Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from February, 2013

Book Review: “Trojan Horse (2012)” by Mark Russinovich

Executive Summary:   I recommend this book for the casual reader that is interested in cyber security topics. It is not a must read for the cyber security professional, but it is a fun one. You will not learn anything new here, but you will enjoy wallowing around in a Clancy-esque story with cyber security tech as the main focus. In it, Russinovich describes the nature of the Chinese Cyber Espionage program, general hacking techniques, and the significance of STUXNET. If you are looking for some easy entertainment during a rainy weekend, this is your book.  Review:  The story picks up two years after “Zero Day” ended [12]. Daryl is now out of government service and working with her better half, Jeff, in his consulting firm. Jeff gets called in to track down a nasty piece of Malcode that changed the contents of an important UN document regarding the Iranian nuclear program prior to publication. Daryl comes in to assist and the two of them discover that the Chinese are

Book Review: “Zero Day (2011)” by Mark Russinovich

Executive Summary I recommend this book for the casual reader that is interested in cyber security topics. It is not a must-read if you are already a cyber security professional. You probably already know about most of the topics covered. However, if you have friends and family that wonder what you do every day, you might hand this to them as a primer. And, if you are looking for some pretty good reading material for your next beach vacation, you could do a lot worse. “Zero Day” is a fun political thriller that shows computer security geeks saving the day. In it, Russinovich describes the nature of cyber crime and how a cyber terrorism campaign might be launched against the US.  Review:  I appreciate what Mr. Russinovich is trying to do with this novel: Tell an exciting, “Die Hard-ish” story with interesting cyber security people and realistic tech and, at the same time, inform the general reader about how dangerous the current state of the cyber security environment is. I