Books: A User's Report

Elizabeth Zinkann

The news illustrates the problem in story after story -- we keep trying to conduct private transmissions in an insecure world. There are precautions that we can take and utilities that protect email, documents, data, and records. However, we often neglect or forget to utilize them. This column reviews some excellent references on this topic. I have included Bruce Schneier's latest book, Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World (John Wiley & Sons); The Practical Intrusion Detection Handbook by Paul E. Proctor, Foreword by Dorothy Denning (Prentice Hall); Linux System Security, The Administrator's Guide to Open Source Security Tools by Scott Mann and Ellen L. Mitchell (Prentice Hall Series in Computer Networking and Distributed Systems); and the CVS Pocket Reference by Gregor N. Purdy (O'Reilly & Associates).

Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World
Bruce Schneier John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN 0-471-25311-1
412 Pages
$29.99
http://www.wiley.com/

The allure of the Internet presents many advantages to its users. It offers visitors another world without leaving the comfort of their own homes or offices, in a way reminiscent of Walter Mitty. Since the users physically remain in their familiar surroundings, it is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security. Bruce Schneier, security specialist and the author of Applied Cryptography (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., ISBN 0-471-11709-9, $49.95), analyzes the security risks and problems associated with doing business in an often insecure digital world. Applied Cryptography examined cryptographic protocols, techniques, and algorithms to implement privacy safeguards for email, sensitive data, and confidential records.