The Internet, as well as other telecommunication networks and information systems, have become an integrated part of our daily lives, and our dependency upon their underlying infrastructure is ever-increasing. Unfortunately, as our dependency has grown, so have hostile attacks on the cyber infrastructure by network predators. The lack of security as a core element in the initial design of these information systems has made common desktop software, infrastructure services, and information networks increasingly vulnerable to continuous and innovative breakers of security. Worms, viruses, and spam are examples of attacks that cost the global economy billions of dollars in lost productivity. Sophisticated distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that use thousands of web robots (bots) on the Internet and telecommunications networks are on the rise. The ramifications of these attacks are clear: the potential for a devastating largescale network failure, service interruption, or the total unavailability of service. Yet many security programs are based solely on reactive measures, such as the patching of software or the detection of attacks that have already occurred, instead of proactive measures that prevent attacks in the first place. Most of the network security configurations are performed manually and require experts to monitor, tune security devices, and recover from attacks. On the other hand, attacks are getting more sophisticated and highly automated, which gives the attackers an advantage in this technology race. A key contribution of this book is that it provides an integrated view and a comprehensive framework of the various issues relating to cyber infrastructure protection. It covers not only strategy and policy issues, but it also covers social, legal, and technical aspects of cyber security as well. We strongly recommend this book for policymakers and researchers so that they may stay abreast of the latest research and develop a greater understanding of cyber security issues.
About the Author: TAREK N. SAADAWI is Professor and Director of the Center for Information Networking and Telecommunications (CINT), City College, The City University of New York. His current research interests are telecommunications networks, high-speed networks, multimedia networks, AD-HOC mobile wireless networks and secure communications. Dr. Saadawi has been on the Consortium Management Committee (CMC) for ARL Consortium on Telecommunications (known as Collaborative Technology Alliances on Communications and Networks, CTA-C&N), 2001- 2009. He has published extensively in the areas of telecommunications and information networks. Dr. Saadawi is a co-author of the book, Fundamentals of Telecommunication Networks (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1994) which has been translated into Chinese. He was the lead author of the Egypt Telecommunications Infrastructure Master Plan covering the fiber network, IP/ATM, DSL, and the wireless local loop under a project funded by the U.S. Agency for Independent Development. He joined the U.S. Department of Commerce delegation to the Government of Algeria addressing rural communications. Dr. Saadawi is a Former Chairman of IEEE Computer Society of New York City (1986-87). He holds a B.S. and M.S. from Cairo University, Egypt, and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park. LOUIS H. JORDAN, JR., is the Deputy Director of the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He recently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan where he served as Senior Military Advisor to the Afghan Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter Narcotics. He is a graduate of Fordham University in the Bronx, NY, where he received a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. Colonel Jordan's formal education includes a master's degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College and certification in strategic planning from the American Management Association. Colonel Jordan has served in aviation assignments from company through brigade and the national level including service at the National Guard Bureau as an operations officer, branch chief, and as the Deputy Division Chief of the Aviation and Safety Division. Colonel Jordan has commanded at the battalion, brigade, and joint task force level to include command of Joint Task Force Raven, the aviation task force for Operation JUMP START along the Southwest Border in Arizona.