As the boundaries between the real world and the virtual world become blurred, the Internet is turning into a stamping ground for cyber criminals. They are using targeted malicious activities to cause untold damage to private individuals, companies or even entire governments of a country. Internationally renowned security expert Eddy Willems has set himself the target of enlightening company managers, politicians, government representatives and end users to this – and not just in the IT sector. Once equipped with the necessary knowledge, readers of the Springer book on cyber threats are able to recognise dangers in the digital world and protect themselves against cyber attacks. The book does not presume any prior knowledge – whether the solutions needed are for PCs, smartphones or entire company networks.
“It would be nice if we could make the world a little bit safer and at the same time make life a little bit harder for cyber criminals with this book,” says Willems in his introduction to the book. However, no IT system is basically immune to these risks. Both Windows and Apple devices have become victims of malevolent malware. But in the opinion of the expert, professionals disagree as to when the first computer virus was actually born. Some say it was Creeper, the first worm in an experimental program dating from 1971. However, it might also be Elk Cloner, which was only recognised as a virus many years after it was discovered. The only certain thing, says Willems, is that “the distribution of malware initially took place at a snail’s pace, moving from computer to computer via diskette; but with the introduction of the worldwide web, things rapidly intensified in terms of speed and the number of cyber victims.”
This book is an updated and translated version of Willems’ original Dutch book ‘Cybergevaar’ (“Cyberdanger” in English), originally published by Lannoo, in October 2013, in Belgium and the Netherlands. “Writing a book about cyber threats in a comprehensible and comprehensive way is not an easy task, but the book ‘Cybergevaar ‘ succeeds in this”, certifies the book’s first review, conducted by a well-known Belgian IT magazine, Datanews. Another review by the known Virus Bulletin magazine is referencing it as ‘a pleasant read on an important subject’.
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