| |||||||||||||||
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Security or Liberty? Both!,
By
This review is from: Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World. (Hardcover)
I first read about Bruce Schneier in an eye-opening article by Charles Mann in the September, 2002 issue of The Atlantic Monthly. It seems that you don't have to make the false choice everyone is agonizing over between security and liberty. You can have both.
Schneier's book expands on the ideas in the article. Although Schneier is a technology fan and it is his livelihood, he realizes that sometimes a live security guard can provide better security than cutting-edge (but still fallible) face-recognition scanners, for instance. He explains why national ID cards are not a good idea, and how iris-scanners can be fooled. These are ideas for security on a large scale, for airports, nuclear and other power plants, and government websites. For security on an individual or small business scale, try Art of the Steal by Frank Abagnale. But even if you don't run a government, Beyond Fear is a fascinating read about how your government is making choices (and how they SHOULD be making choices about your security and about your rights.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pragmatic advice,
By A Customer
This review is from: Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World. (Hardcover)
Bruce's greatest strength is in the role of Evangelist -- he translates the complex aspects of security into a vocabulary suitable for common consumption. If you're a sociologist, a risk management officer, or a cultural psychologist, you'll be familiar with a lot of the upstream references from which Bruce draws his examples. Conversely, if you're working in an office where "solving that security problem" is one of your many tasks, you won't have the time or inclination to dig out the esoteric sources. Consider this book as an alternative, far less onerous choice.The book is easy reading -- it flows quickly and keeps returning to a common set of themes. These are set against many contexts so you're sure to find something familiar. You won't find any math or greek notation in here, to the disappointment of "Applied Cryptography" die-hards but the relief of everyone else. The underlying message, seeing beyond the Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) propagated by mass media and the government, is a key one to understanding why it's OK to question this hyper-security-conscious world we find ourselves in. Airline security is an arena familiar to most business travelers, and we as passengers are expected not only to accept increasingly invasive measures, but welcome them without hesitation. Bruce teaches us how to evaluate the efficacy of these schemes both individually and in the aggregate. The results will surprise all but the most cynical among you. That said, this is not the textbook of a conspiracy theorist. Bruce willingly admits that improving security correctly is a worthwhile pursuit, and even teaches us how to do it. You won't find the rantings of an ill-informed libertarian crackpot. If your interests lead you to ask questions and be curious about the changes to your world in recent years, you will find this an entertaining and informative volume. Democrat or Republican, luddite or technology businessperson, it's worth a look at your earliest opportunity.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of very useful practical advice and don't panic,
By
This review is from: Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World. (Hardcover)
Not quite what I'd expected. I'd read & enjoyed 'Secrets & Lies', and I thought this would be more of the same. This book is really a discussion about what actions have been taken post 9/11, and in parts it's a criticism of the overreaction that there has been.However, its not overtly political, and gives dozens (perhaps a 100) practical worked examples of good & bad, effective & ineffective, responses to security issues, whether it be physical, electronic etc. There is a 5-step process which I found useful to apply to everyday situations; and (in highly abbreviated form) these are : what are you trying to protect; what are the risks; risk mitigation; risks caused by the solution; trade-offs The core message is : "as both individuals and a society, we can make choices about our security", and this book helps you understand how to make those informed decisions.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|