CSO Study Hall: Picks for Your Library

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.

****