• Actual hacker investigations, including the harm caused and how the criminals were tracked and caught
• The ins and outs of identity theft, a rapidly growing crime with potential for serious damage
• Using the criminology and psychology of hackers to detect and deter attacks
• The risks associated with various technologies
• Do's and don'ts for high-tech criminal investigations

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

About The Author

High-Tech Crimes Revealed: Cyberwar Stories from the Digital Front

About the Author

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews & Comments
Prior to 'High-Tech Crimes Revealed' (HTCR) I read and reviewed 'Stealing the Network: How to Own a Continent' (HTOAC). While HTOAC is fictional and written almost exclusively from the point of view of the 'hacker,' HTCR is mostly true and written from the law enforcement perspective. On the strength of the cases described in the first half of the book, I recommend HTCR as an introduction to the mindset needed to pursue and prosecute cyber criminals. Author Steve Branigan brings a unique perspective to his book. In 1986-7 Branigan was a patrolman in the Seaside Heights Police Department, but three years later he investigated telecom incidents for Bell Communications Research. Later work at Lucent and Bell Labs prepared him for co-founding Lumeta in 2000. His experience with telecom security differentiates the book from those who spend more time on Internet-centric crimes. I found the first half of the book more helpful than the second half, particularly when legal and criminal concepts are introduced in the context of security investigations. Ch 1 offers insight into drafting search warrants when pursuing a rogue insider. Ch 2 explains subpoenas and executing search warrants. Ch 3 discusses options at trial, like plea bargains. Ch 4 outlines an undercover sting and the role of confidential informants. Ch 5 talks about identity theft and ch 6 describes the author's role in interviewing two 'hackers.' The first half of the book uses true stories to make its points, but the second shifts more to opinions with short stories added for interest. I skimmed these later chapters as they seemed more appropriate for those without security and forensic experience. A few excerpts from the book are quote worthy. On p 106 Branigan notes that during a sting operation, the cops disabled exploit tools hosted on a cop-supervised bulletin board to avoid 'facilitating the transmission of hacking tools.' Consider that when you find a 'broken exploit.' A footnote on p 111 says 'NetStumbler is freeware. Why people write these things nobody knows.' NetStumbler isn't just for wardriving by those with malicious intent; sys admins also use it to discover rogue access points. I agree with Thomas Duff's assessment regarding the shelf life of Branigan's stories. Many cases, like ch 1's SS7 intrusion, were cool despite being almost 10 years old. In other places Branigan really dated himself. For example, p 118 states 'the main set of backdoor programs for UNIX are collectively known as rootkit, and those for Windows-based systems are Back Orifice and Netbus.' That was mostly correct in 2000, but very dated by 2004. I also question the 'session takeover' techniques mentioned on p 175; far too little detail is offered to make me accept this 'magic' capability. Overall I recommend reading HTCR. Branigan literally has a front-row seat on several fascinating security incidents. Few people have accompanied police when seizing evidence or performed hands-on analysis of live systems as related by HTCR. Readers with an interest in telco security will particularly enjoy Branigan's tales, and I appreciated his use of FreeBSD as a forensic platform. Comment | Permalink | (Report this)