Tangled Web: Tales of Digital Crime from the Shadows of Cyberspace: Amazon.ca: Richard Power: Books

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Part true crime, part call to arms, Tangled Web looks over the firewall from both sides to examine the brave new crooks and their pursuers. Author Richard Power, editorial director of San Francisco's Computer Security Institute, is simultaneously engaging and wonky, a rare and lovely combination. Between interviews with hackers and security experts, Power plies the reader with numbers that suggest that the world's networks are swarming with money-sucking leeches, most of which are never even noticed, and certainly not caught. If his voice never quite becomes hysterical, it's to preserve his credibility; after all, Power's Institute needs a strong public awareness of cybercrime in order to stay in business.

Which is not to say that Tangled Web is inaccurate or strongly biased. The author gives credit where it is due to law enforcement agencies and security consultants who have made some genuine progress in preventing crime and apprehending criminals. Fortunately, it's tough as of yet to commit violent crimes over a network, but the reader will still find reason to think twice before glossing over security procedures even at home. Power provides example countermeasures for all levels of connection, value and privacy desired, and while some are out of reach of individuals and smaller businesses, others cost only a little time or convenience. Like health insurance, it is better to take care of it beforehand, and Tangled Web should inspire even the most confident reader to action. --Rob Lightner

Review

"A fascinating account of cybercrime that is packed with previously unpublished material about some of the biggest cases—a great read!" -- Dorothy Denning, Professor of Computer Science, Georgetown University

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
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Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great Summary...Too Long...Somewhat Outdated, Mar 2 2004

By

Jacob Hantla "hantla.com" (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Tangled Web: Tales of Digital Crime from the Shadows of Cyberspace (Hardcover)

I just finished reading Tangled Web by Richard Power. I thoroughly enjoyed most of it. He presents a very technical, a possibly boring subject in a very realistic and easy-to-read light. Many cyber-crime books either blow the topic way out of proportion and pander to the uneducated and gullible. They would have the same sort of audience that stocked up on supplies in the waning days of 1999 waiting for the Y2K bug to end the world. Powers does not do that. Nor does he play the issue down as some have. His information is backed by statistics, mostly presented in easy-to-read summary charts and tables. He prefaces the discussions of the various aspects of crimes with anecdotes that draw you into the topic, making you want to learn more. Overall, it is a very accurate, informative, and fun read.
My primary two concerns with the book that kept me from the 5-star rating are (1) The chapters are long winded. (2) Some of the information is outdated.
I wish that the author would have cut every section down in size by about 25%. Remember high school, when the teacher assigned a 5-page essay but you only had 4 pages of information? I don't know what the cause is, but this seems to be what Power did for many of the chapters. It takes away from the readability, but not significantly enough for me to suggest against this book.
Simply due to the rapidly changing environment of networking, computer technology, and the internet, this book is necessarily mildly outdated, since it was written in 2000. However, this problem is not great. This is not a technical
"how to stop cybercrime" book. It is more of an overview of what cybercrime is, what it can look like, and what it isn't. Therefore, even if the nuances of the crimes or the nuances of the preventions have changed, the bird's-eye view of them has changed very little. This also should not keep you from this book.
If you are interested in the subject buy this book. Now that so many copies are available so inexpensively by purchasing used, there is nothing to keep from reading this.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Really good book to give a manager, Sep 2 2003

By

Eric Kent (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tangled Web: Tales of Digital Crime from the Shadows of Cyberspace (Hardcover)

This is a really good book to give a manager.

It tells stories of what happens when you don't do security right without getting too technical.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, Thought-Provoking, and Compelling!, Feb 12 2002

By

Jim Moran - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tangled Web: Tales of Digital Crime from the Shadows of Cyberspace (Hardcover)

Advances made in computer and Internet technologies have contributed to the expansion of gathering, storing, processing, and exchanging all types of information. Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous people around these days who make unlawful attempts to obtain certain information, damage information and computer systems, obstruct services, cause mischief, and otherwise interfere with normal electronic communications.

Tangled Web discusses the roles of computer, Internet, and telecommunications technologies in the realm of computer crime - including pornography, identity theft, hacking, credit card data theft, altering Web pages, deliberate shutting down of services, fraudulent money transfers, worm and virus infections, and sabotage carried out by disgruntled employees. Actual accounts of real people perpetrating such crimes, including interviews, drives home the impact that criminal computer activity can have on the lives of so many other people.

Power describes in detail the kind of people involved in committing computerized crime - their motivations, how they go about their work, some of the law enforcement strategies involved in catching them, and the consequences of their actions - including monetary losses, downtime, and threats to human safety.

The book contains a helpful glossary of terminology specifically related to computer crime. A listing of resources provides readers with a wealth of additional information about computer crime, threats to online privacy, and measures that can be taken to help prevent future breaches of safety and security. Inclusion of the Computer Fraud and Misuse Act and other U.S. laws and treaties spells out the serious nature of criminal computer crime and some of the steps the federal government has taken to discourage further criminal activity.

I found the book quite chilling. I couldn't easily put it down. Anyone familiar with Simson Garfinkel's Database Nation (O'Reilly & Associates), will find this book thoroughly intriguing, thought-provoking, and compelling reason enough to take more serious measures to protect their computer systems and data against possible attack. Extraordinary reading and relevant to our culture today!

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Good resources but just okay......
This really is the "topic du jour" and it clearly is an important one, but like some of the other readers I found Schneier's book (Secrets & Lies) to be much more... Read more

Published on Dec 21 2001 by Barbara J. Brant

4.0 out of 5 stars A real eye opener on Digital weakness
Just amazing. This book and also the author acknowledges that there are more digital crimes happening every day then reported. Read more

Published on July 31 2001