Unique among computer security texts, this book, in its third edition, builds on the author's long tradition of teaching complex subjects through a hands-on approach. For each security principle, the book uses a series of hands-on activities to help explain the principle. Readers can touch, play with, and experiment with the principle, instead of just reading about it. The hands-on activities are based on the author's widely adopted SEED Labs, which have been used by over 1000 institutes worldwide. The author has also published online courses on Udemy based on this book.

Topics covered in the book

- Software vulnerabilities, attacks, and countermeasures

- Attacks on web applications, countermeasures

- Attacks on hardware: Meltdown and Spectre attacks

- Cryptography and attacks on algorithms and protocols

- Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

- Common hacking and defense techniques