• Author:
  • Mitnick, Kevin D.
  • Simon, William L.
• Subject:
  Computer Communications & Networking
• Published by:
  John Wiley & Sons Inc (US)
• Published:
  18/02/2005
• Price:
  $42.99
• <  Buy this book  >

Hacker extraordinaire Kevin Mitnick delivers the explosive encore to his bestselling The Art of Deception
Kevin Mitnick, the world's most celebrated hacker, now devotes his life to helping businesses and governments combat data thieves, cybervandals, and other malicious computer intruders. In his bestselling The Art of Deception, Mitnick presented fictionalized case studies that illustrated how savvy computer crackers use "social engineering" to compromise even the most technically secure computer systems. Now, in his new book, Mitnick goes one step further, offering hair-raising stories of real-life computer break-ins-and showing how the victims could have prevented them. Mitnick's reputation within the hacker community gave him unique credibility with the perpetrators of these crimes, who freely shared their stories with him-and whose exploits Mitnick now reveals in detail for the first time, including:

• A group of friends who won nearly a million dollars in Las Vegas by reverse-engineering slot machines
• Two teenagers who were persuaded by terrorists to hack into the Lockheed Martin computer systems
• Two convicts who joined forces to become hackers inside a Texas prison
• A "Robin Hood" hacker who penetrated the computer systems of many prominent companies-andthen told them how he gained access

With riveting "you are there" descriptions of real computer break-ins, indispensable tips on countermeasures security professionals need to implement now, and Mitnick's own acerbic commentary on the crimes he describes, this book is sure to reach a wide audience-and attract the attention of both law enforcement agencies and the media.

KEVIN MITNICK, whose own exploits have made him a veritable hacker's hero, shares more than a dozen true stories of cyber-invasions—devilishly ingenious, highly effective schemes that kick up your pulse rate even as you marvel at their sheer audacity. Each is followed by Mitnick's expert analysis of how the attack could have been prevented. And he is uniquely qualified to recommend effective security measures. Both a legend in the hacker underworld and a general in the war on cybercrime, Kevin Mitnick holds the one weapon most likely to take down the intruder—intimate knowledge of the hacker's brilliant and tenacious mind.

WILLIAM L. SIMON is an award-winning author and screenwriter who also collaborated with Kevin Mitnick on The Art of Deception.

Chapter 1: Hacking the Casinos for a Million Bucks.

Chapter 2: When Terrorists Come Calling.

Chapter 3: The Texas Prison Hack.

Chapter 4: Cops and Robbers.

Chapter 5: The Robin Hood Hacker.

Chapter 6: The Wisdom and Folly of Penetration Testing.

Chapter 7: Of Course Your Bank Is Secure — Right?

Chapter 8: Your Intellectual Property Isn’t Safe.

Chapter 9: On the Continent.

Chapter 10: Social Engineers — How They Work and How to Stop Them.

Chapter 11: Short Takes.

Index.