Susan Lincke Cyber Security Book Published

In today's world of highly sophisticated cyber hacking, is it realistic to expect that one or two security technicians with a firewall can defend against organized cyber-crime and cyber-governments? Susan Lincke, associate professor of computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and author of the recently released book "Security Planning: An Applied Approach," doesn't think so.

"Everyone in an organization needs to be aware of common attacks and security techniques because the weakest link is commonly exploited in today's cyber crimes." Lincke said. "The book is designed for busy IT practitioners, and students, who do not have time to become security experts, but need a security plan -- yesterday." 

Security experts wonder how smaller companies, usually with limited IT staff, manage to defend their company's computer networks. "Security Planning: An Applied Approach" and the accompanying template help readers understand security threats, prioritize their risks, conform to regulation, plan their defense, and secure trade secrets and financial information for themselves and their clients. The book also helps non-technical readers learn about and plan security for their organizations. 

"Point-of-sales and ATMs are the target of big-business cyber criminals through hacking and skimmers," Lincke said. "Corporate trade secrets are under attack from skilled governments who steal plans and designs to start up competitor companies in their own countries. And with military weaponry now so expensive, why not hire a few hackers to do equivalent damage at a fraction of the cost? And because of the global nature of the internet, hackers can make themselves difficult to trace and are not easily subject to U.S. law enforcement." 

Lincke, who is certified by ISACA as an information systems auditor, describes the book as a natural progression in her work, which started with National Science Foundation (NSF) training in security. Later, she developed a cyber-security lab and cyber-security courses at UW-Parkside. "An NSF grant allowed me to create curricular materials in which students work with local organizations to plan security," she said. 

"Security Planning: An Applied Approach" is a final culmination of Lincke's certification and training, experience, and literature research. The book is published in hardcover and digital forms from Springer and comes with a security workbook to easily document security plans.