Cybershock: Surviving Hackers, Phreakers, Identity Thieves, Internet Terrorists and Weapons of Mass Disruption [Hardcover]

Winn Schwartau (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2000

In recent years information warfare has trickled from the domain of governments and megacorporations into the lives and workplaces of the average citizen, and privacy concerns are at an all-time high. Cybershock is the first book to guide the average Internet user through online perils and offers answers and solutions in common-sense language. Winn Schwartau leads readers through the basics (What's hacking? Who hacks?), introduces actual hacking tools and techniques, and using corporate, law enforcement, and military examples, teaches how to become a successful anti-hacker. It also provides balanced viewpoints through graphic, pictorial, and written contributions from the principal stakeholders: hackers and phreakers; corporate security experts; lawyers and cyberjudicial professionals; and officers with the security-sensitive military and government agencies. The book includes an extensive listing of both hacking and anti-hacking Internet sites and a compendium of the leading anti-hacking security products and tools.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

One of the leading information security and electronic privacy experts in the United States, Schwartau (Information Warfare) here brings the perils of the Internet to life in an engaging style accessible to the average reader. Schwartau describes an Internet full of criminal hackers and cyberpunks who are clearly ethically challenged but clever enough and willing to use deception to establish and expand their power. He explains who these people are, why they hack, and how they crack passwords, break into systems, and maintain their anonymity. More importantly, Schwartau suggests what a user can do to deter such attacks and explains the fundamentals of how to protect oneself without having to become a security expert. With burgeoning concerns over privacy and security on the Internet, this is one book that everyone from systems administrators to casual net surfers should read. References to further readings are scattered throughout the work. Highly recommended for most collections.
-Joe Accardi, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Schwartau deserves much more credit than he has gotten from Congress or the military or the US business community. -- Robert Steele, former spy and creator of OSS, Inc

This book is a dose of reality combined with a thoughtful presentation of First Amendment concerns in Cyberspace. -- Congressman Tom Tancredo, Colorado

Winn Schwartau is a gifted, uniquely energetic visionary of cyber-security. -- Michael J. Zuckerman, Senior Writer, USA Today

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 499 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1st edition (May 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560252464
• ISBN-13: 978-1560252467
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,476,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensationalist, Populist, Useful, Worthy, August 22, 2000

By 

Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Cybershock: Surviving Hackers, Phreakers, Identity Thieves, Internet Terrorists and Weapons of Mass Disruption (Hardcover)

There will be those quick to trash this book as sensationalist, and they are partly right. What most people, including the critics, do not realize is that Winn Schwartau went out on a limb in the late 1980's and early 1990's and is *the* primary reason Congress got concerned enough about these issues to demand a Critical Infrastructure Protection program funded at over $1B--it was Winn, not others quick to claim the line, that testified to Congress about an "electronic Pearl Harbor" on 24 June 1991. This book is unabashedly populist and seeks to make this very complex threat entertaining and understandable, and for that reason alone it is worth the time to consider. There are many other serious books for engineers, this is the one for anyone at all from housewife to student to executive. Great airplane book, won't save the world, but will certainly increase your consciousness across the board. Worthy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Winn's best yet, a readable Info-War book, July 3, 2000

By 

Bill Hutchinson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cybershock: Surviving Hackers, Phreakers, Identity Thieves, Internet Terrorists and Weapons of Mass Disruption (Hardcover)

This book is needed, it covers the broad area of Information Warfare, and actually gives realistic and understandable examples. A must read for those interested in the topic. The writing style is relaxed, but the content is not shallow. Read it!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrorism Research Center Review of Cybershock, July 6, 2000

By 

M. G. Devost (Burke, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cybershock: Surviving Hackers, Phreakers, Identity Thieves, Internet Terrorists and Weapons of Mass Disruption (Hardcover)

Cybershock: Surviving Hackers, Phreakers, Identity Thieves, Internet Terrorists and Weapons of Mass Disruption by Winn Schwartau is an enlightening look at the dangers of the Internet from a consumer/ general user perspective. If I had one book to give friends and family that demonstrates the types of threats they need to be aware of in the information age, it would be Schwartau's Cybershock. Winn wrote this book for the mass market and he never strays from his target audience. He makes no apologies to those who are familiar with technology and security when he provides real-life examples of information security horror stories involving fraud or identity theft that many might label as fear mongering. Winn's stories are personal because he has been a victim and many of his friends and relatives have been targeted as well. One of Winn's major objectives in writing this book was to advance ideas on privacy and Internet rights, and many of the examples point the reader in a specific direction. However, Winn doesn't hide the fact that he is trying to be somewhat controversial to raise awareness on specific issues. The book, after all is entitled Cybershock, not Cybercalm. As an added bonus, the book also provides some interesting historical perspectives as Winn describes and interviews individuals who were visionaries offering information security services or predicted new threats before they emerged.