Art of Intrusion or The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms

Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders & Deceivers

Author: Kevin D Mitnick

Hacker extraordinaire Kevin Mitnick delivers the explosive encore to his bestselling The Art of Deception
Kevin Mitnick, the world's most celebrated hacker, now devotes his life to helping businesses and governments combat data thieves, cybervandals, and other malicious computer intruders. In his bestselling The Art of Deception, Mitnick presented fictionalized case studies that illustrated how savvy computer crackers use "social engineering" to compromise even the most technically secure computer systems. Now, in his new book, Mitnick goes one step further, offering hair-raising stories of real-life computer break-ins-and showing how the victims could have prevented them. Mitnick's reputation within the hacker community gave him unique credibility with the perpetrators of these crimes, who freely shared their stories with him-and whose exploits Mitnick now reveals in detail for the first time, including:

• A group of friends who won nearly a million dollars in Las Vegas by reverse-engineering slot machines

• Two teenagers who were persuaded by terrorists to hack into the Lockheed Martin computer systems

• Two convicts who joined forces to become hackers inside a Texas prison

• A "Robin Hood" hacker who penetrated the computer systems of many prominent companies-andthen told them how he gained access

With riveting "you are there" descriptions of real computer break-ins, indispensable tips on countermeasures security professionals need to implement now, and Mitnick's own acerbic commentary on the crimes he describes, this book is sure to reach a wide audience-and attract the attention of both lawenforcement agencies and the media.

Publishers Weekly

It would be difficult to find an author with more credibility than Mitnick to write about the art of hacking. In 1995, he was arrested for illegal computer snooping, convicted and held without bail for two years before being released in 2002. He clearly inspires unusual fear in the authorities and unusual dedication in the legions of computer security dabblers, legal and otherwise. Renowned for his use of "social engineering," the art of tricking people into revealing secure information such as passwords, Mitnick (The Art of Deception) introduces readers to a fascinating array of pseudonymous hackers. One group of friends bilks Las Vegas casinos out of more than a million dollars by mastering the patterns inherent in slot machines; another fellow, less fortunate, gets mixed up with a presumed al-Qaeda-style terrorist; and a prison convict leverages his computer skills to communicate with the outside world, unbeknownst to his keepers. Mitnick's handling of these engrossing tales is exemplary, for which credit presumably goes to his coauthor, writing pro Simon. Given the complexity (some would say obscurity) of the material, the authors avoid the pitfall of drowning readers in minutiae. Uniformly readable, the stories-some are quite exciting-will impart familiar lessons to security pros while introducing lay readers to an enthralling field of inquiry. Agent, David Fugate. (Mar.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Infamous criminal hacker turned computer security consultant Mitnick offers an expert sequel to his best-selling The Art of Deception, this time supplying real-life rather than fictionalized stories of contemporary hackers sneaking into corporate servers worldwide. Each chapter begins with a computer crime story that reads like a suspense novel; it is a little unnerving to learn how one's bank account is vulnerable to digital thieves or how hackers with an interest in gambling can rake in thousands of dollars in just minutes at a compromised slot machine. The hack revealed, Mitnick then walks readers step by step through a prevention method. Much like Deception, this book illustrates that hacking techniques can penetrate corporate and government systems protected by state-of-the-art security. Mitnick's engaging writing style combines intrigue, entertainment, and education. As with Deception, information technology professionals can learn how to detect and prevent security breaches, while informed readers can sit back and enjoy the stories of cybercrime. Recommended for most public and academic libraries.-Joe Accardi, William Rainey Harper Coll. Lib., Palatine, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms

Author: Elonka Dunin

Secret messages, encoded predictions, cryptic clues — never have cryptogram puzzles been so popular, fueled by phenomena like The Da Vinci Code and Bible Code. From award-winning cryptographer and game developer Elonka Dunin, here is a major new collection of brain teasing cryptograms and other enciphered challenges to satisfy every level of puzzle aficionado. The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms contains over 400 encoded puzzles, ranging from easy substitution puzzles and messages or quotations in code where each letter stands for another, to fiendishly difficult ciphers. This book also includes helpful tips and pointers, plus famous unsolved real-world cryptograms like the Dorabella cipher, Kryptos fourth section, Zodiac killer ciphers, Linear A, and Rongorongo script to ensure that the challenge never ends.

Table of Contents:

	Introduction	1
	Cryptography 101	2
Part 1	Simple Cryptograms	5
	First Steps	6
	Easy 100	15
	Hidden Keys	123
	Cryptogram Carnival	139
Part 2	The Secret Code Challenge	355
	Not So Easy	356
	Challenging	381
	Fiendish	417
	Grab Bag	445
	Xenocrypts - Other Languages	455
Part 3	Famous Unsolved Codes and Ciphers	467
	Beale Ciphers	469
	Voynich Manuscript	489
	Zodiac Killer Ciphers	495
	Dorabella Cipher	497
	Kryptos	499
	Phaistos Disk	505
	The Keys	507
	The Solutions	527
	Helpful References	571
	Morse Code Table	572
	English Frequency Tables	573
	Xenocrypt Frequency Charts	577
	Recommended Reading	582
	Acknowledgements	586
	Glossary	588
	Index	596