Security Warrior

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 552 pages
• Published by: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
• Edition: 1st Edition February 1, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0596005458
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0596005450
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Weighs: 1.8 pounds

Reader Reviews
..."Security Warrior" is a heavyweight contender. Peikari and Chuvakin offer a dark counterpart to O'Reilly classics like "Practical UNIX and Internet Security" (PUAIS) and "Securing Windows NT/2000 Servers for the Internet." If you've been waiting for the next good security book from O'Reilly, "Security Warrior" (SW) is it. Part I, "Software Cracking," was my favorite section. This material is largely not for beginners, which marked a welcome change from many competing books. Part I gave an introduction to assembly language, followed by reverse engineering exercises on Windows, Linux, and Windows CE. I admit a good portion of the section was beyond my skill level, but I was able to "patch" binaries to alter program flow and even use a buffer overflow to execute previously unreachable code in a sample program. These sorts of "hands-on" exercises were informative and enjoyable. In the second part, "Network Stalking," I was pleased to see page 181 correctly state the role played by TCP sequence numbers. (Many authors are confused by this concept, oddly.) An entire chapter on social engineering advice was certainly novel. For the rest of the book, my favorite chapter (number 10) discussed techniques to frustrate forensic analysis. A fairly brief chapter on SQL injection made good points as did an examination of mathematics' role in intrusion detection in chapter 19. My only real criticism of SW centers on inclusion of generic security information. I didn't mark the book down for chapters on securing UNIX, for example, as the material is sound. However, if you've got PUAIS you can skip chapters 11 and 12. SW has something for everyone in the security community. It's a broad survey of current security issues, ranging from detailed analysis of assembly language to case studies on incident response. The authors have packed a lot of value into their 500+ page work. Comment | | (Report this)