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Secrets of Computer Espionage
Book

Secrets of Computer Espionage

Tactics and Countermeasures

Joel McNamara
Wiley, 2003

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

You and your computer face a dizzying array of security threats, writes tech consultant Joel McNamara. Competitors, cops, crooks and even disgruntled kin would love a peek at your hard drive. But don’t hyperventilate just yet. If you calmly analyze the desirability and vulnerability of your secrets, you can figure out how to protect yourself. McNamara’s prose is surprisingly clear given the degree of difficulty of his topic, and he offers a number of useful sidebars, charts and examples from inside the tech business to juice up his instructional tome. getAbstract.com suggests this practical book to managers charged with protecting corporate data, and to people who are unsure just how safe their computers are.

Take-Aways

  • Secret information on your computer could become the target of corporate spies, cops, criminals, bosses, investigators, even jealous spouses or miscreant children.
  • While hacker attacks by outsiders get the headlines, your computer is more likely to be compromised by someone inside your organization or family.
  • Hundreds of easily downloaded programs are available to computer spies.

About the Author

Consultant Joel McNamara has 20 years of experience in the computer industry. Formerly a technical writer and training manager at Microsoft, he developed one of the first Microsoft viruses to expose security risks. He is the creator of Private Idaho, an open source Internet privacy tool. McNamara also runs the Complete Unofficial TEMPEST Information Page, a Web site that explains government surveillance technology.

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