Customer Reviews

Securing the Borderless Network: Security for the Web 2.0 World

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am giving this four stars because in June 2010, this really helps me see the big picture from a seasoned tech executive, Harvard MBA's point of view. Through no fault of his own, the manuscript will age fast and be less valuable fast. For instance, chapter 6 doesn't have the iPad however, it does have the Apple Newton from 1993. There is a lot of history built into Gillis's research and I found that really helpful, we have to know where we have been to understand where we are going. If you need to understand the emerging trends in security and computing in general and it is still 2010, I recommend you buy this book. If it is later than 2010 and it is not second edition or updated, ask around for a copy to borrow. I guess I am a bit of a Gillis fan, I only recycled his Get the Message from 2004 last month.

This book is an entertaining and fun read and any technology enthusiast should read it. I was able to read this book in two nights and enjoyed it like I was reading Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. The author Tom Gillis clearly explains new challenges faced by IT Security Managers due to Web 2.0, Cloud Computing and mobile workforce. The author clearly explains why Web 2.0 and Cloud Computing are Enterprise management's biggest fear and clearly expose IT's inflexibility. Web 2.0 gives rise to Work 2.0 and whether IT departments like it or not, this trend is here to stay. Today employees work anytime from anywhere using any device and need connectivity 24x7x365 which increases their productivity and job satisfaction. But this trend is major headache for C-Level enterprise executives and IT Security managers as they don't know how to secure this information flow when communication may not even touch their networks like Salesforce hosting your company's CRM and employee access this data using his iPhone. Traditional network boundaries are blurring and it is becoming very difficult to protect data whether it is in motion or rest. Tom also explains Next Generation Firewalls that will not do filtering based on port, protocol and IP but instead will be Content, Application and User Identity aware. How about writing a firewall policy saying "John Doe" from "Engineering" department can access "[...]" and cannot exceed "2 Mbps"instead of IP address x.x.x.x/32 can access y.y.y.y/32 on port 80. I think you got the point :-)

The problem statement is clearly defined with many excellent examples and interview excerpts from real enterprises. Last few chapters are fully focused on highlighting solutions for Web 2.0 security challenges and I have to admit, Cisco vision is neat and they are focusing on both On-Prem and Cloud based security solutions. The author didn't go into implementation or design details but ideas like Flexible Identity Fabric and multilayer scanning engines are pretty encouraging. The concept of Policy Management consoles (where enforcement and Policy management functions are decoupled) along with Security Intelligence Operations (SIO) are good initiatives by Cisco.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and in my opinion the content is very well organized, timely and fresh. Tom Gillis is very knowledgeable and he certainly delivered a book that will benefit many IT managers,executives and staff members.

Shahid Shafi CCIE#12665 (RS,Security,SP)

"Securing the Borderless Network" is a good executive level summary of the issues that any IT manager needs to understand. At only 148 pages it can be read fairly quickly and the author has a writing style that made the subject engaging. I have read books that made their subjects more boring than was needed and luckily the author does a fine job of making security sound interesting and critical for an organization.

The topics range from cloud computing, smart phones, malware, identity management, data backup and loss, and real world security policies. Each topic does a good job showing enough history for understanding how a subject came to be relevant today. I had not seen a picture of an Apple Newton in a long time, but there it was in the history section of the smart phone chapter.

It should be pointed out that this is by Cisco Press and they do modestly discuss their own products as ways to address pretty much all of the issues brought up in the book. The author made this reasonably unobtrusive and I was left with a better appreciation for Cisco products without feeling intruded upon during the presentation of any issues.

Also, this is not a technical book. A programmer wanting to better secure their database programming will not necessarily need this book, but their manager and executive staff will be well served by it. While there are some graphs, the diagrams are usually screenshots, product pictures, and bullet points. Actual implementation is left as an exercise for the reader or, certainly, the subject of a much more technical book. Instead, get this book for decision makers who need to understand why the IT staff wants more emphasis on securing their network rather than simply providing services.

WEB security for the Web 2.0 work.

This book takes the reader immediately to an area that is revolutionizing the way we conduct business. The author walks us from the evolution of Firewall and the impact that each new technology such as Cloud Computing, portable devices have on the business environment. It is not only a book that looks at the various technological advancement, it also advocates the social and business benefits of shifting technological paradigms. As illustrated by the author, Tom Gillis --"Change creates winners and losers. The basic principle of Darwinism suggests that is not the strongest species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the most adaptive to change". The book Security for the Web 2.0 world is a testament of things to come, and cautiously remind us of "irrational exuberance" of the past and present.

Mario Camilien, CISSP, CHSS, SCNP
Information Security Analyst

Securing the Borderless Network: Security for the Web 2.0 World comes from a Cisco security technology expert who brings together technical guidance for companies of all sizes, surveying different scenarios from social networking systems to cloud computing and identifying key security risks and proven best-practice techniques for each. The result is a basic primer highly recommended for any advanced computer collection interested in network security issues.

