Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World
Whom can you trust? Try Bruce Schneier, whose rare gift for common sense  makes his bookSecrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked Worldboth  enlightening and practical. He's worked in cryptography and electronic security  for years, and has reached the depressing conclusion that even the loveliest  code and toughest hardware still will yield to attackers who exploit human  weaknesses in the users. The book is neatly divided into three parts, covering  the turn-of-the-century landscape of systems and threats, the technologies used  to protect and intercept data, and strategies for proper implementation of  security systems. Moving away from blind faith in prevention, Schneier advocates  swift detection and response to an attack, while maintaining firewalls and  other gateways to keep out the amateurs.Newcomers to the world of Schneier will be surprised at how funny he can be,  especially given a subject commonly perceived as quiet and dull. Whether he's  analyzing the security issues of the rebels and the Death Star inStar  Warsor poking fun at the giant software and e-commerce companies that  consistently sacrifice security for sexier features, he's one of the few tech  writers who can provoke laughter consistently. While moderately pessimistic on  the future of systems vulnerability, he goes on to relieve the reader's tension  by comparing our electronic world to the equally insecure paper world we've  endured for centuries--a little smart-card fraud doesn't seem so bad after all.  Despite his unfortunate (but brief) shill for his consulting company in the  book's afterword, you can trust Schneier to dish the dirt inSecrets and  Lies.--Rob Lightner