VoIP

By Theodore Wallingford

O'Reilly

$39.95

***

Have you heard about all of the hype with VoIP and the real-life rewards and use of the technology? This book goes a long way toward separating the hype from the real world reality. Techniques and projects are discussed to build VoIP capabilities and knowledge and to implement many of the cost-saving approaches. The sections on scalability and QoS are well worth the cost of the book alone.

ITworld.com, Security Strategies