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Kevin D. Mitnick

The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security Paperback – October 17, 2003

by Kevin D. Mitnick (Author), William L. Simon (Author), Steve Wozniak (Foreword)

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The world's most infamous hacker offers an insider's view of the low-tech threats to high-tech security
Kevin Mitnick's exploits as a cyber-desperado and fugitive form one of the most exhaustive FBI manhunts in history and have spawned dozens of articles, books, films, and documentaries. Since his release from federal prison, in 1998, Mitnick has turned his life around and established himself as one of the most sought-after computer security experts worldwide. Now, in The Art of Deception, the world's most notorious hacker gives new meaning to the old adage, "It takes a thief to catch a thief."
Focusing on the human factors involved with information security, Mitnick explains why all the firewalls and encryption protocols in the world will never be enough to stop a savvy grifter intent on rifling a corporate database or an irate employee determined to crash a system. With the help of many fascinating true stories of successful attacks on business and government, he illustrates just how susceptible even the most locked-down information systems are to a slick con artist impersonating an IRS agent. Narrating from the points of view of both the attacker and the victims, he explains why each attack was so successful and how it could have been prevented in an engaging and highly readable style reminiscent of a true-crime novel. And, perhaps most importantly, Mitnick offers advice for preventing these types of social engineering hacks through security protocols, training programs, and manuals that address the human element of security.

Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Wiley
Publication date

October 17, 2003
Dimensions

6 x 1 x 0 inches
ISBN-10

076454280X
ISBN-13

978-0764542800
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“…a fascinating read…” (ForTean Times, June 2004)

"...a lot of interesting cautionary tales..." (New Scientist, January 2004)

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wiley; 1st edition (October 17, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 076454280X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0764542800
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 0 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2 in CompTIA Certification Guides
- #3 in Information Management (Books)
- #5 in Computer Hacking

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William L. Simon
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William L. Simon is the author or co-author of more than 30 books, including numerous New York Times, national, and international bestsellers. Born in Washington, DC, he holds two degrees from Cornell University, and has been a freelance writer ever since -- first as a writer of documentaries, corporate, and informational films, then as a book author. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West, and now lives in Los Angeles.
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Kevin D. Mitnick
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4.6 out of 5

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Siavash

Thank you

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 15, 2023

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I received a signed copy of the book with the price that I payed for a unsigned one. It is absolutely amazing and my gratitudes to the seller

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David M. Giltinan

Interesting overview of the human aspects of computer security, with helpful tips on prevention.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 1, 2008

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Kevin Mitnick, probably the most famous (and controversial) computer hacker of the 1990's, has spent several years of his life on the run, as well as a few years in jail. For years after leaving prison he was forbidden to log on to a computer, a prohibition he appealed successfully. He now runs a computer security business, lectures to large corporations, and has co-authored two books on computer network security.

This book focuses on the human element of computer security. Reminding us that even the most sophisticated high-tech security systems can be rendered worthless if the people running them are not sufficiently vigilant, Mitnick goes on to point out the myriad ways in which human carelessness can contribute to security breaches. An experienced con artist who is well-versed in social engineering techniques can often do far more damage by manipulating people to provide information they shouldn't than by relying on technologically sophisticated hacking methods.

The book is interesting for the most part, though it would have benefited from a 25% reduction in length, and there are some annoying stylistic tics. Throughout the first 14 chapters, each of which reviews a particular type of `con' used by hackers/social engineers to breach computer security, the chapter setup follows the same schema:
(i) an anecdote or vignette, involving fictitious characters but based on actual events, which lays out the deception as it unfolds, following it through to the successful breach (ii) analysis of the `con', focusing specifically on the mistakes or behaviors (at the individual and at the organizational level) which allowed it to succeed (iii) discussion of the changes that would be needed to stop the con from succeeding (e.g. behavior of individual employees, corporate policies and procedures, computer software and hardware). This is actually a pretty decent way to make the points Mitnick wants to get across - starting out with a concrete example of how things go wrong gets attention and motivates the reader to read on to figure out the solution.

One feature of the book which was meant to be helpful started to annoy me by about the third chapter. Interspersed throughout each chapter, the authors insert highlighted textboxes of two types: `lingo' - repeating the definition of a concept already adequately defined in the text, or `mitnick messages' - which seemed superfluous, and a little condescending, as they generally repeated what was already obvious. In general, this is not a book you will read for the delights of its prose style (after successfully gaining access to a cache of hidden documents, one hacker is described as spending his evening gleefully "pouring over" the documents); however, the prose is serviceable, managing to avoid lapses into the dreaded corpspeak, for the most part.

For some readers, the most useful part of the book may be its final two chapters. Here the authors lay out, in considerable detail, outlines for recommended corporate information security policies, and an associated training program on information security awareness. Though I am no expert in these areas, the outlines strike me as being commendably thorough - complete enough that they could be fleshed out without too much difficulty to generate a comprehensive set of policies and procedures.

