The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

Reading this book, you will quickly come to realize that Mitnick's toolbox is every bit as effective as the hacking and cracking technology ... and as you read further, it may dawn on you just how hard it is to counter the social engineering attack. After all, much as you might like to, you can't simply plug in a new program to security-patch your employees!

Mitnick's suggested countermeasures in section 4 of the book are fairly straightforward (a wide-ranging security awareness program and a decent set of policies) but implementing them effectively and persuading employees to pay attention requires those very social engineering skills described in sections 1-3.

I'm left with the distinct impression that Mitnick is teasing us by describing a few simple deceptions whilst keeping the best to himself. But think for a moment about the success of the "419" advance fee scams. Otherwise sane, intelligent individuals are evidently being drawn into parting with their hard-earned cash on the basis of these crude deceptions. The implications are truly frightening.

My bottom line: take this book on holiday with you. Once you start, you will not want to put it down and you can reflect on it at the bar. Free drinks anyone?

The book is very easy to read, it isn't full of computer jargon, which I personally thought it would be. The stories are told from the point of view of the hacker, an introduction describing each situation is given first, phone conversations are written down, the con is analyzed, and then Mitnick tells us how to avoid situations like that happening by 'preventing the con'.

It is very easy to see when reading this book how the people (note, not the technology) get tricked or persuaded into giving away such vital information, the key is social engineering. These people believe that the hacker is someone within the organisation who should have access to this information anyway so no harm will come from giving it away, but how can they tell simply from one phone call?

All in all, this book is an education in information security, it tells us that having firewalls, anti-virus software and other security equipment installed will help to protect your information system, but this alone will not be enough, the updates are a very important element in securing your information, and without these, your system will be even more vulnerable from attack by outsiders. Employees, without being educated in information security, can let you down, simply by being too trusting and not knowing who they are giving the information away to!