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For example, on a single day in June 2002, the Washington Post included three important articles about security. On the front page, one article described the possibility that a terrorist group was plotting to-;and actually could-;invade computer systems and destroy huge dams, disable the power grid, or wreak havoc with the air traffic control system. A second article, also on the front page, considered the potential loss of personal privacy as governments and commercial establishments begin to combine and correlate data in computer-maintained databases. Further back, a third article discussed yet another software flaw that could have widespread effect. Thus, computer security is no longer relegated to esoteric discussions of what might happen; it is instead a hot news topic, prominently featured in newspapers, magazines, radio talk shows, and documentary television programs. The audience is no longer just the technical community; it is ordinary people, who feel the effects of pervasive computing. In just a few years the world''s public has learned the terms virus, worm, and Trojan horse and now appreciates the concepts of unauthorized access, sabotage, and denial of service. During this same time, the number of computer users has increased dramatically; with those new users have come new uses: electronic stock trading, sharing of medical records, and remote control of sensitive equipment, to name just three. It should be no surprise that threats to security in computing have increased along with the users and uses. Why Read This Book? Are your data or programs at risk? If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you have a potential security risk. Do you connect to the Internet? Do you read e-mail? Have you gotten any new programs-;or any new versions of old programs-;within, say, the last year? Is there any important program or data item of which you do not have a second copy stored somewhere other than on your computer? Almost every computer user today meets at least one of these conditions, and so you, and almost every other computer user, are at risk of some harmful computer security event. Risk does not mean you should stop using computers. You are at risk of being hit by a falling meteorite or of being robbed by a thief on the street, but you do not hide in a fortified underground bunker all day. You learn what puts you at risk and how to control it. Controlling a risk is not the same as eliminating it; you simply want to bring it to a tolerable level. How do you control the risk of computer security? Learn about the threats to computer security. Understand what causes these threats by studying how vulnerabilities arise in the development and use of computer systems. Survey the controls that can reduce or block these threats. Develop a computing style-;as a user, developer, manager, consumer, and voter-;that balances security and risk. Users and Uses of This Book This book is intended for the study of computer security. Many of you want to study this topic: college and university students, computing professionals, managers, and users of all kinds of computer-based systems. All want to know the same thing: how to control the risk of computer security. But you may differ in how much information you need about particular topics: Some want a broad survey, whereas others want to focus on particular topics, such as networks or program development. This book should provide the breadth and depth that most readers want. The book is organized by general area of computing, so that readers with particular interests can find information easily. The chapters of this book progress in an orderly manner, from general security concerns to the particular needs of specialized applications, and finally to overarching management
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