Securing the Borderless Network by Tom Gillis is more of a history lesson than anything else. It's kind of interesting for someone that lived through these events to see a different perspective. The term Web 2.0 is used heavily in various contexts and, I suppose, is as accurate in its use as anyone else. It seems everyone and their dog (whether you know they're a dog or not) has a different take on just what Web 2.0 means to the consumers and creators of information.

As of the book's publication Mr. Gillis is VP and GM of the Security Technology Business Unit at cisco so much of the book is from the cisco viewpoint. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just be prepared as you may get the impression that only cisco is involved in making the world's information and its access safe for mankind. This is a relatively small book at a little over 130 pages and a pretty quick read. I recommend it as something to leave on the table in the Executive Lounge a few weeks before you have to present why you actually need to spend some money on information security solutions.

Overall, a good quick read and a fast education for the C-level world.

Securing the Borderless Network: Security for the Web 2.0 World

Tom Gillis has done an excellent job at capturing and portraying the landscape and evolution into Borderless Networks and how today's Web 2.0 online collaboration tools and technologies affect our everyday life. He has explained everything from basic firewall concepts to the apps we download and use on today's smartphones in a non-technical manor that is still interesting enough to enjoy this easy read.

In this book he does a quick high overview of our desire to communicate and how dependant we are on the technologies we have built to stay more connected with each other both socially and economically. In regards to security he spends a great deal explaining our desire for connectedness and the security hurdles we have come across from being an everyday consumer to injecting consumerism into the enterprise.

Tom has written this in a way that is easy to understand for those who are unaware of the dangers we face with collaboration and those who are unsure of the direction our communication needs are driving us. Yet he has managed to explain to the "Old School" legacy mentality of IT CIO's and Administrators how they will conform and how they should begin to construct new battle plans for securing the Borderless Networks.

As an integrator this has opened my eyes just a bit more on how to rethink consolidation efforts with productive collaboration and how I will enforce policies and countermeasures on a perimeter with virtually no end.

This is a good book for the starting tech guy or for the non-techie who wants to get basic understanding on the way things work in the cloud and what is web 2.0. On the more professional note, you get a good explanation on the enterprise point of view - why they should like and dislike it, what are the needs and the problems that come as a result of cloud usage.
My problem with this book (and its kind) is that the average guy that look at the title will get scared and will not buy it, it sound like too techie (where its right the opposite). That is also what I liked about it... You don't have to be super techie and experienced with web 2.0 to understand the author's accurate and simple explanations.
The book provide a sneak peak to the future, the next generation technology - which is always nice and overall, cover the topics without the pretentious that you often find in technological books. Other than defining the audience, they did a nice job.

Rofi Neron, CCNP
[...]

This is a small book, but it makes a big impact. Mr. Tom Gillis is very knowledgeable on networking security and he's put together a great book that what should be on the desk of CIOs and IT managers everywhere, using layman language to explain technical concepts and giving the reader an easier time grasping the important ideas that drive modern network security.

Gillis covered a lot of ground in a concise, clear manner, producing a "Bible" for IT Network/Security pros, and it's a fun read for technology geeks everywhere.

By nature of my work as paranoid network security admin, I never get bored, and the book offers a lot of new threats to watch out for, particularly with all the new ways workers can connect their new toys to my network 24/7, running from iPods and iPhones to the latest malware attacks, but the book offers plenty of tools and ideas to combat these threats.

It's also worth noting that the book explains where traditional approaches to network boundaries are dead and gone, which often makes it almost impossible to protect data whether it is static or dynamic, and the pace of evolution for cloud computing and related processes and services means security hasn't always had time to catch up.

This book clearly identify these problems of the IT Security with excellent examples and interview excerpts from real enterprises.

One of the negatives, however, is that Tom Gillis is an employee of Cisco and it natural for him to promote Cisco technology/future development ideas, and it's important to keep in mind that there are other options out there; as in this life you have a few Bible versions, like translations from Aramaic language (if I was Cisco employee I would do the same way!).

I do like this book and highly recommend it to my friends and co-workers in the field of IT Network Security.

Disclosure: The publisher of the book provided a free copy for this review.
Also I would like to thank Mr. Michael Morisy Community Editor, [...] - for sending me this book.

If you have employees begging to be allowed to use their cool new smartphones to read company email and access corporate data - and you're nervous about it - this book is for you. I think that concerns about security are natural when sensitive information moves outside of the relative safety of corporate networks. Securing the Borderless Network tells you how to create an open, collaborative environment for your workers, no matter how far-flung they are, while at the same time explaining how this collaboration can coexist with security. The writing is clear and straightforward, and the advice is practical.