Introduce yourself.

Hello. This is Ed Skoudis, security geek.

How did you get interested in computer security?

I've always loved to tear things apart. As a child, I would "reverse engineer" various technical trinkets my parents would provide, such as analog and digital clocks, radios, remote control cars, etc. Of course, when I rebuilt them, they'd never, ever work properly!

However, flashing forward, in college, I realized that computer attacks are nothing more than the very careful tearing apart of computer systems with the goal of taking them over. I love that kind of thing, and have been hooked since I got my first security job at Bellcore.

What operating system(s) do you use and why?

I use Windows for my presentations, word processing, and e-mail. These programs work well in Windows, and I don't have to worry about compatibility problems as long as I worship at the shrine of Bill. For my computer attacks and defenses, I use Linux. With the source code, you can get a great deal deeper into the functioning of things. Also, scripting is far easier in Linux, so I can create custom techniques without having to rewrite a bunch of code.

How long did it take you to write "Counter Hack"?


One year. One very, very loooooong year. Day in, day out. Christmas... New Years... every single day. But in the end, looking back, it was fun.

You mention in the book that you thought it will be like writing a 500 page paper and then it turned out you were wrong. So, what was it like?

It was like writing thousands of pages. The level of reviews and scrutiny of a book are far greater than anything I've worked on before. It's a good process, in that solid reviewers challenge an author to be *extremely* clear, concise, and accurate. I had some of the best reviewers around, and they really helped to sharpen the resulting product. They'd write comments about how I could be clearer or cleverer, and the challenge was extremely helpful.

If you could start working on the book all over again, what changes would you make?

I like to use quotes from various sources in my work to illustrate an issue. I like to quote movies, songs, and other copyrighted materials. A cool line from a popular song or movie can really help solidify an idea in a reader's mind, and lets us all have some fun along the way.

If I had to do it again, I'd start getting permission for these quotes earlier in the process. Some of the copyright owners (from movies and songs) didn't respond fast enough, so we had to remove quotes from them in the book.

You mention numerous security tools in your book. What are your favourite security tools?