a guide to building dependable distributed systems
Ross Anderson, Ross J. Anderson: Security engineering (2001, Wiley)
612 pages
English language
Published Oct. 18, 2001 by Wiley.
A guide to building dependable distributed systems.
The book is written by Ross Anderson, Professor of Computer Security at University of Cambridge.
It covers a wide range of distributed systems from a security professional's perspective.
Very thorough and highly recommed for all security enthusiasts.
The point of this book is that information security is everywhere. Infosec plays a huge role in:
a friend or foe identification system on an aircraft,
a tachograph in trucks,
a prepaid card meter for electricity,
and so on (hundreds of examples)
It's not an easy read. It's very impressive but boring at times. Anyway, I'm glad it raised my awareness about the subject.
If there are any technical books that are page-turners, this is one of them.
Page after page of real world security and engineering issues. Lucidly explained and illustrated.
The sections on nuclear reactor design and smart cards are very illuminating.
If you've ever wondered why good engineering is expensive, this is the one to explain it.
I wish I could write as clearly as Anderson.
