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Information Systems In The Crosshairs New Book Details Real And Present...

The news that NATO has announced the creation of a 24-hour emergency response team to manage CyberAttacks -- in the same way that it responds to chemical, biological or radiological attacks -- highlights the increasing vulnerability of organizations and businesses in the information era.A new book by defense and commercial security expert Dr Julie Mehan, 'CyberWar, CyberTerror, CyberCrime' (http://www.itgovernance.co.uk/products/1731), published by IT Governance (http://www.itgovernance.co.uk/), provides a stark and timely analysis of the increasingly hostile online landscape that today's corporate systems inhabit, and gives a practical introduction to the defensive strategies that can be employed in response.

''CyberWar, CyberTerror and CyberCrime are a real and present danger, and organizations that are unprepared for them are organizations that are wandering blindly into a destructive future,'' warns Dr Mehan.

While targeted at professionals with a general understanding of security engineering, this timely, balanced and far-sighted book should provide sobering yet illuminating reading for business, technology and security leaders around the world. Layman and specialist alike will be engrossed by Dr Mehan's insights into the psyche and modus operandi of the CyberTerrorist and the CyberCriminal. Of particular value to security professionals are the chapters addressing CyberDefence, Governance, Laws and Standards, which discuss the current regulatory landscape and suggest practical methods for applying international standards and best practices to create a culture of security within organizations.

Comments Dr Mehan ''While the Internet has emerged in the past two decades as a powerful business tool and enabler, the online world remains a largely unstructured terrain with few legal limitations and rules. The result has been a digital 'Wild West', with the Internet providing a fertile feeding ground for CyberWarriors, CyberTerrorists and CyberCriminals.''

To demonstrate the scale of the problem, Dr Mehan points to recent cases such as the 2007 CyberAttack by Russia on Estonia's state and financial IT infrastructure which brought the country to a standstill for two months. She also highlights the high cost of malware attacks by groups such as the Storm Trojan gang, whose efforts infected millions of computers and cost companies billions of dollars.

''CyberTerrorism, CyberCrime and CyberAttacks pose a serious risk to national, individual and corporate security,'' concludes Dr Mehan. ''The weapons of the CyberTerrorist or CyberCriminal are subtle, insidious, difficult to trace, low cost and easily deployed globally. Vital organizations on which we all depend are potentially vulnerable to this kind of attack, particularly financial, defense, telecommunications and energy networks, and no-one can afford to ignore the level of threat. 'CyberWar, CyberTerror, CyberCrime' is a valuable tool for CIOs and IT professionals in assessing how to utilise the best standards and practices to secure their information systems against attack.''

In the course of 280 pages, 'CyberWar, CyberTerror, CyberCrime' makes a convincing case for the application of international standards and practices as the key counter-measure to the global threat of CyberAttacks. The book also provides a useful glossary of wider reading and current international standards.

'CyberWar, CyberTerror, CyberCrime' is priced at 39.95/$79.10/51.94 and is available in hard copy (ISBN 978-1-905356-47-8) and e-book (ISBN 978-1-905356-48-5) formats. To purchase a copy for immediate despatch or download, visit http://www.itgovernance.co.uk/products/1731.

NOTES TO EDITORS

IT Governance Ltd is the one-stop shop for books, tools, training and consultancy for Governance, Risk Management and Compliance. It is a leading authority on data security and IT governance for business and the public sector. IT Governance is 'non-geek', approaching IT issues from a non-technology background and talking to management in its own language. Its customer base spans Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia. More information is available at www.itgovernance.co.uk.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julie Mehan is a Principal Analyst for a strategic consulting firm in the State of Virginia, USA. She has been a career Government Service employee, a strategic consultant and an entrepreneur. Until November 2007, she was the co-founder of a small woman-owned company focusing on secure, assured software modernization and security services. She led business operations, as well as the information technology governance and information assurance-related services, including certification and accreditation, systems security engineering process improvement, and information assurance strategic planning and programme management. During previous years, Dr Mehan delivered information assurance and security-related privacy services to senior department of defence, federal government, and commercial clients working in Italy, Australia, Canada, Belgium, and the United States. She served on the President's Partnership for Critical Infrastructure Security, Task Force on Interdependency and Vulnerability Assessments. She also serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland University College, specialising in courses in Information Technology and Organizational Structure, and Ethics in Information Technology.

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