10 Best Computer Security Books

Computer security is an essential part of the maintenance of any computer network and prevents the data stored to be accessed by any unauthorized user. There are various ways by which the computer security can be breached like the back door access by which classified and confidential information is hacked by unauthorized user. Nowadays various web applications and data management system have become vulnerable to security breach rendering them unusable by virus attacks or deliberate alteration of security codes. With the expansion of IT domain in almost all facets of information management ranging from domestic users to industrial applications, the personnel with knowledge about computer security are in high demand in the industries.

The domain of computer security involves a knowledge in sophisticated technologies and a real time exposure to computer network and data management and as a matter of fact there are much less professional than are required by the worldwide market of computer security. Understanding the computer security domain is not easy and it calls for professional training. Fortunately there are computer security books that offer you an insight into the domain. By referring to those books one can gain an understanding on how it works.

You may also be interested in books about ethical hacking along with below listed books.

The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography [Kindle Edition]

(By: Simon Singh )

This book neatly traces the history of encryption and illustrated how secret coding had a deep impact on the political and social aspects of civilization. The book opens up with the conspiracy of Queen Mary to murder Queen Elizabeth and how secret coding is used to cloak the intention. There are instances traced from World War II and finally how modern physics is using cryptography to code the concepts of quantum physics.

Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker [Kindle Edition]

(By: Kevin Mitnick (Author), Steve Wozniak (Foreword), William L. Simon (Contributor) )

The book written by one of the most wanted hacker, it is an eye opener to anyone interested in how the computer security is breached. This not exactly computer network security book, but it provides a good insight into the world of hacking that when let lose can create havoc even at the most sophisticated security system. This book is recommended to anyone who wants to know how hacking works and then can work out how they can be prevented.

Rtfm: Red Team Field Manual

(By: Ben Clark )

This is one of the best computer security books that is loaded with codes and information that is very useful for anyone with a mission to protect a network from security breach. The book has been written by professionals with decades of experience in maintaining and securing computer network. This book is a good referential guide for anyone interested in computer network security.

CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition [Kindle Edition]

(By: Shon Harris )

This book is the best guide to CISSP exam and would prove an invaluable guide for anyone interested in computer network security. The computer security professionals consider it as one of the best books on information security which gives a comprehensive idea as to how the security system functions. It is written in easy to understand language and important terms and concepts are separately discussed in boxes within the main text.

Practical Malware Analysis: The Hands-On Guide to Dissecting Malicious Software [Kindle Edition]

(By: Michael Sikorski (Author), Andrew Honig (Author) )

This book is highly recommended for any computer security professional who seeks to understand the basic facts about the windows system and how the security arrangement works. The book is written in easy to understand language and it is one of the books on information security that is written with the assumption that you have only the basic knowledge about the security system. The topic on virtual system is very important to understand the basic tenets of the concepts explained.

Metasploit: The Penetration Tester’s Guide [Kindle Edition]

(By: David Kennedy (Author), Jim O’Gorman (Author), Devon Kearns (Author), Mati Aharoni (Author) )

The book is written for the security professional who wants to know about the basic tenets of penetration testing and security testing in general. The book is written in tutorial style assuming that you apply the concepts as you read. Among the computer security books, this book assumes that you know next to nothing and starts to explain the very basic concepts of security testing. This book is highly recommended for anyone who starts to learn the security testing system.

Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking [Kindle Edition]

(By: Christopher Hadnagy (Author), Paul Wilson (Foreword) )

This is one of the best computer security books and an invaluable guide to anyone interested in understanding the social engineering factor in hacking. Very few books have actually discussed about this special aspect of hacking usually known by the term social engineering. This book provides you an offhand knowledge about how the social engineering experts hack into the system, the background and how to detect and mitigate them.

Nmap Cookbook: The Fat-free Guide to Network Scanning [Kindle Edition]

(By: Nicholas Marsh (Author) )

This book is on NMAP and how it works for the security professionals. This is one of the computer network security books that give you an offhand knowledge about scanning the data system and to find out if there is any security breach. The book is lean and you can read it out within seven days and apply its concepts. It is highly recommended for anyone working as a network security professional.

CUCKOO’S EGG [Kindle Edition]

(By: Clifford Stoll )

This book is as thrilling to read as any detective novel dealing with the computer espionage and how a hacker mastermind enters and destroys a system while retrieving confidential information. This book would prove a great help for anyone working in the computer security system and wants to know how the hacking actually works. The book is written mostly in non-technical language and easy to read.

Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C [Kindle Edition]

(By: Bruce Schneier )

This book deals with the history of cryptography and explains in a lay man’s language what cryptology is all about. This book can be used by both the beginners and advanced learner of data encryption who wants to work on it. The last portion of the book contains code in C language about various public domain encryption algorithms. This book is recommended for anyone interested in information security through encryption.

With the breach of information security becoming a major concern for both domestic and industrial users of computer networking system, the computer security system has come up as a billion dollar industry. Network security professionals are in great demand and these professional can learn about the nuances of the network security from the books mentioned above. The need for the security professionals would increase by days as hacking and back door access has become a regular menace in the information technology domain.