Network Security Assessment: Know Your Network

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 396 pages
• Published by: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
• Edition: 1st Edition March 1, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 059600611X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0596006112
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 1.4 pounds

Product Description
There are hundreds--if not thousands--of techniques used to compromise both Windows and Unix-based systems. Malicious code and new exploit scripts are released on a daily basis, and each evolution becomes more and more sophisticated. Keeping up with the myriad of systems used by hackers in the wild is a formidable task, and scrambling to patch each potential vulnerability or address each new attack one-by-one is a bit like emptying the Atlantic with paper cup. If you're a network administrator, the pressure is on you to defend your systems from attack. But short of devoting your life to becoming a security expert, what can you do to ensure the safety of your mission critical systems? Where do you start? Using the steps laid out by professional security analysts and consultants to identify and assess risks, Network Security Assessment offers an efficient testing model that an administrator can adopt, refine, and reuse to create proactive defensive strategies to protect their systems from the threats that are out there, as well as those still being developed. This thorough and insightful guide covers offensive technologies by grouping and analyzing them at a higher level--from both an offensive and defensive standpoint--helping administrators design and deploy networks that are immune to offensive exploits, tools, and scripts. Network administrators who need to develop and implement a security assessment program will find everything they're looking for--a proven, expert-tested methodology on which to base their own comprehensive program--in this time-saving new book.

Reader Reviews
"Network Security Assessment" (NSA) is the latest in a long line of vulnerability assessment / penetration testing books, stretching back to "Maximum Security" in 1997 and "Hacking Exposed" shortly thereafter. NSA is also the second major security title from O'Reilly this year, soon to be followed by "Network Security Hacks." NSA is a good book with some new material to offer, but don't expect to find deep security insight in this or similar assessment books. NSA begins with the almost obligatory reference to the king of assessment books, "Hacking Exposed" (HE), saying "I leave listings of obscure techniques to behemoth 800-page 'hacking' books." I don't think some of the techniques covered in HE but not NSA are "obscure." Noticably lacking in NSA is coverage of dial-up techniques, wireless insecurities, Novell vulnerabilities, and attacking clients rather than servers. Should NSA receive a second edition, I expect to see the book expand closer to the "behemoth" it seems to deride. The best chapter by far was ch. 11, where the author with assistance from Michael Thumann takes the reader on a tour of exploiting vulnerable code. The stack diagrams and code snippets were especially helpful and the explanations were clear enough. This sort of material is a solid introduction to some of the techniques found in "Security Warrior." I also liked ch. 14, where the author explains a sample assessment using the tools already introduced. Kudos as well for maintaining an errata page and tool archive on the publisher's Web site. The advantage NSA has over HE is the variety of tools on hand. I learned of at least a dozen tools not mentioned elsewhere. The author seems to be thorough while listing various exploitable flaws from the last several years. While the prose is well-written, I believe the HE series does a better job communicating fundamentals of the underlying technology. In other words, HE gives better explanations of 'what' we are compromising, while "NSA" prefers to concentrate more on the compromising itself. This technology education aspect of the HE series has always been its strong point. For example, there's no need to read a 500 page book on Microsoft FrontPage to understand the problems with it when a quick look in a HE book explains the technology's basics as well as its security flaws. It's been over a year since the 4th edition of HE was published, so I recommend buying NSA to freshen your assessment skills. For the scenarios it does cover, which include most UNIX and Windows Internet-based attacks, it is thorough and accurate. Combined with O'Reilly's "Security Warrior," NSA presents an updated picture of the assessment scene. Comment | | (Report this)