The Insider: A True Story

I purchased this book along with a few others on insiders. This was a good general overview and introduction to what insider threats are. While it doesn't offer some of the technical bits that others did, it is worth reading if you are not familiar with the concept.

Dan Verton's book on insider threat is easily the most important book on information security I've read in over a year. Weighing in at slightly over 160 pages, it is full of real-world horror stories about "insiders" who have exploited their positions to steal intellectual property. These "insiders" range from government spies (Ames, Hanson, Pollard, etc), to well-known and not so well-known individuals from the banking and finance industry. The book drives home the point that perimeter defenses simply cannot protect your network. What I particularly liked about the book is that it is not just a compendium of stories, but it seems to also capture why people are driven to steal IP. For example, it addresses outsourcing and the affect it has had on the American worker. It was also startling to see at how much important and proprietary information was non-maliciously sent over the internet from some of the corporations high-lighted in the story. Based in-part on technology developed by Reconnex corporation and their ability to monitor high volume network traffic, the book raises the issue that most companies and government organizations do not have a clue as to what their employees are sending over the internet. I rarely purchase books at full price, but I can tell you that this book was well worth it. Everyone should read this...it is probably the most important issue in information security today.