It is about time that a book like The New School came along. The age of security as pure technology is long past, and modern practitioners need to understand the social and cognitive aspects of security if they are to be successful. Shostack and Stewart teach readers exactly what they need to know--I just wish I could have had it when I first started out.” --David Mortman, CSO-in-Residence Echelon One, former CSO Siebel Systems   Why is information security so dysfunctional? Are you wasting the money you spend on security? This book shows how to spend it more effectively. How can you make more effective security decisions? This book explains why professionals have taken to studying economics, not cryptography--and why you should, too. And why security breach notices are the best thing to ever happen to information security. It’s about time someone asked the biggest, toughest questions about information security. Security experts Adam Shostack and Andrew Stewart don’t just answer those questions--they offer honest, deeply troubling answers. They explain why these critical problems exist and how to solve them. Drawing on powerful lessons from economics and other disciplines, Shostack and Stewart offer a new way forward. In clear and engaging prose, they shed new light on the critical challenges that are faced by the security field. Whether you’re a CIO, IT manager, or security specialist, this book will open your eyes to new ways of thinking about--and overcoming--your most pressing security challenges. The New School enables you to take control, while others struggle with non-stop crises. Better evidence for better decision-making Why the security data you have doesn’t support effective decision-making--and what to do about it Beyond security “silos”: getting the job done together Why it’s so hard to improve security in isolation--and how the entire industry can make it happen and evolve Amateurs study cryptography; professionals study economics What IT security leaders can and must learn from other scientific fields A bigger bang for every buck How to re-allocate your scarce resources where they’ll do the most good

Table of Contents:
1. OBSERVING THE WORLD AND ASKING WHY Spam, and Other Problems with Email 4 Hostile Code 7 Security Breaches 9 Identity and the Theft of Identity 11 Should We Just Start Over? 14 The Need for a New School 15 2. THE SECURITY INDUSTRY Where the Security Industry Comes From 19 Orientations and Framing 25 What Does the Security Industry Sell? 27 How Security Is Sold 33 3. ON EVIDENCE The Trouble with Surveys 46 The Trade Press 50 Vulnerabilities 52 Instrumentation on the Internet 54 Organizations and Companies with Data 55 4. THE RISE OF THE SECURITY BREACH How Do Companies Lose Data? 64 Disclose Breaches 68 Possible Criticisms of Breach Data 70 Moving from Art to Science 74 Get Involved 76 5. AMATEURS STUDY CRYPTOGRAPHY; The Economics of Information Security 82 PROFESSIONALS STUDY ECONOMICS Psychology 95 Sociology 99 6. SPENDING Reasons to Spend on Security Today 106 Non-Reasons to Spend on Security 110 Emerging Reasons to Spend 112 How Much Should a Business Spend on Security? 116 The Psychology of Spending 122 On What to Spend 126 7. LIFE IN THE NEW SCHOOL People Are People 132 Breach Data Is Not Actuarial Data 136 Powerful Externalities 137 The Human Computer Interface and Risk Compensation 139 The Use and Abuse of Language 142 Skills Shortages, Organizational Structure, and Collaboration 144 8. A CALL TO ACTION Join the New School 149 Embrace the New School 153 Make Money from the New School 157 Final Words 159 ENDNOTES 161 BIBLIOGRAPHY 213 INDEX 229