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The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security Paperback – October 17, 2003

by Kevin D. Mitnick (Author), William L. Simon (Author), Steve Wozniak (Foreword)

4.6 1,014 ratings

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The world's most infamous hacker offers an insider's view of the low-tech threats to high-tech security
Kevin Mitnick's exploits as a cyber-desperado and fugitive form one of the most exhaustive FBI manhunts in history and have spawned dozens of articles, books, films, and documentaries. Since his release from federal prison, in 1998, Mitnick has turned his life around and established himself as one of the most sought-after computer security experts worldwide. Now, in The Art of Deception, the world's most notorious hacker gives new meaning to the old adage, "It takes a thief to catch a thief."
Focusing on the human factors involved with information security, Mitnick explains why all the firewalls and encryption protocols in the world will never be enough to stop a savvy grifter intent on rifling a corporate database or an irate employee determined to crash a system. With the help of many fascinating true stories of successful attacks on business and government, he illustrates just how susceptible even the most locked-down information systems are to a slick con artist impersonating an IRS agent. Narrating from the points of view of both the attacker and the victims, he explains why each attack was so successful and how it could have been prevented in an engaging and highly readable style reminiscent of a true-crime novel. And, perhaps most importantly, Mitnick offers advice for preventing these types of social engineering hacks through security protocols, training programs, and manuals that address the human element of security.

Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Wiley
Publication date

October 17, 2003
Dimensions

6 x 1 x 0 inches
ISBN-10

076454280X
ISBN-13

978-0764542800
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“…a fascinating read…” (ForTean Times, June 2004)

"...a lot of interesting cautionary tales..." (New Scientist, January 2004)

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wiley; 1st edition (October 17, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 076454280X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0764542800
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 0 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #67,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #16 in Information Management (Books)
- #24 in CompTIA Certification Guides
- #46 in Computer Hacking

Customer Reviews:
4.6 1,014 ratings

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Kevin D. Mitnick
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William L. Simon
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William L. Simon is the author or co-author of more than 30 books, including numerous New York Times, national, and international bestsellers. Born in Washington, DC, he holds two degrees from Cornell University, and has been a freelance writer ever since -- first as a writer of documentaries, corporate, and informational films, then as a book author. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West, and now lives in Los Angeles.
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TheWildBoy

Fascinating book

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2021

Verified Purchase

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 lives
Etc,..

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.)

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

E

Speaks volumes on social engineering/makes you think!

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2002

Verified Purchase

After reading it, the book makes one more aware of what to be careful when giving out information of any kind and how to protect yourself and your company's assets. I've heard alot of "Don't ever give out your id/password", "Always have firewalls on your network." One hardly ever hears about 'make sure you're giving information to someone who's supposed to have it'. There's tons of books on security with respect to technology but this is the first one I've seen that actually focuses on the weakest link when it comes to security - the human element.
All the firewalls and software can't prevent a social engineer from getting in if he/she knows justs how to act and/or what to say to get what they want. Reading the scenarios really opened my eyes. Theres a scenario where a social engineer pretended to be a manager of a video store. After enough talking to another employee at another branch, the social engineer was able to get enough information to obtain the credit card # of someone who owed money to the client the social engineer was hired by.
In reading the scenarios, I'd seen examples where I'd asked for the type of information described for perfectly legitimate reasons. I'd never imagined how someone could take just 1 or 2 pieces of information and create chaos for a person or a company. If you're in the IT industry, or work in any kind of customer service, you really need to pick up this book. This book doesn't bash people for being as helpful as they can be (team player, etc). He's just saying to be more aware of what's going on and when giving out any kind of information, being a little cautious doesn't hurt. As humans, we're not perfect to begin with, but a little awareness will make it just a little harder for that social engineer to get what they want.

11 people found this helpful

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William H. Folk II

Everyone should read this book...

