Elementary Information Security

Book excerpt: Comprehensive and accessible, Elementary Information Security covers the entire range of topics required for US government courseware certification NSTISSI 4013 and urges students analyze a variety of security problems while gaining experience with basic tools of the trade. Written for the one-term undergraduate course, the text emphasises both the technical and non-technical aspects of information security and uses practical examples and real-world assessment tools. Early chapters in the text discuss individual computers and small LANS, while later chapters deal with distributed site security and the Internet. Cryptographic topics follow the same progression, starting on a single computer and evolving to Internet-level connectivity. Mathematical concepts throughout the text are defined and tutorials with mathematical tools are provided to ensure students grasp the information at hand. Rather than emphasizing memorization, this text challenges students to learn how to analyze a variety of security problems and gain experience with the basic tools of this growing trade. Key Features: -Covers all topics required by the US government curriculum standard NSTISSI 4013. - Unlike other texts on the topic, the author goes beyond defining the math concepts and provides students with tutorials and practice with mathematical tools, making the text appropriate for a broad range of readers. - Problem Definitions describe a practical situation that includes a security dilemma. - Technology Introductions provide a practical explanation of security technology to be used in the specific chapters - Implementation Examples show the technology being used to enforce the security policy at hand - Residual Risks describe the limitations to the technology and illustrate various tasks against it. - Each chapter includes worked examples of techniques students will need to be successful in the course. For instance, there will be numerous examples of how to calculate the number of attempts needed to crack secret information in particular formats; PINs, passwords and encryption keys.