software design

This book is for anyone who wonders how security mechanisms function. What separates this book from every other book on security is that this book is not limited to computer or network security, it gets into the nitty gritty of digital security.

The author is nothing short of brilliant. He covers a great variety of security issues, from smart cards, power monitoring, cryptography, passwords, access control, EMF emission monitoring [Tempest], biometrics, banking security, the history of all the previous topics, etc., etc., etc..

The other impressive qualities of this book are its clear and amusing writing style, excellent references, and tieing all this together in a fashion that provides a cohesive strategy for implementing truly secure systems.

While this book purports not to be for hackers, they will doubtlessly find this book of immense interest as well, as it covers information that I have not seen addressed in any other book that I have come across. You will learn more from reading this book than reading three years worth of 2600 Magazine.

All in all, great reading, intensely valuable information, and more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

It is about time that this book has been written!

Ross Anderson has a unique perspective to offer. He explains complex information, such as the inner working of cryptographic functions, with a clear and precise manner, while at the same time always relating the content to the real world. He possess a rare combination of expertise in theory and experience in practice.

This book covers everything from security of ATM machines, to secure printing; from multi-level security to information warfare; from hardware security to e-commerce; from legal issues to intellectual property protection; from biometrics to tamper resistance. In short, Anderson's book basically covers the entire field of computer security. It is also refreshing that the book is as deep as it is broad.

I will use this book to teach and also to learn. It is a good read cover to cover, and I imagine it will make a fine textbook for many classes on computer security. Every chapter ends with suggestions for interesting research problems and further reading.

As I was reading this book, I kept asking myself how one person could have produced such a comprehensive and complete book. It is indeed a treasure.

Mr. Anderson is a first rate, major league expert in his field and this comes across in the substantive, technical content of his writing. However his professional dissertation is diminished by the anti American invective of his (supposed) anecdotes. If you are a US citizen that has been indoctrinated to blame America first or just someone that dislikes America - you will find Mr. Anderson's anecdotes to be entertaining, even amusing. If you are not anti American, Mr. Anderson's anecdotes only clutter and distract from the text. This book is a great technical source. If Anderson would keep his political bias to himself, I would not hesitate to give his book a 5 star rating.