Category Archives: Books Shelf

Book Review: Getting An Information Security Job for Dummies

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First off, Getting an Information Job for Dummies took way to long for me to read. But that’s because of other commitments. I got the book in May, when a lot of people in the echo chamber were trashing it. I was also looking for advantages in trying to find a new job that went with my B.S. in Information Assurance and after 6 months was feeling desperate.

First, the book isn’t as good as it could have been. Second, it wasn’t as bad as people were making it out to be on Twitter. Third, the author uses too much of his own personal experience in it (something I’m guilty of with this blog). Fourth, he kept equating lock picking to crime. Which I didn’t like at all and being from Washington I thought he’d do better. They are legal there.

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Book Review: Meditation for Warriors

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I’ve been studying Martial Arts for around 30 years on. I’ve gotten a couple of other books by Loren W. Christensen, mostly on training and diet. However Meditation For Warriors: Practical Mediation for Cops, Solders, and Martial  Artists is the first one that focused on the mental aspect.

This book is written as a practical guide to focus your mind, giving you a calmer demeanor, and allows you to stay cool, calm, and collected when the stuff hits the fan.

I really like that while it’s geared towards “Warriors” (Police, Soldiers, Martial Artists), it’s a really down to earth book that anyone could read and get a better understanding of meditation. Part of the goal of the book was to give non-practitioners a real world view of the importance of meditation.

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Book Review: Personal Digital Securty

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I read Personal Digital Security: Protecting Yourself From Online Crime (Amazon affiliate link) by Michael Bazzell. I think this book is a good place to start, if someone wants to learn more about computer security.  A seasoned practitioner of Information Security could use this book as a core component to create a great Security Awareness Training program for users.

Mr. Bazzell starts off as if the reader knows very little information on computer security. However by the end of the book, he’s very conversational in tone, and is suggesting the reader shares what he learned.

The book has a building block approach. Not all readers will need to go chapter by chapter. But starting with Chapters 1 and 2, Mr. Bazzell starts a great foundation for the things in the rest of the book. The book starts with protecting your computer, and then your passwords. From there he goes on to show how to protect your online accounts, your data, and your credit cards, your debit and your banking information. Next is about protecting your telephones, cellular and work. Chapters 8 and 9 go in to always connected devices and wireless networking. Chapter 10 talks about how parents can protect their children online.

If your bank accounts  or credit card has been compromised and you want a deeper understanding read this book. If you want to create a Security Awareness Program, start with this book. If you want to get in to Computer Security, this book covers the basics you should already know by the time you walk in to a class room or entry level job.

* Update 2024-10-01: changed to Amazon Affiliate Link, which I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

 

Getting Real book review

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When I first started doing the book reviews it was because a professor asked me what books I think should be on every Information Security (Information Assurance) student’s bookshelf. One of the books on that original list was Rework by the guys at 37 signals Basecamp. On my bi-annual reading of the book, I noticed they made comment to a previous book called Getting Real (Amazon affiliate link). So I ran out and grabbed a copy of it.

It really felt like a draft version of Rework. It was ok. There were some great quotes in the book from people who have used the same frame of thought to make a new company or run a business.

There were parts of the book that countered what I remembered from Rework (remember I read this book every other year), the biggest being how to deal with the competition, and seeing what they do. It felt that the two books were at odds on how to deal with the competition.

I would only recommend this book for the quotes, but think that Rework is the stronger and better of the two books to read.

* Update 2024-10-01: changed to Amazon Affiliate Link, which I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Two book reviews on Personal Security.

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Two books I read on personal safety recently were “Alone and Afraid” by J.J. Luna (also known for “How to Be Invisible“) and “Escaping the O Zone” by Doug Cummings.

I reviewed both of these books on Amazon. I have “Alone and Afraid” 5 stars, and “Escaping the O Zone” 4 stars.

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Practical Anonymity by Peter Loshin

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I got a copy of Practical Anonymity by Peter Loshin a while back via O’Reilly, had a sell on it. I finished it about two weeks ago. For what it sounded like it would be, I’m disappointed. I was expecting something more along the lines of “How to be Invisible”. For what it was, it was pretty good.

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The C.I. Desk: FBI and CIA Counterintelligence As Seen From My Cubicle By Christopher Lynch

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I’ve read a few other biographies and case histories from people that work at the CIA, but this one wasn’t as interesting as those. I understand that the book had to go through Pre-Publication review at both the FBI and the CIA, but what was left was mostly Mr. Lynch’s The C.I. Desk (Amazon Affiliate Link) was him complaining about each and every job he had (or at least that’s what stuck with me). I understand that things had to be taken out, and he would point out that parts were cut by the agencies, including one whole chapter. While there was some entertaining things in the book, and some insights, the part of the book I was most struck with was the Bureaucratic Behemoth that he felt he was fighting against.

Over all, I wasn’t impressed with this book. Mr. Lynch worked for Robert Hanssen, and worked with Aldrich Ames while they were active in spying against the US, but his unit’s didn’t track down the spies in the organizations, even though their job was supposed to be Counter Intelligence.

* Update 2024-10-05: changed to Amazon Affiliate Link, which I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Another Tony Mendez book

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So at some point, copy write / library of congress page says 2007, Tony and Jonna Mendez wrote a book for the “Scholastic Ultimate Spy Club”.  It’s a basic little book written for kids, on the basics of tradecraft. The book title is “Gather Info, Getting the Scoop by Using Your Wits”. When I first saw it on Amazon, I was expecting an adult book on tradecraft, not a kids book.

Since the book arrived last week, without the spy glasses (mirrors on the inside), I kept asking why I paid that much for an out of print kids book. I however went through it in one sitting tonight, since it was 32 pages, and actually was happy with the purchase. The majority of the stuff in it I knew how to do already. Not surprising since this is written for kids. I did have some flash backs to my own mis-spent youth in the 80s and 90s.

The Visual sweep technique, while only one page was really useful. I’m going to put that in to more practice. Short version, stand in the door, look over the room left to right, and observe. Granted I do something like this already, maybe not always left to right, usually as a whole, but still nice to read.

Is it worth the price you’re going to pay for it if you order from a re-seller on Amazon? No, but I bought it because I want to have all of Mendez’s books, for a proper and complete collection. Although, if it had the glasses it would have been even better. There was even a page on OSINT.