High-Tech Crimes Revealed review

Wendy M Grossman ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 17 Nov 2004

This book, Steven Branigan explains at the outset, is not intended to teach the technical details of how hackers exploit computers and networks. Instead, it is intended to explain what those exploits -- viruses, stolen credit cards, identity theft -- mean, how they are used, and how people using them get caught. In most cases, the crimes are old, and only the technology used to commit them is new.

Branigan is a former manager for Bell Labs Computing and Network Research, and has a background in both computing and law enforcement. The case studies included in the book are therefore cases he has been involved in personally. These include an attack on the telephone network, a hacker who was caught when first he defaulted on his rent and then was recaptured when he was caught speeding; a sting operation; and a case of identity theft. All these cases go into considerable detail. The identity theft case, for example, is the story of a police officer who was informed one day that there was a warrant for his arrest in Arizona; it turned out his brother had used his name and birth date to avoid having his licence suspended when he was stopped for speeding.

Some of the background of these cases is wholly American, such as the discussion of the Federal Trade Commission's efforts to crack down on identity theft. Most of the material, though, is broadly applicable, such as the interviews where hackers talk about why they do it. One important point Branigan makes in this chapter is that many hackers are extremely intelligent, and won't get caught unless someone turns them in.

Probably the best chapter is the one on what not to do in an investigation. Branigan follows the progress of a real investigation that turned into a mess, discussing the decision points and the consequences of such common mistakes as impatience, poor communication and poor team management. He follows it up with a chapter on how to run an investigation correctly, making the point that it's easier to train law enforcement officers in new technology than it is to teach system administrators investigation techniques.

Overall, High-Tech Crimes Revealed: Cyberwar Stories from the Digital Front is a useful and interesting -- if distinctly US-orientated -- book.

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