The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security

Written by Kevin D. Mitnick, William L. Simon and Steve Wozniak

Narrated by Nick Sullivan

In his worldwide bestseller Secrets and Lies, Bruce Schneier made the case that achieving successful computer security is about more than just hardware and software, it's people. Truly, the greatest vulnerability in protecting the business assets of any company often lies with the company's own employees. Although corporations go to great lengths to install state of the art systems, they continue to ignore the human element of information security. If a hacker calls up some VP's assistant and makes false claims in order to get said VP's network password and is given it, it doesn't matter if you have the ultimate firewall and the most powerful server on the market. Without proper training and security procedures, employees are highly susceptible to what are called "social engineering" attacks that lead them to unwittingly open doors within the organization, both in the literal sense and the information technology sense. You can say what you want about Kevin Mitnick, but know this. There is no one on the planet who has more experience with "social engineering" techniques, and no one who is better able to advise on how these kind of attacks are carried out and can be prevented.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jul 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781705259405

Kevin D. Mitnick

Kevin Mitnick (Technical Editor) is the most famous computer hacker in the world. Since his first arrest in 1981, at age 17, he has spent nearly half his adult life either in prison or as a fugitive. He has been the subject of three books and his alleged 1982 hack into NORAD inspired the movie War Games. Since his plea-bargain release in 2000, he says he has reformed and is devoting his talents to helping computer security.

Reviews for The Art of Deception

[Catarina Cardoso Graça (catercookies) · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Has good resources and examples, but it's a bit too sexist to my liking.

[krishnanfromrgp · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

insights into social engineering. Way too elaborative, could have been shorter!

[Sasha L · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is as good as expected. Narration is outstanding and adds to the worth of the book