Tag Archive for: Book Review

Cybersecurity Canon Book Review: “Digital Resilience”

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Palo Alto Networks Blog | February 27, 2020

I got into cybersecurity because I read books like Winn Schwartau’s “Information Warfare,” William Gibson’s “Neuromancer” and Cliff Stoll’s “Cuckoo’s Egg.” These books gave me a very balanced view of what cybersecurity could be, even though no one called them cyber in the 90s. Until I got Ray Rothrock’s book, “Digital Resilience,” I didn’t have a book I was comfortable with suggesting as a great first read to the next generation of cyber professionals.

If you’ve recently been put in charge of IT or IT operations and didn’t grow up in cyber over the past 20 years, “Digital Resilience” is for you. This book is also equally useful for new CEOs, CFOs or board members who need to understand cyber risk without getting overwhelmed with IT technology or the defeatism of “hackers and nation-states will always get in, so why bother.”

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Cyber Canon Book Review: Digital Resilience

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Palo Alto Networks | May 15, 2019

Digital Resilience: Is Your Company Ready for the Next Cyber Threat? by Ray Rothrock, Book Reviewed by Ron Gula, President Gula Tech Adventures & Co-Founder Tenable Network Security

I recommend “Digital Resilience: Is Your Company Ready for the Next Cyber Threat” to smart people who need to rapidly learn the history and issues of cybersecurity, so they can make effective decisions and formulate strategies to manage cybersecurity today.

If you’ve recently been put in charge of IT or IT operations and didn’t grow up in cybersecurity over the past 20 years, this book is for you. This book is also equally useful for new CEOs, CFOs or board members who need to understand cyber risk without getting overwhelmed with IT technology or the defeatism of “hackers and nation states will always get in, so why bother”.

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Digital Resilience: Book Review by Mark Gorenberg

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Book Review  | January 14, 2019

Mark Gorenberg, Founder, Zetta Venture Partners 

Wow. What an amazing read. I was mesmerized by the details and easily way you explained the Target breach all the way through the list of recommendations.  Really great work.

Digital Resilience: Book Review by Diana Chapman Walsh

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Book Review  | January 8, 2019

By Diana Chapman Walsh, 12th President of Wellesley College

Fascinating, compelling, a beautifully-written page turner that draws the reader in immediately. I learned a whole new vocabulary—new words to convey new concepts in paragraph after paragraph—introduced elegantly and seamlessly so as not to disrupt the flow of the intriguing story you were unfolding. Concepts like “preemptive mitigation of damage” to augment existing security measures aimed at preventing breaches, which are inevitable. And that because of the “frictionless vulnerability” that accompanies the much-desired ability to communicate without friction. The difference (in time and consequence) between infiltration of the network and “exfiltration” of the data. On and on like this.

A whole fascinating world that reads more like a John Grisham novel than a technical treatise. That’s my comment on the pleasure of reading it; masterfully crafted prose and structure. Beyond that, you make an iron-clad case that (1) cybersecurity is among the most important issues of our time and (2) the digital resilience you describe is indispensable and also possible if senior leadership will educate themselves, institute the changes you advocate, and pay attention. I loved your dark energy-dark matter analogy at the opening of Chapter 7.

Digital Resilience: Book Review by Azure Yu

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By Azure Yu, Titans Briefs, The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business

Summary:

Cyberattacks are inevitable and costly in today’s intensively connected world. Undergoing cyberattacks will be the norm rather than the exception for all kinds of organizations, and these attacks will usually have devastating consequences. To survive in this hostile environment, companies have implemented necessary security measures such as firewalls and anti-malware, but these measures are insufficient against the inherent risks of digital networks. Greater connectivity comes with more vulnerability. Rothrock points out that C-suites must use “digital resilience” as a whole-business strategy. Digital resilience allows companies to survive attacks, contain breaches, recover, and continue to operate while under attack. Lack of digital resilience can lead to severe consequences – the 2013 Target breach was an example.

The book describes digital resilience in detail. It covers the history of networks, the technical fundamentals, and the distributed nature of the current state. It paints a vivid picture of the inevitability of a successful attack, given that over a trillion Internet of Things (IoT) devices are connected to the network and each node creates vulnerability. It provides actions business leaders can take toward achieving digital resilience. Here are the eight steps listed in the book to build deep knowledge of your data and networks:

  1. Verifying that the device configurations comply with relevant regulation and industry best practices.
  2. Modeling the network by collecting configuration and operation data of the network devices as often as necessary and without burdening the network.
  3. Visualizing end-to-end access and path details to see intended and unintended access among all parts of the network.
  4. Measuring network resilience and managing it. Rothrock explains the resilience scoring in his RedSeal system in Chapter 6.
  5. Identifying hidden areas of the network to manage risks in those areas – the “scary parts” and unknown part of the network can be significant security risks.
  6. Prioritizing vulnerability patching to allocate resources to patch the most urgent network situation.
  7. Verifying network security policy. It is essential to know if security policies are implemented properly in order to measure the real resilience of a network.
  8. Prioritizing network change control. Businesses need the capability to assess the security impact of potential or proposed changes to the network.

Harvard Business School: Alumni and Faculty Books

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Harvard Business School | June 2018

Digital Resilience: Is Your Company Ready for the Next Cyber Threat?
by Ray Rothrock (MBA 1988)

Amacom:
Rothrock lays bare tactics used by hackers, vulnerabilities lurking in networks, and strategies not just for surviving attacks but also for thriving even while under assault. This book helps businesses understand the threats they face, assess the resilience of their networks against attacks, identify and address weaknesses, and respond to data theft swiftly and effectively.

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PM World Book Review: Digital Resilience

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PM World Journal | July 2018

The subtitle grasped my attention, “Is your Company Ready for the Next Cyber Threat?” With the speed of change and the lack of international laws to detect and prosecute the criminals, my mind quickly responded, “I doubt it?”

This title addresses the rise in cybercrimes and every business, large and small are at risk. It helps law abiding business people peek inside the minds and tactics of international criminals to understand the threats, identify the weakness and effectively respond, no matter what it takes.

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