- Hardcover: 240 pages
- Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (Oct 3 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0471458791
- ISBN-13: 978-0471458791
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 16.1 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 513 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,634,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
This rather jumbled study of the state of modern American security issues falls short of indispensable but rises well above useless polemic. Saying the most in his own professional area, information-technology security, Ranum denigrates the prospect of "cyberwar," but then discusses in some detail the disruption that hackers have caused. Existing firewalls (of which the author is a professional developer) and virus protection are valuable, but only if universally and rigorously used. Hackers should not be rewarded for turning "expert" but charged with grand theft, and people with top-secret access need to be paid more than clerks. He praises the better trained personnel of the Transportation Security Authority and goes on to denounce the opposition to profiling as the dreaded "PC's." If Ranum demonizes anybody in this breezy first-person polemic, it is the media, with the standard charges of giving information to the enemy ("Thanks a lot, guys!"), but he also makes a persuasive case for their abysmal technical ignorance. (The ACLU is not accused of anything worse than having a radically different perspective than his about the long-term consequences of the Patriot Act.) Ranum notes that more cooperation with foreign intelligence agencies is needed, and is possibly occurring. The turf war between the FBI and the CIA has to end. And the government's information technology system needs to be rationalized, starting about 10 years ago. At the end of Ranum's stocktaking, one is left with an instant soup-like aftertaste, but there are enough cubes of information among the "You Should Know" sidebars and "Bringing the Point Home" boxes, particularly for technophiles, to make it worthwhile.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
This rather jumbled study of the state of modern American security issues falls short of indispensable but rises well above useless polemic. Saying the most in his own professional area, information-technology security, Ranum denigrates the prospect of "cyberwar," but then discusses in some detail the disruption that hackers have caused. Existing firewalls (of which the author is a professional developer) and virus protection are valuable, but only if universally and rigorously used. Hackers should not be rewarded for turning "expert" but charged with grand theft, and people with top-secret access need to be paid more than clerks. He praises the better-trained personnel of the Transportation Security Authority and goes on to denounce the opposition to profiling as the dreaded "PC's." If Ranum demonizes anybody in this breezy first-person polemic, it is the media, with the standard charges of giving information to the enemy ("Thanks a lot, guys!"), but he also makes a persuasive case for their abysmal technical ignorance. (The ACLU is not accused of anything worse than having a radically different perspective than his about the long-term consequences of the Patriot Act.) Ranum notes I that more cooperation with foreign intelligence agencies is needed, and is possibly occurring. The turf war between the FBI and the CIA has to end. And the government's information technology system needs to be rationalized, starting about 10 years ago. At the end of Ranum's stocktaking, one is left with an instant soup-like aftertaste, but there are enough cubes of information among the "You Should Know" sidebars and "Bringing the Point Home" boxes, particularly for technophiles, to make it worthwhile. (Nov.) (Publishers Weekly, November 3, 2003)
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Homeland security is not a game for amateurs or the impatient. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Homeland security is not a game for amateurs or the impatient. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
It's about Ranum, not about Homeland Security,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Myth of Homeland Security (Hardcover)
It was reassuring to see Ranum discussing the areas he's known for: downplaying the over-hyped risks cyber-terrorism (and he has thoughtful comments on a cyber "pre-"Pearl Harbor). But the rest of the book is a lot more about Ranum's opinions and speculations, and rather light on reliable facts. Where you already agree, you might cheer Ranum on. But if he introduces material that surprises or challenges, he cites no sources, so who know's if he's talking fact or blather? In numerous places, he's vague or superficial or appears to contradict points he made a chapter or two back. It's as though the book was written in a number of brief bursts, the author forgetting between times what he'd said before. The book review by Rob Slade (Google newsgroups) takes Ranum to task for this comment. Then an "annoyed" Ranum, replying in Risk Digest 23.14, claims he never wrote this! I'm pretty sure this was just an example of vagueness... but it's emblematic of what's wrong with this book, and it's exponentially moreso in the squishier political and governmental areas.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Ramblings By a Non-Expert,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Myth of Homeland Security (Hardcover)
Don't waste your time or your money. Why would anybody want to read a book about homeland security (given all such a title entails) by an information security geek? Well, if you do fall for it, that's exactly what you will get. For a more complete, expert treatment of homeland security issues, I recommend Richard Clarke's book Against All Enemies or Dan Verton's book, Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber-Terrorism.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not much new thought, rambling,
By
This review is from: The Myth of Homeland Security (Hardcover)
This book is a rambling collection of opinion and assumed facts. It is very poorly edited (one chapter ends in mid-sentence) and there are way too many subheadings and bold extracted quotes that give the book more of a tabloid feel (and expands the number of pages -- maybe there wasn't enough material??). A lot of the "You should know" sidebars are statements of opinion dressed up as fact. There are some interesting factual tidbits, but it is almost too much effort to wade through the chaff to find them.
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