Despite some redundancy, and occasional infelicities of style, this book seemed to me to be interesting, and likely to be practically useful.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Fascinating book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 2, 2021

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I bought this book in 2008, and read it after I got it. I was in love with cyber-security and social engineering was the theme those days. I never reviewed the book back then but I reread this book again yesterday and it hit me that Kevin's ideas are some of the most profound ideas when it comes to human behavior.

Our tendency to be helpful.
Our tendency to let someone new come into our lives
Etc,..

I will be honest, after spending 13 years in financial and marketing industry and reading 1000s of books and having 1000s of experiences I promise if someone wants to set me up they probably can.

It's really hard to get away from a good setup.

One thing that helped me all these years is that at the end of the day I ask myself two questions. This is a routine I do every day and been doing it for almost 10 years now.

1. Did I try to help a stranger or someone I know today? If yes, then what was the context.
2. Did someone came in my life trying to do good things for me out of blue? (This can be a friend that randomly texts you on FB or emails you after ages.)

11 people found this helpful

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Lance C. Hibbeler

Shoring up the weakest link in company security

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 29, 2009

Verified Purchase

If you had to get some inside information from a company- be it development work, financial data, or the credit card number of the guy at your last poker game that won't pay up- how would you do it? Crack the 128-bit or higher encryption most people use on electronic messages? Who has that kind of time? How about buying an employee of the company several rounds of drinks? Could be expensive, and its easy to get identified later. As it turns out, your best bet is likely to just call up and ask for the information. Seriously.

Kevin Mitnick, likely the most notorious hackers in history, has written a book containing 'fictional' accounts of how "social engineers" (basically just con-men, but also private investigators) can talk their way past people and get to whatever information they need. You rarely need a computer, let alone one powerful enough to crack encryption and passwords, to get the information you want if you can simply talk the talk- convince people you are inside the company and know what you are talking about, and more often than not they will tell you what you want to know. The beauty of stealing information is that it is difficult to know that a theft has occurred. After each story Mitnick analyzes what happened and how it could be prevented. The end of the book summarizes with a list of security policies to help prevent social engineering attacks. Admittedly, a lot of the policies are common sense, like don't give out your password, but that should help to illustrate just how much of a vulnerability we humans are to information security.

The book is not very technical at all, so if you are looking for detailed technical accounts of Mitnick's exploits, look elsewhere. The book does suffer from poor organization and there is a fair bit of redundant material, but I didn't find it to be a major drawback. This book should be read by just about anyone and everyone- we are culturally expected to be helpful to strangers, and should remain so, but there is a need to be vigilant when people start asking for sensitive information. I would imagine that identity theft would be reduced if more people were aware of the tactics that the ne'er-do-wells use.

One person found this helpful

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Aky

Amazing book

Reviewed in Italy 🇮🇹 on July 15, 2023

Verified Purchase

I didn't read fully but it's just amazing. It got me hooked up.

Cliente Amazon

Aprenda a hackear sistemas

Reviewed in Brazil 🇧🇷 on April 12, 2019

Verified Purchase

Se você quiser aprender como os sistemas de segurança são violados e se defender desse tipo de ataque, esse é o livro. Não espere nenhuma fórmula mágica. A maioria do livro versa sobre engenharia social e técnicas que vão desde olhar como senhas são digitadas a revirar o lixo procurando informações. Vale a pena conferir, porque a lista de exemplos é surpreendente e insólita.

One person found this helpful

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Francesco

Excelente libro

Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on April 25, 2018

Verified Purchase

Es un libro consiso, facil de entender y escrito por una de las figuras mas importantes de la seguridad de la informacion. Solo me falta el capitulo final, pero ya queria opinar acerca de este libro. Del primer al penultimo capitulo es completamente entendible, dando definiciones claves para los no familiarizados con el tema de la informatica.

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Alexandre Galais

Intéressant

Reviewed in France 🇫🇷 on November 12, 2017

Verified Purchase

Le livre est en anglais, je ne comprend pas toujours tous les mots surtout techniques, mais ce livre est très très intéressant, ils nous montre comment un homme a réussi à infiltrer les plus grosses société pour obtenir ce qu'il voulait. Il y a donc des exemples et des cas concret de situation ou l'auteur a pu "controller" la pensée de la personne qu'il avait au bout du fil. Pour ceux qui travaillent dans le marketing, ce livre vous parlera très certainement, car certaines de ces techniques sont encore aujourd'hui employées pour certaines publicité et pour attirer le consommateur.

One person found this helpful

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Thomas Teh Kian Boon

A good reference book.

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on October 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

A lot of background information but maybe a bit obsoleted now as technology has moved on.

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