In the age of Facebook-Russia-Trump, this book is incredibly eye opening. I thought that I was pretty tech savvy but this makes connections I never even thought of. It's a tough line between giving up and wanting to employ all the tactics.. I really hope I can impress some need for discretion in my teens as well.

If you are online you need to read this book cover to cover ! This is by far the most exceptional book I have read on cyber security. The author Kevin Mitnick is the top cyber expert in the world. He has provided here a laypersons guide to be safe online. If your naive to this subject, read this immediately.. I upon reading this book removed myself from all things Google, changed my online life by 90% less and learned how to protect myself. i opted out of emails and learned how to protect my cell phone. Online banking never,! Public Wi-Fi never again. The author provides extensive information here that everyone can benefit from.
I guarantee that as you read this book you will take steps to protect yourself, your family and your online life. It is "critical vital reading to personal security." In today's world of cyber crime every person that is online and or uses a cell phone must learn steps to personal protection. Take time to read this book in its entirety and keep a notebook near by to make notes. You will need your phone and laptop near by to make immediate changes for personal security.
All women should read this book . It is so critical that as women we protect ourselves and within this book is a wealth of information to do so. You will find out that anyone can log into your phone anytime and record you ! You will learn that your Wi-Fi you thought was safe is not, That any disgruntled ex with a grudge can find you online but taking steps the author outlines here, you can protect yourself with higher levels of security in your personal online life.
I highly recommend anyone that is online or using a cell phone read this book immediately! I cannot emphasize it enough. It will change how you conduct yourself online and guide you through steps to protect yourself as well as your loved ones from scammers, hackers and criminals. If your interested in going off grid with your phone, security and in other areas the author provides the reader with a step by step guide to privacy.
Excellence in cyber security is the authors reputation and here with exemplary well documented information he has indeed proven he is the leading expert in cyber security. Buy a copy for your home and give it to your family to read. It may very well just save your life and provide you with a level of security protection that is critical. This is the most informative well documented book on cyber crime I have read. Well done . I thank the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book which did not influence my review.

Wowzers. I spent much of the past week reading bits and pieces of this aloud to my husband as I went through this, and we even read some aloud to the kids. This is a book that anyone who goes online (which to say, these days, is nearly everyone) should read. We all know that we lost privacy with the advent of the internet, but I think that many would be shocked to see just how deep that privacy loss really goes.... Even those of us who aren't doing anything wrong will still be shaken and disturbed at what CAN happen....

A cautionary tale of just how visible you are on the internet and in todays connected society.

This was a an entertaining read and although I work in the IT field, there were still some security facts in the book that I was not aware so I learnt a fair amount. There are also some useful references for security tools that I had not been previously aware of (although I'm not a security professional).

Despite the above, the book isn't too technical to make the non IT person bored but it may well make them paranoid! There is a huge emphasis on becoming invisible in the book through extreme measures such as paying a complete strange to buy some gift cards at a store that doesn't have cameras in the store OR on the way to the store, then using that to buy bitcoins - twice to ensure they are completely laundered and then using those new coins to purchase various items. Not something that the average person in the street is likely to ever do ......and I must admit I do wonder if someone needs to go to all that trouble, would they be reading this book?

There are useful hints and tips about using secure messaging, email etc that can be used by everyone just to keep their internet usage secure which are not too extreme for the day to day consumer.

But for the ultra paranoid/nefarious, this book will either help you solve some of your issues or make you even more paranoid as it brings up points you hadn't thought of before....

With all of news lately about hacking and the CIA (see for example, articles in Wired or the New York Times), it seems appropriate to turn to a couple of new books on this subject:

THE ART OF INVISIBILITY by Kevin D. Mitnick, former hacker turned security consultant and author of Ghost on the Wires, maintains with his publisher that "your every step online is being tracked and stored, and your identity literally stolen." He uses real life examples that will likely alarm some readers and provides suggestions (using passphrases, two-factor authorization, VPN's, etc.) for protecting privacy. The insinuation of conspiracy-like activity by big government, corporate and other trackers has Mitnick explaining the pros/cons and misconceptions about devices such as burner phones. With over a dozen chapters (there is even one on wiretapping) and a roughly 15 page bibliography, THE ART OF INVISIBILITY provides some valuable insight for older teens and adults in a well-researched manner.

This post also discusses: EYES AND SPIES: HOW YOU'RE TRACKED AND WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW written by Tanya Lioyd Kyi and illustrated by Belle Wuthrich.

Live links in online post:
https://www.wired.com/2017/03/cias-hacking-hoard-makes-everyone-less-secure/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/technology/personaltech/defense-against-cia-hacking.html?_r=0

http://infotainmentnews.net/2017/02/15/book-review-art-invisibility/

You may be questioning why a digital marketer would encourage reading the Art of Invisibility. It’s a book teaching how to hide your online life. Hiding online actions does tend to make our jobs as digital marketers rather difficult.

However, you need to read this book for several reasons. First, I believe in informed choices. Yes, we use audience data for decision making (well, we should). And the data isn’t always anonymized. But our audiences should know and consent to this. Second, this book gives essential tips for protecting yourself online – which also protects your brands and clients. And finally, it’s written by Kevin Mitnick. I probably would have done better in college the first time if I wasn’t following Kevin’s hacking spree and run from the FBI. He definitely influenced my curiosity.

