This textbook presents a practical introduction to information security using the Competency Based Education (CBE) method of teaching. The content and ancillary assessment methods explicitly measure student progress in the three core categories: Knowledge, Skills, and Experience, giving students a balance between background knowledge, context, and skills they can put to work. Students will learn both the foundations and applications of information systems security; safeguarding from malicious attacks, threats, and vulnerabilities; auditing, testing, and monitoring; risk, response, and recovery; networks and telecommunications security; source code security; information security standards; and compliance laws. The book can be used in introductory courses in security (information, cyber, network or computer security), including classes that don’t specifically use the CBE method, as instructors can adjust methods and ancillaries based on their own preferences. The book content is also aligned with the Cybersecurity Competency Model, proposed by department of homeland security. The author is an active member of The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), which is led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NICE is a partnership between government, academia, and the private sector focused on cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development.

Building a Practical Information Security Program provides users with a strategic view on how to build an information security program that aligns with business objectives. The information provided enables both executive management and IT managers not only to validate existing security programs, but also to build new business-driven security programs. In addition, the subject matter supports aspiring security engineers to forge a career path to successfully manage a security program, thereby adding value and reducing risk to the business. Readers learn how to translate technical challenges into business requirements, understand when to "go big or go home," explore in-depth defense strategies, and review tactics on when to absorb risks. This book explains how to properly plan and implement an infosec program based on business strategy and results. - Provides a roadmap on how to build a security program that will protect companies from intrusion - Shows how to focus the security program on its essential mission and move past FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) to provide business value - Teaches how to build consensus with an effective business-focused program

The Growing Imperative Need for Effective Information Security Governance With monotonous regularity, headlines announce ever more spectacular failures of information security and mounting losses. The succession of corporate debacles and dramatic control failures in recent years underscores the necessity for information security to be tightly integrated into the fabric of every organization. The protection of an organization's most valuable asset information can no longer be relegated to low-level technical personnel, but must be considered an essential element of corporate governance that is critical to organizational success and survival. Written by an industry expert, Information Security Governance is the first book-length treatment of this important topic, providing readers with a step-by-step approach to developing and managing an effective information security program. Beginning with a general overview of governance, the book covers: The business case for information security Defining roles and responsibilities Developing strategic metrics Determining information security outcomes Setting security governance objectives Establishing risk management objectives Developing a cost-effective security strategy A sample strategy development The steps for implementing an effective strategy Developing meaningful security program development metrics Designing relevant information security management metrics Defining incident management and response metrics Complemented with action plans and sample policies that demonstrate to readers how to put these ideas into practice, Information Security Governance is indispensable reading for any professional who is involved in information security and assurance.

Create appropriate, security-focused business propositions that consider the balance between cost, risk, and usability, while starting your journey to become an information security manager. Covering a wealth of information that explains exactly how the industry works today, this book focuses on how you can set up an effective information security practice, hire the right people, and strike the best balance between security controls, costs, and risks. Practical Information Security Management provides a wealth of practical advice for anyone responsible for information security management in the workplace, focusing on the ‘how’ rather than the ‘what’. Together we’ll cut through the policies, regulations, and standards to expose the real inner workings of what makes a security management program effective, covering the full gamut of subject matter pertaining to security management: organizational structures, security architectures, technical controls, governance frameworks, and operational security. This book was not written to help you pass your CISSP, CISM, or CISMP or become a PCI-DSS auditor. It won’t help you build an ISO 27001 or COBIT-compliant security management system, and it won’t help you become an ethical hacker or digital forensics investigator – there are many excellent books on the market that cover these subjects in detail. Instead, this is a practical book that offers years of real-world experience in helping you focus on the getting the job done. What You Will Learn Learn the practical aspects of being an effective information security manager Strike the right balance between cost and risk Take security policies and standards and make them work in reality Leverage complex security functions, such as Digital Forensics, Incident Response and Security Architecture Who This Book Is For“/div>divAnyone who wants to make a difference in offering effective security management for their business. You might already be a security manager seeking insight into areas of the job that you’ve not looked at before, or you might be a techie or risk guy wanting to switch into this challenging new career. Whatever your career goals are, Practical Security Management has something to offer you.

As part of the Syngress Basics series, The Basics of Information Security provides you with fundamental knowledge of information security in both theoretical and practical aspects. Author Jason Andress gives you the basic knowledge needed to understand the key concepts of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, and then dives into practical applications of these ideas in the areas of operational, physical, network, application, and operating system security. The Basics of Information Security gives you clear-non-technical explanations of how infosec works and how to apply these principles whether you're in the IT field or want to understand how it affects your career and business. The new Second Edition has been updated for the latest trends and threats, including new material on many infosec subjects. - Learn about information security without wading through a huge textbook - Covers both theoretical and practical aspects of information security - Provides a broad view of the information security field in a concise manner - All-new Second Edition updated for the latest information security trends and threats, including material on incident response, social engineering, security awareness, risk management, and legal/regulatory issues

In order to protect company's information assets such as sensitive customer records, health care records, etc., the security practitioner first needs to find out: what needs protected, what risks those assets are exposed to, what controls are in place to offset those risks, and where to focus attention for risk treatment. This is the true value and purpose of information security risk assessments. Effective risk assessments are meant to provide a defendable analysis of residual risk associated with your key assets so that risk treatment options can be explored. Information Security Risk Assessment Toolkit gives you the tools and skills to get a quick, reliable, and thorough risk assessment for key stakeholders. Based on authors' experiences of real-world assessments, reports, and presentations Focuses on implementing a process, rather than theory, that allows you to derive a quick and valuable assessment Includes a companion web site with spreadsheets you can utilize to create and maintain the risk assessment

Most security professionals don't have the words "security" or "hacker" in their job title. Instead, as a developer or admin you often have to fit in security alongside your official responsibilities - building and maintaining computer systems. Implement the basics of good security now, and you'll have a solid foundation if you bring in a dedicated security staff later. Identify the weaknesses in your system, and defend against the attacks most likely to compromise your organization, without needing to become a trained security professional. Computer security is a complex issue. But you don't have to be an expert in all the esoteric details to prevent many common attacks. Attackers are opportunistic and won't use a complex attack when a simple one will do. You can get a lot of benefit without too much complexity, by putting systems and processes in place that ensure you aren't making the obvious mistakes. Secure your systems better, with simple (though not always easy) practices. Plan to patch often to improve your security posture. Identify the most common software vulnerabilities, so you can avoid them when writing software. Discover cryptography - how it works, how easy it is to get wrong, and how to get it right. Configure your Windows computers securely. Defend your organization against phishing attacks with training and technical defenses. Make simple changes to harden your system against attackers. What You Need: You don't need any particular software to follow along with this book. Examples in the book describe security vulnerabilities and how to look for them. These examples will be more interesting if you have access to a code base you've worked on. Similarly, some examples describe network vulnerabilities and how to detect them. These will be more interesting with access to a network you support.