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From CIA to APT: An Introduction to Cyber Security
Most introductory books on cyber security are either too technical for popular readers, or too casual for professional ones. This book, in contrast, is intended to reside somewhere in the middle. That is, while concepts are explained in a friendly manner for any educated adult, the book also necessarily includes network diagrams with the obligatory references to clouds, servers, and packets. But don’t let this scare you. Anyone with an ounce of determination can get through every page of this book, and will come out better informed, not only on cyber security, but also on computing, networking, and software.
- GenresTechnologyProgramming
114 pages, Paperback
Published August 11, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 17, 2018
It’s unclear if Albert Einstein really said that if “you do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother”. Explaining information security is often a challenge. Many try to explain it to the uninitiated, and often don’t do that great of a job.
For those looking for a technical introductory text, by authors who could explain it to your grandmother, consider From CIA to APT: An Introduction to Cyber Security, by Edward Amoroso and Matthew Amoroso.
At 100 pages, the book provides a solid introduction to the topics for those with a basic technical background. As the former Chief Security Officer of AT&T, Edward Amoroso, knows a thing or two about presenting to executive boards. Which is in many ways, like explaining it to your grandmother.
The book makes extensive use of illustrations and network diagrams and provides a solid introduction to the core concepts of information security.
With a few historical narratives about significant personalities in the information security space, this is a relatively quick read. Topics such as DDoS, defense in depth, rootkits, advanced persistent threats, and much more.
As a self-published book, it could have used a better editor, and all of the quotes in the book somehow got mispaginated. It also lacks a table of contents and index, which makes looking for topics a bit of a challenge. Aside from these things, this is a solid introduction to the topic.
For those looking for an express guide to the topic, From CIA to APT is a worthwhile introduction to get started on the topic.
For those looking for a technical introductory text, by authors who could explain it to your grandmother, consider From CIA to APT: An Introduction to Cyber Security, by Edward Amoroso and Matthew Amoroso.
At 100 pages, the book provides a solid introduction to the topics for those with a basic technical background. As the former Chief Security Officer of AT&T, Edward Amoroso, knows a thing or two about presenting to executive boards. Which is in many ways, like explaining it to your grandmother.
The book makes extensive use of illustrations and network diagrams and provides a solid introduction to the core concepts of information security.
With a few historical narratives about significant personalities in the information security space, this is a relatively quick read. Topics such as DDoS, defense in depth, rootkits, advanced persistent threats, and much more.
As a self-published book, it could have used a better editor, and all of the quotes in the book somehow got mispaginated. It also lacks a table of contents and index, which makes looking for topics a bit of a challenge. Aside from these things, this is a solid introduction to the topic.
For those looking for an express guide to the topic, From CIA to APT is a worthwhile introduction to get started on the topic.
November 9, 2017
The book is accessible in terms of technical jargon and actual content. In this regard I think they've succeeded. Topics covered are fairly broad and all-encompassing and it's all reasonably well-structured.
It should be noted that most of their technical descriptions are accurate, but sometimes greatly simplified. Perhaps they had to trim explanations regarding these simplifications but a footnote, or a sentence or two, shouldn't have had any significant consequences of content size.
However.
As a professional in the field (since 2001) I struggle with their absolute lack of references. They make many claims about attacks, trends and emergent behaviour in the threat landscape, yet not a single reference is included to support these assertions. There are also some very curious usages of central terms such as threat or consequence
I would further characterise this "book" as more of a long opinion piece, or perhaps a series of blog posts. With that said it's still worthwhile reading if you've got absolutely no previous exposure to the field, mostly due to it's limited size.
It should be noted that most of their technical descriptions are accurate, but sometimes greatly simplified. Perhaps they had to trim explanations regarding these simplifications but a footnote, or a sentence or two, shouldn't have had any significant consequences of content size.
However.
As a professional in the field (since 2001) I struggle with their absolute lack of references. They make many claims about attacks, trends and emergent behaviour in the threat landscape, yet not a single reference is included to support these assertions. There are also some very curious usages of central terms such as threat or consequence
I would further characterise this "book" as more of a long opinion piece, or perhaps a series of blog posts. With that said it's still worthwhile reading if you've got absolutely no previous exposure to the field, mostly due to it's limited size.
August 18, 2020
A book with very very basic content.
July 16, 2021
Well structured, basic content, good for starting.
December 25, 2022
I've purchased this book as a 'suggestion' to the Coursera course on Cyber Security. I'd say it's a pretty good addition to the course. I liked that it's very simple, very brief.
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May 9, 20233 stars
Describes major concepts at a very basic level, nothing in-depth. I think it would have been beneficial to include more references - I find real-world examples to be helpful when understanding the significance/magnitude of security threats & events.
Describes major concepts at a very basic level, nothing in-depth. I think it would have been beneficial to include more references - I find real-world examples to be helpful when understanding the significance/magnitude of security threats & events.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews