Network Security: Private Communication in a Public World

by Mike Speciner, Radia Perlman, Charlie Kaufman

Book Overview

Appropriate for all graduate-level and upper-level courses in network or computer security. Widely regarded as the most comprehensive yet comprehensible guide to network security, the First Edition of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0130460192
• ISBN13: 9780130460196
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Length: 752 Pages
• Weight: 2.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.8" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

A great book got even better

The second edition of this witty and informative book on network security is even better than the first edition and is clearly the best book on the subject currently available. Secret and public key algorithms and protocols, message hashes, authentication, Kerberos, PKI, IPsec, SSL/TLS, and e-mail security are all explained at length. Chapter 26 on security folklore is a real gem. In security, the devil is in the details. For anyone planning to design a security system that is actually supposed to work, this chapter is must reading. The book is aimed at readers with a university degree in the sciences, engineering, or mathematics. If you want to learn everything there is to know about network security, look no further.

Explains tedious theory in an understandable way

I took this book along on a business trip with the expectation that it would work better than chamomile tea before bed -- instead it kept me up well into the night. It turns a, necessarily, tedious subject into compelling reading. A "must-read" and "must-have" reference for any person charged with managing a distributed computing environment.

Comprehensive and written in plain english

Far and away the best book on network security and basic cryptography. This book is very well written and contains a number of simple examples to explain even the most complex theory. This is so far the only crypto book I've been able to read cover-to-cover more than once without pulling my hair out. Its not as deep on many topics as the Schneier or Stallings books. But if you buy one security/crypto book, buy this one.

Recommended reading for distributed system programmers

This book has one of the most comprehensible explanations of network authentication protocols (including Kerberos V) that I've seen. The authors demonstrate intimate knowledge of the subject material, but they restrain themselves from simply performing a brain dump on the reader. Rather they include historical and personal footnotes that make the story witty and memorable, and give context to the topic at hand. Definitely add this book to your collection.

The best book currently available on network security

As electronic commerce, home banking, and similar network applications become commonplace, network security will be absolutely essential to ensuring the privacy of all the users. In this book the authors explain how network security works, starting with the basic ideas and working up to numerous state-of-the-art subjects. For readers who want to know all about the mathematical fundementals of cryptography, there is a chapter on mathematics, but it is not necessary to understand the book. Many protocols and real-world examples are given. The book is very well written and easy to read. I recommend it most highly.