Customer Reviews

Intranet Security - Stories from the Trenches (Sun Microsystems Press)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book does not show you how to secure your Intranet. Basically it tells you to have policies and procedures and to hire a security expert to audit your site. It's an easy read and has lots of interesting stories. May be an eye oppener to some people in management that have never tought about security, but if you like technical stuff this book is not for you. It makes you more security conscious, doesn't teach you anything about how to secure anything.

Don't look here AT ALL if you want technical knowledge, but I'd recommend it for a plain English introduction to security. Well written book, I thought, mainly b/c it matches my philosophy that security is more about people and (implemented) policies than about techie details. Of course, the techie details are absolutely essential (and way more fun for me), but security isn't improved for any period of time unless the organization is committed to security. That becomes obvious the first time you try social engineering. The author gives plenty of real world examples to support this holistic view.

The book is terrific. I like the mix of case studies and technical content. I really wanted to know the names of the actual companies mentioned in the book.

I liked is to much that I bought fifty copies to pass out to friends and customers, then my company hired the author to do a series of seminars.

I have read numerous books about computer/network/internet security and Linda McCarthy's book "Intranet Security" gets 5 stars. She has captured what is important in an easy to read, brief yet descriptive synopsis of where intranet security has been, where it is now and where it will be in the future.

Whether you are just getting started in the security field or have been working in security for 25 years, this book is a MUST READ.

I work for a company that sells Intrusion Detection Systems. After reading Linda's book it really helped me in positioning our products to potential customers. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in computer security and hacking.

"Intranet Security : Stories from the Trenches" gives you more than the title promises. It is not only a collection of enlightening case studies, but the author also gives a brief and to-the-point analysis of each case. The morals can easily be generalized for networks other than Intranets. The book does not intend to go into technical details, so anyone who is interested in network security will find it easy to read. The chapters are well-structured and the most important messages are repeated throughout the book. My experience as an IT consultant shows that the problems highlighted in the book are common to many organizations, so it is a very useful (though not comprehensive) high level guide for Security Managers, Executives and IS Auditors.

I have a small, growing company that is just becoming aware of it's need for greater security implementation. I picked this book up because I wanted to be able to converse more effectively with the folks who are implementing a security strategy for the greater organization. This book helped to build my confidence in asking the right questions of the experts, because I am NOT a computer security expert. I was able to understand the big picture about the importance of security and what that means. It's a good primer on basic security strategies.

Linda's book is one of those that you can't put down until you have carefully consumed it all. It contains valuable information about major minor issues surrounding network and system security. Linda brings her wealth of knowledge on the subject to the table and helps the reader obtain essential information about how to create and maintain a secure computing environment. Her book addresses not only the "electronic issues" associated with computer security, but the people issues as well! Get it, read it, follow its guidelines, or someone else may soon find out you haven't....

Linda's book is an effective tool. While it's certainly not a technical book (i.e. O'Reilly series), it provides an accurate depiction of what security consultants are finding in their travels and the sort of struggles that one who's interested Intranet security will see in their career. If you manage technical people, read this book. If you outsource technology functions, read this book. If you are implementing security, give this book to whoever you are implementing for.

This book is by no means a how-to book. For that you should buy "Practical Unix and Internet Security" by Spafford and Garfinkel.

"Intranet Security : Stories from the Trenches" will help you raise management's awareness of the security issues derived from the wide use of corporate intranets. Hence, true to its title, this book offers detailed narratives "from the trenches" that might help one not make the same mistakes the author has encountered during her work as a consultant. Know, if you're looking for lines of code and configuration details, go somewhere else.