The dotCrime Manifesto: How to Stop Internet Crime
Product Description
Internet crime keeps getting worse…but it doesn’t have to be that way. In this book, Internet security pioneer Phillip Hallam-Baker shows how we can make the Internet far friendlier for honest people–and far less friendly to criminals. The dotCrime Manifesto begins with a revealing new look at the challenge of Internet crime–and a surprising look at today’s Internet criminals. You’ll discover why the Internet’s lack of accountability makes it so … More >>
Dr. Hallam-Baker has written a very interesting book that clearly explains the history associated with the development of the Internet and why it is inherently insecure. Dr. Hallam-Baker’s insights comes from the fact that he was involved in the creation of the technologies and standards that have become the Internet. He also provides interesting information on the types of Internet based crime and explains how much of what passes for cyber-crime has its roots in other criminal activities – (e.g. the Nigerian Advanced Fee Scam has been around since the middle ages). He provides behind-the-scene interactions that led to some of the decisions that helped create the standards for the Internet. All of this data is interesting for people who haven’t lived this for 20 years. The concepts advanced in the book are described in ways that people can understand them well, such as the analogy that Internet security is similar to fire safety standards. The style of the book is readable and enjoyable, without being simple. After discussions of the crimes and threats associated with the Internet, Dr. Hallam-Baker provides many possible ways that security problems, such as SPAM, can be stopped. The weakness in the presentation is that most solutions advanced are best handled by large entities, like ISPs and enterprises. There is much less on what individuals can do to protect themselves. Many of the solutions require the development of standards that will make the Internet secure. Interestingly in the final chapter, Dr. Hallam-Baker stated this wasn’t the book he set out to write, but the one he had to write before he could do the second. Given the insight and enjoyable conversational style of this book, I look forward to the next book. Additionally I recommend anyone who wants to understand the roots and threats of cyber-crime, and how the Internet adjusted or didn’t adjust to these, to read this book.
Rating: 4 / 5
Nutshell review – This is an excellent book covering the major sources of internet related crime and how to combat it. It covers causes, effects and concrete solutions. If you are concerned about internet related crime then this is a book for you.
Rating: 5 / 5
This comprehensive book describes in great detail the state of internet crime today and what can be done about it. It gives a complete history that covers hacking and associated crimes beginning with the birth of the internet. In the dot Crime Manifesto, Dr. Hallam-Baker describes the advent and growth of crime on the internet in a way that only someone who has been there and observed it first hand is able to do.
It is well written with many illustrations that make it simpler to understand the difficult and often mind numbing tasks that are a part of the day to day combat known as internet security. One example of how the author gives scope to this complexity is found beginning on page 191. Here, Dr. Hallam-Baker gives an example of what type of man power would have been required to defend similar formations in the past. He starts by describing how the Great Wall of China was originally constructed and how it grew in size over a period of time as more and more invaders circumvented it. He also describes how difficult it was to defend. To quote him, “The wall could not prevent the raiding parties from entering China, but could stop them from escaping with the loot. It is one thing for a few hundred bandits to sneak over an unwatched stretch of wall in the middle of the night, but it is quite another to escape back over a fully guarded wall carrying large quantities of loot with an army in pursuit. – The conventional firewall configuration protects the internal network from external attack. Preventing attacks in the reverse direction reduces the value a captured machine to an attacker.” This quote is just one example of how Dot Crime Manifesto surrounds current major issues about security and simplifies the processes that are required to protect systems from attack and penetration.
Dot crime manifesto goes on to describe the most popular processes hackers use to gain access to computer networks and the best ways to defend against them. A good example of the detail and knowledge conferred through Dot Crime Manifesto can be found on page 301. Here the author describes Applied Identity; “When employees require access to valuable assets to perform their jobs, employers need reliable means of controlling access and establishing accountability. Strong authentication is an essential requirement in both cases. – SAML was originally designed to meet the expanding needs of enterprise authentication, authorization, and accountability.”
Dot Crime Manifesto also has detailed key points at the end of each chapter, which makes remembering the main points much easier.
Not only does this book include the various means to combat internet crime it includes wealth on information on the history of the internet and the crime it has spawned along the way.
I would highly recommend dot Crime Manifesto to anyone who may be studying for their security certifications or seeking an all-inclusive primer on the processes of internet crime and how to defend against them.
Rating: 5 / 5