Book Features: Hacking and Viruses

I was invited recently to speak at the Osborne Episode 1 event on the subject of hacking and viruses. Here are some interesting books about this subject which you may get interested in as well.

Incident Response: Investigating Computer Crime
If there’s one book that can guide any company or organization wanting to put up a computer emergency response team, this is the one. In Incident Response: Investigating Computer Crime, authors Chris Prosise and Kevin Mandia provide an insider”s look at the legal, procedural and technical steps of computer forensics and analysis. This “one-stop” read is filled with understandable information and frequently illustrated with FBI and other real world case studies, which show how to resolve computer security incidents. It focuses on the following topics:

• to evaluate a computer security incident involving insider threat, Internet fraud, ransom letters extortion, unauthorized access, denial of service, theft of information, to name a few
• Ways to determine the best response
• How to implement that strategy, including detailed technical checklists and toolkit
• The role of the response team, legal counsel, and law enforcement.

Charles Keating, Michael Milken, Robert Hanssen – all highly visible criminals whose activities once turned the corporate and diplomatic world upside down. But today…in the information age, there exists a new kind of stealth criminal who is capable of wreaking even greater havoc! In order to catch these cyber criminals, new strategies have been developed by an elite group of computer security specialists. Now two of them are sharing that knowledge with the rest of us.

Prosise and Mandia are two of USA”s most respected computer security experts. Both have developed and taught courses, written books and articles on incident response, hacking and network security, and worked with commercial and governmental entities, such as the FBI, State Department, CIA, and NASA. They are featured speakers on incident response at security conferences worldwide.

Companies, individuals, and law enforcement agencies can benefit greatly from the immense guide that this book has to offer. A must have!

VIRUSES REVEALED!
As of mid-2001, there are thousands of computer viruses-perhaps as many as 75,000 – with reports of as many as 20 new viruses a week. Counting the various worms, Trojan horses, backdoors, and other malware, the numbers grow even larger, as does the amount of money spent on clean-up efforts. Computer Economics estimates that for 2001 (through August) the economic impact of virus attacks around the world has hit $10.7 billion. It is now more important than ever to deploy all possible defenses to gain reasonable protection.

A good reference book to read in understanding this is Viruses Revealed – Understand and Counter Malicious Software (ISBN 0-07-213090-3) by David Harley, Robert Slade, and Urs E. Gattiker.

This detailed guide offers coverage and analyses of the origin, structure, and technology behind the expanding array of computer viruses, and addresses current methods of prevention and detection. The authors strive to help their readers understand how computer viruses infiltrate systems and destroy data, how anti-malware technology works, and how to evaluate and implement practical solutions to protect a system. The inclusion of real-world case studies provides a first-hand look at viruses in action and the damage they can cause.

The authors provide detailed information on topics such as the following:

• The anatomy of viruses – with additional details on worms, Trojans, zombies, etc.
• Different types and infection mechanisms – macro, script, stealth viruses, worms, etc.
• The specifics of virus activities and operation
• How to implement corporate defensive strategies and systems
• The social and legal aspects of data protection
• How to practice safer computing
• A historical overview of the emergence and evolution of computer viruses, and more.

For those who are still uncertain on how to handle computer viruses and what measures can you take to protect yourself, this book is a good one to start.