Audiobooks by William L. Simon

The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security

In his worldwide bestseller Secrets and Lies, Bruce Schneier made the case that achieving successful computer security is about more than just hardware and software, it's people. Truly, the greatest vulnerability in protecting the business assets of any company often lies with the company's own employees. Although corporations go to great lengths to install state of the art systems, they continue to ignore the human element of information security. If a hacker calls up some VP's assistant and makes false claims in order to get said VP's network password and is given it, it doesn't matter if you have the ultimate firewall and the most powerful server on the market. Without proper training and security procedures, employees are highly susceptible to what are called 'social engineering' attacks that lead them to unwittingly open doors within the organization, both in the literal sense and the information technology sense. You can say what you want about Kevin Mitnick, but know this. There is no one on the planet who has more experience with 'social engineering' techniques, and no one who is better able to advise on how these kind of attacks are carried out and can be prevented.

Kevin D. Mitnick, Steve Wozniak, William L. Simon (Author), Nick Sullivan (Narrator)

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Mars Rover Curiosity: An Inside Account from Curiosity’s Chief Engineer

In the course of our enduring quest for knowledge about ourselves and our universe, we haven’t found answers to one of our most fundamental questions: Does life exist anywhere else in the universe? Ten years and billions of dollars in the making, the Mars rover Curiosity is poised to answer this all-important question. Here, Rob Manning, the project’s chief engineer, tells of bringing the groundbreaking spacecraft to life. Manning and his team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, tasked with designing a lander many times larger and more complex than any before, faced technical setbacks, fights over inadequate resources, and the challenges of leading an army of brilliant, passionate, and often frustrated experts. Manning’s fascinating personal account—which includes information from his exclusive interviews with leading Curiosity scientists—is packed with tales of revolutionary feats of science, technology, and engineering. Listeners experience firsthand the disappointment at encountering persistent technical problems, the agony of near defeat, the sense of victory at finding innovative solutions to these problems, the sheer terror of staking careers and reputations on a lander that couldn’t be tested on Earth, and the rush of triumph at its successful touchdown on Mars on August 5, 2012. This is the story of persistence, dedication, and unrelenting curiosity. “This is a matchless behind-the-scenes account of intrepid engineers and scientists that banded together to explore far-away Mars. Fueled by their own inquisitiveness and moxie they overcame all odds—technical problems, bureaucratic barriers, even touches of self-doubt—to successfully land the NASA one-ton Curiosity rover on the Red Planet. It is a superb, fact- and fun-filled account of humans on the cutting-edge of opening up a frontier—one that is our future home-away-from-home, Mars.”—Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut ***Please contact Member Services for additional documents***

Rob Manning, William L. Simon (Author), Bronson Pinchot (Narrator)

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Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker

Kevin Mitnick was the most elusive computer break-in artist in history. He accessed computers and networks at the world's biggest companies and however fast the authorities were, Mitnick was faster, sprinting through phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks. He spent years skipping through cyberspace, always three steps ahead and labeled unstoppable. But for Kevin, hacking wasn't just about technological feats it was an old fashioned confidence game that required guile and deception to trick the unwitting out of valuable information. Driven by a powerful urge to accomplish the impossible, Mitnick bypassed security systems and blazed into major organizations including Motorola, Sun Microsystems, and Pacific Bell. But as the FBI's net began to tighten, Kevin went on the run, engaging in an increasingly sophisticated cat-and-mouse game that led through false identities, a host of cities, plenty of close shaves, and to an ultimate showdown with the feds, who would stop at nothing to bring him down. Ghost in the Wires is a thrilling true story of intrigue, suspense, and unbelievable escape and a portrait of a visionary whose creativity, skills, and persistence forced the authorities to rethink the way they pursued him, inspiring ripples that brought permanent changes in the way people and companies protect their most sensitive information. Intriguing, insightful, and extremely educational into the mind of one who truly mastered the art of social engineering with the use of a computer and modern-day technologies. I strongly believe that one can learn a great deal about protecting themselves once they understand how another one perpetrates the crime.Frank W. Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can

Kevin Mitnick, William L. Simon (Author), Ray Porter (Narrator)

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Think India: The Rise of the World's Next Superpower and What It Means for Every American

Vinay Rai, William L. Simon (Author), Kent Cassella (Narrator)

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