Dissecting the Hack: The F0rb1dd3n Network, Revised Edition

Dissecting the Hack: The F0rb1dd3n Network, Revised Edition, deals with hackers and hacking. The book is divided into two parts. The first part, entitled “The F0rb1dd3n Network,” tells the fictional story of Bob and Leon, two kids caught up in an adventure where they learn the real-world consequence of digital actions. The second part, “Security Threats Are Real” (STAR), focuses on these real-world lessons.

The F0rb1dd3n Network can be read as a stand-alone story or as an illustration of the issues described in STAR. Throughout The F0rb1dd3n Network are “Easter eggs”―references, hints, phrases, and more that will lead readers to insights into hacker culture. Drawing on The F0rb1dd3n Network, STAR explains the various aspects of reconnaissance; the scanning phase of an attack; the attacker’s search for network weaknesses and vulnerabilities to exploit; the various angles of attack used by the characters in the story; basic methods of erasing information and obscuring an attacker’s presence on a computer system; and the underlying hacking culture.

• Revised edition includes a completely NEW STAR Section (Part 2)
• Utilizes actual hacking and security tools in its story- helps to familiarize a newbie with the many devices and their code
• Introduces basic hacking techniques in real life context for ease of learning

Brian Baskin is a digital forensics professional employed by CSC and serves as the Deputy Lead Technical Engineer with the Defense Cyber Investigations Training Academy (DCITA), part of the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3). For more than 10 years, Brian has worked with the DCITA to research, develop, and teach forensic responses to growing cyber threats. Brian devotes much of his time to researching the evolving Internet crimes, network protocol analysis, and Linux and UNIX intrusion responses.

Brian also serves as a technical reviewer for DCITA. He helps to analyze content and procedures for more than two dozen cyber security courses for technical validity and relevance. For fun, he manages a content creation team that develops online Web-based incident response training that provides hands-on experience to military units stationed overseas. His team works with the various federal and military law enforcement groups for information sharing and collaboration on ongoing threats and best practices.

Brian has also served as a subject matter expert for content development for the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).

Marcus J. Carey is well known for being a compulsive mentor in the information security community. Marcus has more than 17 years of experience in the information security field, working in the military, federal, and private sectors. Marcus served more than 8 years active duty in the U.S. Navy Cryptologic Security Group. Marcus ended his naval service by being assigned to the National Security Agency (NSA) where he engineered, monitored, and defended the Department of Defense's secure networks. Marcus earned a Master of Science in Network Security from Capitol College in Laurel, Maryland.

Jayson E. Street is the principle partner in Stratagem One Solutions, an Information Security and Penetration Testing consultancy (http://stratagem-one.com). Jayson has consulted with the FBI on attempted breaches of networks resulting in the capture and successful prosecution of the perpetrators. Jayson has also consulted with the Secret Service on wireless security and cyber crime investigations. Other projects have included conducting a three day training course on Intrusion Detection Systems for an undisclosed government agency in Washington D.C. He also created and taught a workshop on ethical pen-testing with Backtrack 3 for ISSA.

At the request of the FBI, he was a guest speaker at the INFRAGARD 2004 wireless conference where he presented the current status of the hacking underground. In addition, he's addressed issues concerning wireless security and some solutions to secure it. In June of 2005 and July 2006 he discussed the challenges of educating upper management on the challenges of Information Security at The University of Advancing Technologies Tech Forum. And in 2008 he gave a presentation at the Cyber Crimes Alliance meeting at the invitation of the Secret Service.

Kent Nabors serves as Vice President of Information Security for a multi-billion dollar financial institution. He has significant experience in both the banking and IT industries. He has worked in bank examinations with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Bank. Kent’s background includes security policy development, systems implementation, incident response, and training development. Kent received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma.