About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

Hacking Exposed established this entire genre of books. Now in its 6th (and 10th anniversary) edition, and having sold millions of copies throughout the world, the book remains the #1 best-selling computer security book in the world and it is still just as useful and valuable as it ever was. Kurtz, McClure, and Scambray have once again update this highly resected title to include the latest and greatest in attacks and exploits, as well as the cutting edge countermeasures and security controls you can implement to protect your PC or your network.



Pros

• #1 best-selling computer security book
• Includes new information for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
• All new traceroute and eavesdropping techniques
• Updated with new attacks for USB devices, RFID, and Bluetooth
• Coverage of Voice over IP (VoIP) exploits

Cons

• None

Description

• New wireless and RFID security tools, including multilayered encryption and gateways
• Covers the latest Unix Trojan and rootkit techniques, as well as dangling pointer and input validation exploits
• Updated Windows attacks and countermeasures, including recent Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 vulnerabilities
• Hacking Hardware chapter covers techniques such as lock bumping, access card cloning, and RFID hacks
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
  Publication Date: Jan 5, 2009
  Pages: 720

Guide Review - Hacking Exposed 6

George Kurtz, Stuart McClure and Joel Scambray have been a staple of my Information Security library since the first Hacking Exposed book. Things change quickly in the security world and the authors of Hacking Exposed 6: Network Security Secrets & Solutions have done a tremendous job at taking a great thing and making it better by updating it with new attacks and countermeasures.

Kurtz, McClure, and Scambray have maintained the core of what makes Hacking Exposed indispensible and they have once again added to and updated the information to keep the book current with the latest attacks, exploits and hacker techniques.

The basic format of the book remains the same. The beginning covers footprinting, scanning and enumeration to identify potential target systems. It then moves on to a section regarding system hacking, divided into Windows and Unix sections, then into Infrastructure Hacking with sections on Remote Connectivity or VoIP hacking, Network Devices, Wireless Hacking, and Hacking Hardware.

The appendices list commonly used TCP and UDP ports and the services that use them as well as providing a graphic representation of the Top 14 Security Vulnerabilities.

There are a handful of books that should be "must-reads" for anyone responsible for computer or network security and this is one of them. Learning the information in this book will help you learn current attacks and hacking techniques and develop effective countermeasures to protect your network. Hands down, Hacking Exposed 6 should be on every network or security administrator's desk for quick reference.

Buy this book. Even if you already have a previous edition, the new and updated information in this book are worth the investment.