The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security Paperback – 17 Oct. 2003

Kevin Mitnick is well known to those in the security field; he is notorious for the efforts that he made to find ways around security systems, sometimes by hacking, but often by social engineering. I was a bit ambivalent about buying the book; did I want to "reward" someone that had been responsible for a number of security breaches.However, I am glad that I did; the book highlights the methods used to gain illegal access to sites, systems and processes. These can be used by the astute security professional to understand how hackers think and to than be able to consider their options for improving their own security.Security is not a destination, it is a journey. No matter how good a job you do, someone will find a way to get around the most hardened of processes. It is necessary to constantly question if the specific process that you have introduced are working and if they are doing the job that you think they should. Books like this reveal just how important it is to be able to take that outsider's view to ensure that you do not become one of the victims.It's a very readable book and I feel that it should be read by anyone involved at any level in the field of IT security.

Super book. Like his others. Easy to read. Lots of funny bits too. I've read all his books now, & recommend them all.

I work in "the industry" and although this book now contains some stories that wouldnt work these days as technology has moved on, the principles you learn here will never date and this is a MUST read.

I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself in for getting this book, but I have to say that I really enjoyed it.Kevin was what the movie's Hackers 1/2 was based on and this really does take you through his early life and how easy it was back then to get details of passwords and accounts etc. But also teaches of ways to counter also.Overall I really enjoyed the book and often mention it in conversation about how social engineering can be used.

Read this because I had previously read and enjoyed Ghost in the Wires. This was not quite as good in my opinion as it is not a story but more of a informative type book.

I was pleased with the book, at one pence plus postage, it's well worth it!Mitnic doesn't go into much detail of the technical side of gaining access to systems, but he does illustrate how easy it can be for an attacker to exploit people rather than machines.A good read, I definitely recommend it.

received this book as promised, in the condition they said it would be. very pleased with my purchase.

a very good book on how to protect/ attack corporate environments using social engineering tactics.

Excelente livro, super recomendo, principalmente se você trabalha na área de segurança da informação!

I bought this book in 2008, and read it after I got it. I was in love with cyber-security and social engineering was the theme those days. I never reviewed the book back then but I reread this book again yesterday and it hit me that Kevin's ideas are some of the most profound ideas when it comes to human behavior.Our tendency to be helpful.Our tendency to let someone new come into our livesEtc,..I will be honest, after spending 13 years in financial and marketing industry and reading 1000s of books and having 1000s of experiences I promise if someone wants to set me up they probably can.It's really hard to get away from a good setup.One thing that helped me all these years is that at the end of the day I ask myself two questions. This is a routine I do every day and been doing it for almost 10 years now.1. Did I try to help a stranger or someone I know today? If yes, then what was the context.2. Did someone came in my life trying to do good things for me out of blue? (This can be a friend that randomly texts you on FB or emails you after ages.)

I didn't read fully but it's just amazing. It got me hooked up.

Es un libro consiso, facil de entender y escrito por una de las figuras mas importantes de la seguridad de la informacion. Solo me falta el capitulo final, pero ya queria opinar acerca de este libro. Del primer al penultimo capitulo es completamente entendible, dando definiciones claves para los no familiarizados con el tema de la informatica.

great