Access Denied: The Complete Guide to Protecting Your Business Online [Hardcover]

Cathy Cronkhite (Author), Jack McCullough (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2001 | Series: ComputerWorld Books for IT Leaders

This title provides a guide aimed at a non-technical audience and action orientated advice for securing computer systems. Using information in this book, managers should be able to understand their company's risks to email, eCommerce, Websites, data and computer systems.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Complete Guide to Protecting Your Business Online

As more and more businesses today are relying heavily on computers, the issue of security is critical. And, with the number of employees operating from mobile offices and using portable devices for network and email access, security risks have also increased--making valuable systems even more vulnerable to attacks. Laptop theft also puts sensitive, unencrypted information at risk. Each year the number of significantly destructive security incidents--widely-publicized virus infections and denial of service attacks--is escalating, so how can companies protect their information effectively and economically? The answers can be found inside Access Denied.

This highly practical resource provides hands-on tools and strategies for selecting the right technology solutions for creating a successful and cost-effective security policy. This book helps bridge the gap between business and technology--addressing both the need for profit and the requirement to invest in stronger security technology. Covering everything from data encryption methods to distribution list management, the book addresses key security risks associated with email, Web sites, portable devices, ecommerce, networks and computer systems. Through use of real-world examples the expert authors explain concepts, terminology, and related business issues, and offer solid security recommendations for small- medium-, and large-sized companies. Appropriate for both technology-implementers and the non-IT audience this book is ideal for any executive or business owner wanting to secure their company's information, form an efficient response team, and maintain a competitive edge in today's fast-moving, high-tech environment.

About the Author

Cathy Cronkhite (San Diego, CA) is the Manager of Client Operations, San Diego, for Xerox Connect. As a systems integrator, her expertise includes security evaluations and implementations. She is an accomplished public speaker and instructor. Jack McCullough (San Diego, CA) is founding consultant of Razorwire Information Security Consulting. He is a "white hat" hacker who performs denial of service tests, security and network auditing, and cryptanalysis for clients.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies (August 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072133686
• ISBN-13: 978-0072133684
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,948,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for non-technical and technical readers, December 19, 2001

By 

Jim Dietrich (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Access Denied: The Complete Guide to Protecting Your Business Online (Hardcover)

"Access Denied" is an excellent book for readers that want to understand the big picture of computer security. Network weaknesses, disaster recovery and business security "Best Practices" are among the many subjects introduced in this book. It also contains a great list of additional resources.

Unlike many computer books this is very well written and easy to read. The authors ask readers key questions that will help develop a tailored and effective security program. This book has already found its way into many college courses and anyone interested in security would be well served by reading it.

Keep in mind this is a non-technical introduction to the concepts and core skill areas of computer security and you wont learn how to configure your firewall or hack into a network. You will understand how to prepare and manage a security program very efficiently and that will have a greater impact on the security of you IT assets than a dozen "hacker secrets" books.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to security, a must read, September 25, 2001

By 

Erick Conlin (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Access Denied: The Complete Guide to Protecting Your Business Online (Hardcover)

This book won me over by making the complex simple and presenting security as it relates to the bottom line. As the authors point out, business people and IT professionals each speak a different language and waste a lot of time (and revenue) debating when they both really want the same thing. This is the best non-technical introduction to security I have read to date. It didn't waste my time comparing vendors and products and it made the complexities of security clear enough for me to grasp the threats facing our organization.
The section on risk assessment is as concise and on target as it gets. Why spend $[PRICE]on a box to "fix" all of your problems if the potential damage might be less than half of that? The best practices at the end of the chapters give a good start for you to develop a security plan and make it work. People have been talking about security as a process for years but unfortunately no one told the management.
Although this isn't a technical manual with step-by-step instructions for every firewall and operating system you can think of (hacking exposed) IT personnel will have their eyes opened and start thinking about a lot of things they may have never worried about. The book even touches on preparing for disasters...
including terrorism

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for beginners, August 4, 2003

By 

Dr Anton Chuvakin "Dr. Anton Chuvakin" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Access Denied: The Complete Guide to Protecting Your Business Online (Hardcover)

This book is a great starter book on information security! I was wading though my copy grumbling "I know this, this, this...", when it occurred to me that I am not the intended audience.

For some time, one of my friends was asking me for a good book on security for somebody who knows absolutely nothing about it. I gave him "Access Denied" - and now he is hooked. Several weeks has passed by and he is already asking for "Hacking Exposed"...

"Access Denied" covers a wide range of security-related topics. The book is well written, logically organized and have everything to appeal to the beginners in the security field, those curious about modern (if not cutting edge) security topics and those migrating to security from other IT fields.

Anton Chuvakin, Ph.D., GCIA, GCIH is a Senior Security Analyst with a major information security company. His areas of infosec expertise include intrusion detection, UNIX security, forensics, honeypots, etc. In his spare time, he maintains his security portal info-secure.org