The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin D. Mitnick, William L. Simon, Steve Wozniak Kevin D. MitnickWilliam L. SimonSteve Wozniak Presented by- Dipti Singhal Janish Jindal

About the author - Kevin Mitnick Controversial American computer security consultant, author and hacker. Best sellers – The Art of Invisibility, Ghost in the Wires, The Art of Intrusion and The Art of Deception. Infamous due to his high-profile 1995 arrest and later five years in prison for various computer and communication-related crimes. Now runs a firm named Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC that helps test a company’s security strengths, weaknesses, and potential loopholes.

“I went to prison for my hacking. Now people hire me to do the same things I went to prison for, but in a legal and beneficial way.” – Kevin D. Mitnick

Overview of the book Focuses on the human factors involved with information security and social engineering. The book is divided into four parts- Part 1: Reveals security’s weakest links vulnerable to social engineering attacks. Part 2 and 3: Introduces social engineering threats ranging from simple individual attacks to high level organisational attacks. Part 4: Outlines recommended corporate information security policies, and an associated training program on information security awareness. “It takes a thief to catch a thief”

Positives of the book Introduces a whole new perspective of viewing hacking by exploiting human gullibility in comparison to other hacking related books mainly focussing only on technicalities. Uses a number of real world examples to explain the potential threats and their preventive measures. Covers readers from non-technical background also, as every technical aspect if used is well explained.

Negatives of the book Elimination of the redundant matter from the book would have benefitted the readers. A few impractical security advises are given. Eg. A) Don't write passwords down B) Don't use simple passwords C) Change passwords monthly

Why one should read this book? To protect oneself from the potential social engineering attacks