Chapter 3

The Bad Guys You Must Defend Against

IN THIS CHAPTER

Bullet Clarifying who the “good guys” and “bad guys” are

Bullet Seeing how some “good guys” might become “accidental bad guys”

Bullet Discovering how hackers profit from their crimes

Bullet Exploring threats from nonmalicious actors

Many centuries ago, the now world-famous Chinese military strategist and philosopher, Sun Tzu, wrote:

If you know the enemy and know yourself,

  you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

If you know yourself but not the enemy,

  for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself,

  you will succumb in every battle.

As has been the case since ancient times, knowing your enemy is necessary in order to ensure that you can properly protect yourself.

Such wisdom remains true in the age of digital security. While Chapter 2 covers many of the threats posed by cyber-enemies, this chapter covers the enemies themselves:

  • Who are they?
  • Why do they launch attacks?
  • How do they profit from attacks?

You also find out about nonmalicious attackers — both people and inanimate ...

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