Access Denied: The Complete Guide to Protecting Your Business Online

"Access Denied" is an excellent book for readers that want to understand the big picture of computer security. Network weaknesses, disaster recovery and business security "Best Practices" are among the many subjects introduced in this book. It also contains a great list of additional resources. Unlike many computer books this is very well written and easy to read. The authors ask readers key questions that will help develop a tailored and effective security program. This book has already found its way into many college courses and anyone interested in security would be well served by reading it. Keep in mind this is a non-technical introduction to the concepts and core skill areas of computer security and you wont learn how to configure your firewall or hack into a network. You will understand how to prepare and manage a security program very efficiently and that will have a greater impact on the security of you IT assets than a dozen "hacker secrets" books.

A well organized and easy to read book that seems to be written for the average person. As a student I have used this book in my research for papers and I have also used this book to help identify the holes in and to sure up my own network at home. It was also very helpful in explaining my home network and its security to my wife and my older children. A good read for anyone who even suspects his or her computers could be compromised.Another good book for network security is Uberhacker by Meinel

Once in a while a book comes along that fills a gap in the market and this is one of those books. It was an eye opener and I would recommend that anyone in a management position read it. It is the first title that I found that actually approached security from the business side of the issue. The authors explain every security issue you can think of (and some that you would never think of) in non-technical language. There was a lot of food for thought in here. Due to the scope of the subjects covered technical people will have their eyes opened as well, and using this book alone you would be well on your way to writing an implementing a comprehensive security policy. It's all about processes and risk management and it hits the mark.

This book won me over by making the complex simple and presenting security as it relates to the bottom line. As the authors point out, business people and IT professionals each speak a different language and waste a lot of time (and revenue) debating when they both really want the same thing. This is the best non-technical introduction to security I have read to date. It didn't waste my time comparing vendors and products and it made the complexities of security clear enough for me to grasp the threats facing our organization.The section on risk assessment is as concise and on target as it gets. Why spend $[PRICE]on a box to "fix" all of your problems if the potential damage might be less than half of that? The best practices at the end of the chapters give a good start for you to develop a security plan and make it work. People have been talking about security as a process for years but unfortunately no one told the management.Although this isn't a technical manual with step-by-step instructions for every firewall and operating system you can think of (hacking exposed) IT personnel will have their eyes opened and start thinking about a lot of things they may have never worried about. The book even touches on preparing for disasters... including terrorism

As a non-geek I was glad to find that someone had finally explained this subject in plain English. The authors provide a good foundation and best practices that business people can understand. We are well on our way to establishing a comprehensive security policy based on the lessons and templates provided in this book. Many of the areas we are addressing our IT staff had not even considered until we read them here. To sum it up this book is very useful and should be on every Business person or IT Director's shelf. If it isn't on your shelf consider buying it soon.