Editorial Reviews
Book Description
It began as an innocent probe. A strange IP address was examining an unused service on my system. In this case, a computer based in Korea was attempting to connect to a rpc service on my computer. There is no reason why anyone would want to access this service, especially someone in Korea. Something was definitely up. Immediately following the probe, my Intrusion Detection System screamed an alert: An exploit had just been launched. My system was under assault! Seconds after the attack, an intruder broke into my computer, executed several commands, and took total control of the system. My computer had just been hacked! I was elated! I could not have been happier. Welcome to the exciting world of honeypots, where we turn the tables on the bad guys. Most of the security books you read today cover a variety of concepts and technologies, but almost all of them are about keeping blackhats out. This book is different: It is about keeping the bad guys in--about building computers you want to be hacked. Traditionally, security has been purely defensive. There has been little an organization could do to take the initiative and challenge the bad guys. Honeypots change the rules. They are a technology that allows organizations to take the offensive. Honeypots come in a variety of shapes and sizes--everything from a simple Windows system emulating a few services to an entire network of productions systems waiting to be hacked. Honeypots also have a variety of values--everything from a burglar alarm that detects an intruder to a research tool that can be used to study the motives of the blackhat community. Honeypots are unique in that they are not a single tool that solves a specific problem. Instead, they are a highly flexible technology that can fulfill a variety of different roles. It is up to you how you want to use and deploy these technologies. In this book, we explain what a honeypot is, how it works, and the different values this unique technology can have. We then go into detail on six different honeypot technologies. We explain one step at a time how these honeypot solutions work, discuss their advantages and disadvantages, and show you what a real attack looks like to each honeypot. Finally, we cover deployment and maintenance issues of honeypots. The goal of this book is not to just give you an understanding of honeypot concepts and architecture but to provide you with the skills and experience to deploy the best honeypot solutions for your environment. The examples in the book are based on real-world experiences, and almost all of the attacks discussed actually happened. You will see the blackhat community at their best, and some of them at their worst. Best of all, you will arm yourself with the skills and knowledge to track these attackers and learn about them on your own. I have been using honeypots for many years, and I find them absolutely fascinating. They are an exciting technology that not only teaches you a great deal about blackhats but also teaches you about yourself and security in general. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed writing and learning about honeypot technologies. Audience This book is intended for the security professional. Anyone involved in protecting or securing computer resources will find this resource valuable. It is the first publication dedicated to honeypot technologies, a tool that more and more computer security professionals will want to take advantage of once they understand its power and flexibility. Due to honeypots' unique capabilities, other individuals and organizations will be extremely interested in this book. Military organizations can apply these technologies to Cyberwarfare. Universities and security research organizations will find tremendous value in the material concerning research honeypots. Intelligence organizations can apply this book to intelligence and counterintelligence activities. Members of law enforcement can use this material for the capturing of criminal activities. Legal professionals will find Chapter 15 to be one of the first definitive resources concerning the legal issues of honeypots. CD-ROM A CD-ROM accompanies this book and contains additional information related to the topics in the book. It includes everything from whitepapers and source code to actual evaluation copies of software and data captures of real attacks. This will give you the hands-on opportunity to develop your skills with honeypot technologies. Web Site This book has a Web site dedicated to it. The purpose of the Web site is to keep this material updated. If any discrepancies or mistakes are found in the book, the Web site will have updates and corrections. For example, if any of the URLs in the book have been changed or removed, the Web site will provide the updated links. Also, new technologies are always being developed and deployed. You should periodically visit the Web site to stay current with the latest in honeypot technologies. [a href="http://www.tracking-hackers.com/book/" id="http://www.tracking-hackers.com/book/"> http://www.tracking-hackers.com/book/ References Each chapter ends with a references section. The purpose is to provide you with resources to gain additional information about topics discussed in the book. Examples of references include Web sites that focus on securing operating systems and books that specialize in forensic analysis. About the Author Lance Spitzner is a geek who constantly plays with computers, especially network security. He loves security because it is a constantly changing environment. His love for tactics first began in the U.S. Army, where he served both as an enlisted infantryman in the National Guard and as an armor officer in the Rapid Deployment Force. Following the Army he received his graduate degree and became involved in the world of information security. Now he fights the enemy with IPv4 packets instead of 120mm SABOT rounds. His passion is researching honeypot technologies and using them to learn more about the bad guys. He is also actively involved with the security community. He is founder of the Honeynet Project, moderator of the honeypot mail list, coauthor of Know Your Enemy, and author of several whitepapers. He has also spoken at various conferences and organizations, including Blackhat, SANS, CanSecWest, the Pentagon, the FBI Academy, West Point, National Security Agency, and Navy War College. He is a senior security architect for Sun Microsystems Inc. 0321108957P09172002
Book Info
The ultimate guide to this rapidly growing cutting-edge technology. Written with the guidance of three legal experts, this material covers issues of privacy, entrapment, and liability. Softcover. CD-ROM included.
Honeypots: Tracking Hackers
Honeypots: Tracking Hackers,Lance Spitzner,Addison-Wesley Professional,0321108957,Computer Books: General,Computer Data Security,Computer crimes,Computer hackers,Computer security,Computers,Computers - Computer Security,Firewalls (Computer security),Internet - Security,Networking - General,Prevention,Security - General,Computers / Internet / Security
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