A jargon-busting guide to the key concepts, terminology, and technologies of cybersecurity. Perfect for anyone planning or implementing a security strategy.

In Making Sense of Cybersecurity you will learn how to:

Develop and incrementally improve your own cybersecurity strategy

Detect rogue WiFi networks and safely browse on public WiFi

Protect against physical attacks utilizing USB devices or building access cards

Use the OODA loop and a hacker mindset to plan out your own attacks

Connect to and browse the Dark Web

Apply threat models to build, measure, and improve your defenses

Respond to a detected cyber attack and work through a security breach

Go behind the headlines of famous attacks and learn lessons from real-world breaches that author Tom Kranz has personally helped to clean up. Making Sense of Cybersecurity is full of clear-headed advice and examples that will help you identify risks in your organization and choose the right path to apply the important security concepts. You'll learn the three pillars of a successful security strategy and how to create and apply threat models that will iteratively improve your organization's readiness.

Foreword by Naz Markuta.

About the technology

Someone is attacking your business right now. Understanding the threats, weaknesses, and attacks gives you the power to make better decisions about how to secure your systems. This book guides you through the concepts and basic skills you need to make sense of cybersecurity.

About the book

Making Sense of Cybersecurity is a crystal-clear overview of common cyber threats written for business and technical readers with no background in security. You’ll explore the core ideas of cybersecurity so you can effectively talk shop, plan a security strategy, and spot your organization’s own weak points. By examining real-world security examples, you’ll learn how the bad guys think and how to handle live threats.

What's inside

Develop and improve your cybersecurity strategy

Apply threat models to build, measure, and improve your defenses

Detect rogue WiFi networks and safely browse on public WiFi

Protect against physical attacks

About the reader

For anyone who needs to understand computer security. No IT or cybersecurity experience required.

About the author

Tom Kranz is a security consultant with over 30 years of experience in cybersecurity and IT.

Table of Contents

1 Cybersecurity and hackers

2 Cybersecurity: Everyone’s problem

PART 1

3 Understanding hackers

4 External attacks

5 Tricking our way in: Social engineerin

6 Internal attacks

7 The Dark Web: Where is stolen data traded?

PART 2

8 Understanding risk

9 Testing your systems

10 Inside the security operations center

11 Protecting the people

12 After the hack