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Computer network security. Theory and practice. (English) Zbl 1167.68009

Beijing: Higher Education Press; Berlin: Springer (ISBN 978-7-04-024162-4; 978-3-540-79697-8/hbk). xviii, 384 p. (2009).
The book under review provides the reader with an interesting and well-written overview of a variety of aspects of network security. The title recalls a popular book by Bruce Schneier [Applied cryptography. New York: Wiley (1993; Zbl 0789.94001)]. So does the table of contents. However, among classical algorithms one can also find recent proposals, such as the latest WiFi cryptography instruments, including AES standard or Bluetooth 2.1 EDR security extensions. The book not only presents a theoretical description of security mechanisms, but also practical aspects related to them. For example, the very interesting part concerning Bluetooth security can be found in Chapter 6.5. What one can find a bit disturbing is an uneven detail level among the variety of topics covered. For example SSH is described on about one page, while SSL/TLS, serving similar services and complexity, is presented in much more detail. The book lacks the description of TACACS+ and Diameter authentication protocols similar to Radius and, to some extent, Kerberos protocols. Also, modern WEP attack, published in the year 2007 (PTW – from the names of its authors Pychkine, Tews and Weinmann) is not mentioned. The author does not present anonymizing issues, which recently gained popularity in network cryptography. Nevertheless, the book is very interesting and covers current security issues not only from the theoretical but, at least in some cases, also from the practical point of view. The book is recommended to all theoreticians and practitioners that would like to have available a comprehensive compendium treating modern network security.

MSC:

68M10 Network design and communication in computer systems
68-02 Research exposition (monographs, survey articles) pertaining to computer science
68P25 Data encryption (aspects in computer science)
68M12 Network protocols
94A60 Cryptography
94A62 Authentication, digital signatures and secret sharing

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