Discovering Cybersecurity: A Technical Introduction for the Absolute Beginner

The contemporary IT landscape is littered with various technologies that vendors claim will “solve” an organization’s cybersecurity challenges. These technologies are powerful and, in the right context, can be very effective. But misunderstood and misused, they either do not provide effective protection or do not protect the right things. This results in unnecessary expenditures, false beliefs of security, and interference with an organization’s mission.

This book introduces major technologies that are employed in today’s cybersecurity landscape and the fundamental principles and philosophies behind them. By grasping these core concepts, professionals in every organization are better equipped to know what kind of technology they need, ask the right questions of vendors, and better interface with their CISO and security organization. The book is largely directed at beginners, including non-technical professionals such as policy makers, compliance teams, and business executives.

What You Will Learn

• Authentication technologies, including secure password storage and how hackers “crack” password lists
• Access control technology, such as BLP, BIBA, and more recent models such as RBAC and ABAC
• Core cryptography technology, including AES encryption and public key signatures
• Classical host security technologies that protect against malware (viruses, trojans, ransomware)
• Classical network security technologies, such as border security (gateways, firewalls, proxies), network IDS and IPS, and modern deception systems
• Web security technologies, including cookies, state, and session defenses, and threats that try to subvert them
• Email and social media security threats such as spam, phishing, social media, and other email threats

Who This Book Is For

Professionals with no technical training in engineering, computers, or other technology; those who want to know things at a technical level but have no previous background; professionals with a background in policy, compliance, and management; technical professionals without a background in computer security who seek an introduction to security topics; those with a security background who are not familiar with this breadth of technology.

About the Author

Seth James Nielson, PhD is the founder and chief scientist of Crimson Vista, a cybersecurity engineering company. He advises clients from startups to Fortune 50 companies on security matters. Dr. Nielson also teaches cybersecurity courses at the University of Texas at Austin. He has authored or co-authored papers on topics such as IoT security, hacking portable chemical manufacturing systems, and methods for teaching computer security to students. Dr. Nielson also co-authored the Apress book, Practical Cryptography in Python.