Silence on the Wire

There are many ways that a potential attacker can intercept information, or learnmore about the sender, as the information travels over a network. Silence on the Wireuncovers these silent attacks so that system administrators can defend against them,as well as better understand and monitor their systems.

Silence on the Wire dissects several unique and fascinating security and privacy problems associated with the technologies and protocols used in everyday computing, and shows how to use this knowledge to learn more about others or to better defend systems. By taking an in depth look at modern computing, from hardware on up, the book helps the system administrator to better understand security issues, and to approach networking from a new, more creative perspective. The sys admin can apply this knowledge to network monitoring, policy enforcement, evidence analysis, IDS, honeypots, firewalls, and forensics.

PART I: THE SOURCE

1: I Can Hear You Typing

2: Extra Efforts Never Go Unnoticed

3: Ten Heads of the Hydra

4: Working for the Common Good

PART II: SAFE HARBOR

5: Blinkenlights

6: Echoes of the Past

7: Secure in Switched Networks

8: Us versus Them

PART Ill: OUT IN THE WILD

9: Foreign Accent

10: Advanced Sheep-Counting Strategies

11: In Recognition of Anomalies

12: Stack Data Leaks

13: Smoke and Mirrors

14: Client Identification: Papers, Please!

15: The Benefits of Being a Victim

PART IV: THE BIG PICTURE

16: Parasitic Computing, or How Pennies Add Up

17: Topology of the Network

18: Watching the Void

Review

A series of explorations that take our professional paranoid mentality and examine some issues we seldom consider. — Internet Review Project, July 2005

A very good introduction to the intricacies of certain security problems and a very extensive guide to passive reconnaissance. — Help Net Security, June 24, 2005

An innovative twist on otherwise boring aspects of network security hours of enjoyable reading for any self-proclaimed security enthusiast. — TechIMO, June 3, 2005 http://www.techimo.com/articles/i249.html

Do-it-yourself ethos pervades the book… this broad mindset can uncover major security flaws but not where you’d think. — Enterprise Systems, June 22, 2005 http://www.esj.com/Security/article.aspx?EditorialsID=1426

I was hooked… I give this book a 7 out of 10 for an interesting read. — Edmonton Linux User Group, June 2005

If you are a ‘hacker’ type in the old sense of the word… you will probably find this book intriguing. — ;login:, October 2005

Not only thinking outside the box, but twisting the box, shaking it, and finding a way to exploit it. — WatchGuard Wire, June 13, 2005 http://www.watchguard.com/RSS/showarticle.aspx?pack=RSS.SotW

The discovery of a technical book in this style is cool. — IEEE Cipher, May 14, 2005 http://www.ieee-security.org/Cipher/BookReviews/2005/zalewski_by_bruen.html

This follows the story of a piece of information from the first key-press to the other end of the wire. — Book News UK, May 17, 2005 http://www.booknews.co.uk/

What makes it a joy to read are the author’s appealing humility, sense of humor and vast knowledge. — Open.ITWorld.com, June 1, 2005 http://open.itworld.com/5040/nls_unixsilencewire050602/page_1.html

About the Author

Michal Zalewski is a security researcher who has worked on topics ranging from hardware and OS design principles to networking. He has published research on many security topics and has worked for the past eight years in the InfoSec field for a number of reputable companies, including two major telecommunications firms.