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BKWLSCES.RVW
20031018
"Wireless
Security Essentials", Russell Dean Vines, 2002,
0-471-20936-8, U$40.00/C$62.50
%A Russell Dean Vines
%C 5353 Dundas Street West, 4th Floor, Etobicoke, ON M9B 6H8
%D 2002
%G 0-471-20936-8
%I John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
%O U$40.00/C$62.50 416-236-4433 fax: 416-236-4448
%O http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471209368/robsladesinterne
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471209368/robsladesinte-21
%O http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471209368/robsladesin03-20
%P 345 p.
%T "Wireless Security Essentials" |
The
introduction asserts, as a statement on the rapid pace
of
technological innovation, that wireless security may
have changed
between the writing and the publication of the book.
It may be an
interesting comment on security that the book is still
relevant and
that wireless security is unchanged in the two years
since the book's
completion. It may also be a measure of the good job
that Vines did
on his subject.
Part
one deals with the foundational aspects of the technology.
Chapter one covers computing technology, with a basic
but brief look
at computer architecture and some network architecture
(but mostly
protocols). Both wireless LAN and cellular telephone
are discussed,
but the LAN material predominates. Wireless theory, including
radio
communication and transmission protocols, is examined
in chapter two.
The explanations are good: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
(DSSS) and
Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) are much better
than in other
related works, although the text could still use some
improvement on
details such as DSSS chipping and the mapping of bits
to the frequency
signals. Wireless reality, in chapter three, is an odd
mix of the
security portions of wireless LAN protocols (except for
Bluetooth,
which has a number of functions explained in detail),
the Infrared
Data Association (IrDA), wireless operating systems and
devices, and
wireless services.
Part
two covers security essentials. Chapter four outlines
security
concepts and methodologies in a well-chosen (with the
signal exception
of cryptography) but not well-structured list. (Given
Vines'
participation in "The CISSP Prep Guide" [cf.
BKCISPPG.RVW] this is not
surprising.) According to chapter five, security technology
primarily
encompasses cryptographic aspects of wireless LAN protocols.
There is
a very comprehensive examination of a broad range of
attacks against
wireless devices (Personal Digital Assistant [PDA] viruses,
for
example) and transmissions (there is an extremely detailed
analysis of
WEP weaknesses, backed up by even more details in appendices
B and C),
as well as recommended countermeasures, in chapter six.
Although
not perfect, this book is an extremely useful guide
to the
security issues surrounding the use of wireless devices.
Of the
various books reviewed on the topic of wireless LANs
and security, it
is the best work seen to date.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 2003 BKWLSCES.RVW 20031018
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