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2010

Verified Purchase

Simply amazing! I need to read this book again. Not only that I need my entire audit department to read this and realize how open we are to fraud.
The techniques that the author points out on how easy it is to simply ask for information and get it was just too much to pass up. I've tied it within my own audit department to see just how susceptible we are...I still can't believe how open people were to provide me information not knowing who I was.
Everyone should read this book...there are parts that are a little too much for some people but the scenarios that he walks you through are so thorough that you'd swear you've had that conversation before.
'Social Engineering' made simple...maybe that should be the name of this book. I will have to admit that I'm more paranoid than I have ever been before but I guess that is a good trait to have in an auditor.

Helpful

David M. Giltinan

Interesting overview of the human aspects of computer security, with helpful tips on prevention.

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2008

Verified Purchase

Kevin Mitnick, probably the most famous (and controversial) computer hacker of the 1990's, has spent several years of his life on the run, as well as a few years in jail. For years after leaving prison he was forbidden to log on to a computer, a prohibition he appealed successfully. He now runs a computer security business, lectures to large corporations, and has co-authored two books on computer network security.

This book focuses on the human element of computer security. Reminding us that even the most sophisticated high-tech security systems can be rendered worthless if the people running them are not sufficiently vigilant, Mitnick goes on to point out the myriad ways in which human carelessness can contribute to security breaches. An experienced con artist who is well-versed in social engineering techniques can often do far more damage by manipulating people to provide information they shouldn't than by relying on technologically sophisticated hacking methods.

The book is interesting for the most part, though it would have benefited from a 25% reduction in length, and there are some annoying stylistic tics. Throughout the first 14 chapters, each of which reviews a particular type of `con' used by hackers/social engineers to breach computer security, the chapter setup follows the same schema:
(i) an anecdote or vignette, involving fictitious characters but based on actual events, which lays out the deception as it unfolds, following it through to the successful breach (ii) analysis of the `con', focusing specifically on the mistakes or behaviors (at the individual and at the organizational level) which allowed it to succeed (iii) discussion of the changes that would be needed to stop the con from succeeding (e.g. behavior of individual employees, corporate policies and procedures, computer software and hardware). This is actually a pretty decent way to make the points Mitnick wants to get across - starting out with a concrete example of how things go wrong gets attention and motivates the reader to read on to figure out the solution.

One feature of the book which was meant to be helpful started to annoy me by about the third chapter. Interspersed throughout each chapter, the authors insert highlighted textboxes of two types: `lingo' - repeating the definition of a concept already adequately defined in the text, or `mitnick messages' - which seemed superfluous, and a little condescending, as they generally repeated what was already obvious. In general, this is not a book you will read for the delights of its prose style (after successfully gaining access to a cache of hidden documents, one hacker is described as spending his evening gleefully "pouring over" the documents); however, the prose is serviceable, managing to avoid lapses into the dreaded corpspeak, for the most part.

For some readers, the most useful part of the book may be its final two chapters. Here the authors lay out, in considerable detail, outlines for recommended corporate information security policies, and an associated training program on information security awareness. Though I am no expert in these areas, the outlines strike me as being commendably thorough - complete enough that they could be fleshed out without too much difficulty to generate a comprehensive set of policies and procedures.

Despite some redundancy, and occasional infelicities of style, this book seemed to me to be interesting, and likely to be practically useful.

9 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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R.T.

Excelente livro, super recomendo!

Reviewed in Brazil on August 25, 2023

Verified Purchase

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

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Aky

Amazing book

Reviewed in Italy on July 15, 2023

Verified Purchase

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

One person found this helpful

Francesco

Excelente libro

Reviewed in Mexico on April 25, 2018

Verified Purchase

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.

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kamatataima

very interesting

Reviewed in Germany on March 21, 2019

Verified Purchase

great

Sergio

Excelente libro. 100% recomendado.

Reviewed in Spain on March 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

En este libro aprenderás algunas técnicas interesantes de hacking e ingeniería social. Totalmente recomendable, una lectura interesante y muy ilustrativa. El libro está en inglés.

One person found this helpful

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