CSO Study Hall: Picks for Your Library

It's back-to-school season, time to hit the books. In honor of fall's more rigorous schedule, we're offering some brain food for your security plate. Because summer still lingers, consider our ratings system below (weighing the relative heft of these books) a way to ease the seasonal transition.

By Diann Daniel

September 01, 2005 — CSO —

the backpack Rating system

* Don't put away your beach chair just yet.

**. Back-to-school is in the air.

***. Prepare to fire the synapses.

**** No need to pull an all-nighter, but serious focus is required.

*****. Read when wide awake. Have snacks nearby.

thriller

No Place to Hide
Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Free Press, 2005
$26
In our age of surveillance, where anyone can buy (for less than $50) enough information to steal your identity, and various private and public entities have increasing amounts of data about you, one thing is for sure: You are being watched. An unnerving look at just how that's happening.
****

memoir

Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy
By Lindsay Moran
Penguin Group, 2005
$22.95
One twentysomething's adventures are recounted with wit and candor in this rare behind-the-scenes look at life in the CIA. A fascinating and lighthearted read that exposes the disparity between what you think it's like to be a CIA agent and what it actually is like to be a CIA agent.
*

Infosecurity Fitness

Silence on the Wire: A Field Guide to Passive Reconnaissance and Indirect Attacks
By Michal Zalewski
No Starch Press, 2005
$39.95
Don't be fooled by the cute coverthis book packs in tons of information about passive reconnaissance. May be a bit dense for those new to information warfare.
*****

Self-Help

From Victim to Victor: A Step-by-Step Guide for Ending the Nightmare of Identity Theft (Second Edition)
Mari J. Frank, Esq.
Porpoise Press, 2004, 2005
$39.95
This book instructs readers in the actions required to combat identity theft. Includes laws, forms and resources.
***

Coffee-Table Book

The Incredible World of Spy-Fi: Wild and Crazy Spy Gadgets, Props, and Artifacts from TV and the Movies
By Danny Biederman
Chronicle Books, 2004
$19.95
Espionage accoutrements of the hippest and most beloved fictional spies of yesteryear are presented in colorful funky layouts. A visual treat of photos, diagrams and profiles.
*

Travel: Global Economy

Mapping Security: The Corporate Security Sourcebook for Today's Global Economy
By Tom Patterson with Scott Gleeson Blue
Addison-Wesley Professional, 2005
$34.99
This valuable guidebook explains how to implement successful security processes in a multinational business environment. Includes a metric for quantifying security risk.
****

Infosecurity Instruction

The Executive Guide to Information Security: Threats, Challenges, and Solutions
By Mark Egan with Tim Mather
Addison-Wesley Professional, 2005
$34.99
Geared toward nontechnical executives, the people, process and technology of an effective information security system are well-presentedand with a minimum of jargon.
***

How-To: In-Home Espionage

Cyber Spying: Tracking Your Family's (Sometimes) Secret Online Lives
By Ted Fair, Michael Nordfelt, Sandra Ring, and Dr. Eric Cole (Technical Editor)
Syngress Publishing, 2005
$39.95
The hows and whys of cyberspying on family and friends are laid out in a step-by-step and in-depth manner. Includes a word on ethics.
****

Read more about data protection in CSOonline's Data Protection section.

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