In Information Security it is about how well one could manage the tools and security resources at hand. Author is able to present an excellent picture of how important security policies and management pratices are for any organisation. Technologies change so rapidly that it is hard for any book to keep up with them but a book like this would be useful for Information Security professional in any era as its concepts are generic. Rating: 5 / 5

Dear Mr. Panko,

If you are going to write a book this bad and irritating to read, the least you can do is sell it cheap, so that when a poor undergraduate student is forced to use it as a textbook, he will at least have some money left over for food.

Good luck with the second edition,

Wils Rating: 1 / 5

I purchased a copy of this book for a network security class. In a way it has been a great read, for humor. The terms and programs are dated at best, made up at worst. An example, ‘drive-by hacking,’I have NEVER seen this anywhere. It is commonly refered to as ‘war driving,’ showing its lineage to ‘war dialing’ or ‘Snooping’. I have worked in IT security for the past 3 years and I find this book insulting. But, for a plus, it is a convenent size to use as a clip board, and it does hold papers down on my desk well. Rating: 2 / 5

This is an excellent book — really gives you a security mindset. Informative, yet still an easy read. The only think I didn’t like is the price of the book — but I bought it using a coupon from UnderTag.com, so it ended up being a bargain for me! Rating: 5 / 5

While I can appreciate the need for a grounding in the basics of computer security the author goes about it poorly. The book layout on first pass seems passable with gratuitous usage of charts and visuals, but as the reader goes through the actual information you begin to realize that much of the information is rehashed in various forms. If you were to cut out the added redundancy, the book would be two-thirds it current size.

I also agree with a previous reviewer that some of the information seems a bit contrived or made-up in terms of modern day lingo use. The “drive by hacking” descrip the author uses in chapter two is accurate, but is more prevalently known as wardriving but the author does not identify that to the reader.

One thing the author does do well is reinforce concepts through questions that are interspersed throughout each chapter as well as “Thought questions” at the end of them. This being a first edition, I hope that subsequent editions are improved especially considering the price of the text. As book alternatives, Network Security Bible (basic level) and Security Warrior (intermediate) are good reads at a more palatable price. Rating: 2 / 5