Hacking Exposed: Network Security Secrets and Solutions - Softcover

Mcclure, Stuart; Scambray, Joel; Kurtz, George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0072121270 ISBN 13: 9780072121278

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education, 1999

Synopsis

Systems administrators are often unaware of the dangers presented by anything beyong the most trivial attacks. Because of the day-to-day tasks, Y2K projects, and increasingly complex technology, administrators have perpetually back-burnerer security issues out of necessity. However, recent high-profile viruses and events like the White House website being closed down by hackers has brought the issue back to the forefront. With Hacking Exposed: Network Security Secrets and Solutions, Osborne will provide administrators with a modular and approachable reference so they can select the most pertinent information, rapidly digest it, and apply it immediately.

About this title

Review

There are dozens of books detailing the careers of malicious hackers and plenty more on security techniques. What makes Hacking Exposed different is that it combines the best of both worlds, giving you an insight into the techniques and mindset of crackers without glamorizing or mystifying what they get up to--and then telling you how to keep them out of your system by explaining exactly what they'll try to do to get in.

There are security options in every operating system and any competent sysadmin will know what they are and how to use them: you may even be able to keep up with all the service packs and patches that come out. What you probably don't know is all the potential holes in your security and the tools that will be used to try to get into your system. This book will scare you thoroughly by explaining each type of attack on your network. But it then tells you how to deal with the security hole of which each attack takes advantage. The explanations are clear and detailed and cover UNIX and Linux, Windows 95, 98 and NT (with an appendix on Windows 2000), Novell NetWare and common firewalls and mail servers too. The problem is always growing, but the coverage is reasonably up-to-date and points you at some useful resources, including the companion Web site at www.hackingexposed.com.

The obvious worry with a book like this is that it will help the crackers as much as the sysadmins it's written for. But security through obscurity is no security--and anyway all of these intrusion tools and techniques are out there on the Net already for those with the time and inclination to look for them. Learning how vulnerable your network is to password crackers and direct attacks or seeing how easily intruders can find out about your systems and take advantage of your resources--and getting a step-by-step guide to keeping them out--is your best defence. --Penny Jannifer

About the Author

Stuart McClure, CNE, CCSE, Global CTO for McAfee/Intel, is responsible for a nearly $3B consumer and corporate security products business. During his tenure at McAfee, Stuart has also held the General Manager position for the Security Management Business for McAfee/Intel, which enabled all McAfee corporate security products to be operationalized, managed, and measured. Alongside those roles, Stuart has also run an elite team of good guy hackers inside McAfee called TRACE that discovered new vulnerabilities and emerging threats. Previously, Stuart helped run security at the largest healthcare company in the U.S., Kaiser Permanente. In 1999, Stuart was also the original founder of Foundstone, Inc., a global consulting and products company, which was acquired by McAfee in 2004. Stuart is the lead author and original founder of the Hacking Exposed series of books and has been hacking for the good guys for over 25 years. Widely recognized and asked to present his extensive and in-depth knowledge of hacking and exploitation techniques, Stuart is considered one of the industrys leading authorities on information security risk today. A well-published and acclaimed security visionary, McClure brings a wealth of technical and executive leadership with a profound understanding of both the threat landscape and the operational and financial risk requirements to be successful in todays world. Stuart is often quoted in most all mainstream news outlets.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0072121270
• ISBN 13: 9780072121278
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 550