<http://www.newsforge.com/print.pl?sid=04/01/02/1341256>
NewsForge The Online Newspaper for Linux and Open Source http://www.newsforge.com/ Title Linux Advisory Watch - January 2, 2004 Date 2004.01.02 8:00 Author warthawg Topic Linux http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=04/01/02/1341256 This week, advisories were released for xsok, cvs, and proftpd. The distributors include Debian, Gentoo, and Mandrake. One of the best parts of having a profession in information security and IT, is the opportunity to continue learning. To survive, one must constantly stay on top of changing technology. The problem with this is that most of us do not have time to read books, journals, or simply conduct adequate research on the Internet. We are constantly trying to extinguish fires and only gather enough information to do a particular job. Unfortunately, it seems there is never enough time to simply read a little deeper, just to satisfy our own curiosities. Being the new year, many of us have made new year's resolutions. For most of us in IT, this involves learning something new. Perhaps you wish to learn a new programming language, diagramming technique, or wish to build a personal server for a particular function. Many of us have no trouble making personal goals, but following through is a different story. Something that has worked well for me in the past is starting small, and trying to accomplish the smallest tasks first. This will give you the feeling that progress is being made and the momentum will push you through the larger tasks. For example, if you have seven books you wish to read this year, read the smallest one first. For those of you who wish to have a better understanding of cryptography in 2004, I have found the perfect book to get you started. It is, "Cryptography: A Very Short Introduction," by Fred Piper and Sean Murphy. This book was published by Oxford press in 2002. Rather than give specific implementation examples, this book focuses on how several modern algorithms work, uses of cryptography, and key management. This book will gives the proper foundation of knowledge necessary to evaluate products and vendor claims. Also, if you are planning a large crypto software development project this year, this book is the perfect primer to other more specific cryptography related books. The book is only 142 pages long and can fit in a shirt pocket. It is well written and easy to read. The book is filled with tables, charts, and examples to explain the concepts. This book should be read by upper management and all others down the chain. It could serve to demystify the purpose and uses of cryptography in any organization. The book can be easily found at Amazon.com for $9.95 USD. Until next time, cheers! Benjamin D. Thomas <snip...> -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
