Book details of 'Security Fundamentals for E-Commerce (Artech House Computer Security Series. New Series)'

Title	Security Fundamentals for E-Commerce (Artech House Computer Security Series. New Series)
Author(s)	Vesna Hassler
ISBN	1580531083
Language	English
Published	October 2000
Publisher	Artech House

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The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'Security Fundamentals for E-Commerce (Artech House Computer Security Series. New Series)':

Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
"The purpose of this book is to give an in-depth overview of all the basic security problems and solutions that can be relevant for an e-commerce application." I'm sorry, but "in-depth overview" sounds a bit like "jumbo shrimp": it's an oxymoron. And "all the basic security problems and solutions that can be relevant for an e-commerce application" covers a lot of ground. (Which is, I suppose, why this text has twenty two chapters.) Part one explains the basics of information security. Chapter one defines some of the basic jargon, but misses a number of the important fundamental terms. For example, the relationship between threats, vulernabilities and exploits is fairly basic to security and risk analysis, and yet all security problems seem to be lumped together as threats. The examination of security mechanisms, in chapter two, is limited to cryptography. Key management is restricted to X.509 certificates and Diffie-Hellman in chapter three. Part two looks specifically at security of electronic payment systems. Chapter four briefly lists a wide variety of payment systems. A terse set of payment security problems is given in chapter five, while some seemingly random cryptographic solutions are given in six. A little bit of math for functions directed at electronic cash and cheques is presented in chapters seven and eight, respectively. Chapter nine describes the Internet Open Trading Protocol. Part three deals with communications security. Chapter ten is a general look at networking. Chapters eleven to fourteen examine different systems for security at different layers, but the depth of coverage is very inconsistent: extremely terse in some cases, with many gaps, and yet delving into minute detail in others. Part four examines Web security. Chapter fifteen details the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which is good, since few texts bother to do. Random topics related to Web servers make up chapter sixteen. Web client security topics are dealt with somewhat better in chapter seventeen, although cookies aren't given any significant discussion. Active content does get its own chapter: eighteen concentrates almost exclusively on Java. Chapter nineteen contains miscellaneous topics. Part five covers some special issues for mobile or agent computing. Agent technology is described in chapter twenty, some cellular phone topics are reviewed in twenty one, and smart card security is discussed in twenty two. Well, overview it is. The book does cover a variety of topics, although there are a great many gaps and holes. However, "in-depth" can't be supported, except in a very few cases. There are some topics that are discussed in excruciating detail, but they are definitely in the minority. As a college text this undoubtedly has its uses, but professionals or businesspeople will find the inconsistent coverage problematic. copyright Robert M. Slade, 2002
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Book description:

If you're charged with maintaining the security of e-commerce sites, you need this unique book that provides an in-depth understanding of basic security problems and relevant e-commerce solutions, while helping you implement today's most advanced security technologies. From designing secure Web, e-commerce, and mobile commerce applications… to securing your internal network… to providing secure employee/user authentication, this cutting-edge book gives you a valuable security perspective you won't find in other resources. Flexibly structured to give you a comprehensive overview or to help you quickly pinpoint topics of immediate concern, the book includes sections on basic security mechanisms, the specific requirements of electronic payment systems, communication security, and Web- and Java-related security issues. A full section is devoted to the security aspects of code and customer mobility, specifically mobile agents, mobile devices, and smart cards. Over 70 illustrations help clarify important points throughout the book.