Kevin has now moved on to legal, authorized hacking as a penetration tester. Companies pay him to hack into their systems, except now it’s called testing. It does mean that Kevin sees what companies collate about us, and knows it’s not always used ethically. Is this book, Kevin shares that knowledge.

What’s the Art of Invisibility About?
The book is a how-to guide for avoiding hackers and malicious activities online and offline. It even goes as deep as teaching how to completely be invisible online. This internet-loving introvert thinks that sounds lonely, but recent reports show how much we all need to protect ourselves. For those reading this later, it’s February 2017 and it’s not shaping up to be the safest year in US history.

The Art of Invisibility is essentially divided in two. The first half details how to secure your own life. So choosing secure passwords, which public networks are safe, protecting your online banking, blocking ads and transaction tracking. That kind of thing. It’s very Android and Windows focused. Sometimes the recommendations are on price. Later in the book Kevin references the default security Apple uses, and that probably accounts for the Android and Windows focus. I’m being intentionally vague so I’m not putting words in Kevin’s mouth. In one example Kevin describes a road rage response he gave. If he can social engineer that kind of information on someone while driving down a freeway, I don’t want him grumpy with me. Which leads to a strong point that Kevin makes in the book, social engineering is a huge part of hacking and online security. It’s easy to pretend to be someone and talk a receptionist into handing over details. They may not realize what they’ve actually said. It’s covered in this book. This first 50% (I was reading a Kindle copy courtesy of publishers Little, Brown) could be a book on its own. It covers so much detail that I was wondering what could be left to discuss in the remaining 140 pages.

The second half gets seriously scary. I hope no one is ever in a situation to need to hide this entirely. Actually, it’s February 2017. Sigh, everyone read and follow Kevin’s advice. This second part is where Kevin teaches the art of invisibility. The first part of the book shows some tips, but this shows how to totally disappear. As with the first part, Kevin uses real life examples to illustrate both the points and the need for security. These are mainly his experiences. I found the way Kevin describes these experiences interesting. He’s been detained and searched by US government officials with less than valid reason, but even when describing this and the efforts he does to protect the devices he carries with him, he never allocates blame. I understand by now it’s a fact of life that he’ll be harassed when traveling, but it was interesting the way he turns the stories around. Having cash stolen from a hotel safe was the example of why you shouldn’t trust them and he explains how they are easily broken into.

Who Should Read the Art of Invisibility?
EVERYONE!

Art-of-Invisibility-iMessageI sent this text the night I started reading. The group I reference is highly educated, conscious of current affairs and tech savvy, but there’s more we can do to protect ourselves and our brands and clients. Even though this book is directed at personal actions, we have Facebook accounts and WordPress installs accessible with our phones. We can’t think just of ourselves. Imagine your brand being compromised because you clicked the wrong link. Do you want to be responsible for that?

Consumers also need to make an informed decision on the data they share with us. This book helps them opt out (because we rarely make it easy).

So yes, I say online security and privacy is so important everyone needs to read the Art of Invisibility.

At the very least I urge you to read the first half. It’ll make you more secure than most. Reading the news of the last few weeks, I recommend you read and action the lot.

The Art of Invisibility was released today. Buy it, read it, action it, then share it with your family and friends. Democracy needs you to.

Trust Me: Even You Are Not Invisible. At Least Not Yet.

THE ART OF INVISIBILITY is a little bit scary. The authors, Kevin Mitnick and Robert Vamosi, document the myriads of ways that others can spy on our activities. You might think no one knows what you are doing, but you are wrong: "Each and every one of us is being watched." If you carry a cell phone, "You are being surveilled."

Mitnick tells the story of how the famous John McAfee, on the lam, was found supposedly by coordinates listed in the meta data of a photo posted online. The authors snicker, "Take it from me: if you’re trying to get off the grid and totally disappear, you don’t want to start a blog."

Some of the pointers are pretty basic, such as using strong passwords, and being careful to setup your home Wifi using the latest security protocols. A large chunk of the book relates to securing wireless internet access. "Public Wi-Fi wasn’t created with online banking or e-commerce in mind. It is merely convenient, and it’s also incredibly insecure."

More advanced suggestions are for those who feel they need extreme online privacy. These tactics include things such as using "burner" phones, paid for with cash, and using encryption tools to hide the data on our laptop.

Law enforcement has come a long way in tracking down fugitives. The authors explain how authorities use devices to mimic cellular base stations, and "designed to intercept voice and text messages." Using another tactic, the FBI has successfully tracked criminals by getting the cell tower data, and correlating their cell phone records.

I was surprised to learn of certain recent laws regarding data preservation. In the event of a legal investigation, you must preserve your entire browser history. You can be arrested--and people have been, for clearing the history.

The really meaty parts of the book provide extreme tactics to remain anonymous on the internet. Mitnick advises creating a complete new persona, "one that is completely unrelated to you. . . When you’re not being anonymous, you must also rigorously defend the separation of your life from that anonymous identity."

The first thing to do in making yourself anonymous is to get a cheap standalone laptop--used only for your anonymous persona. "Don't ever use the anonymous laptop at home or work. Ever."

Here are a few more tips for becoming anonymous:

* When you travel, don't bring electronics that store sensitive information with you.
* Encrypt the confidential data on your laptop.

The authors present a LOT of different ways to make your online persona more invisible. The authors admit, however, that even with all their precautions, it is still tough to be 100% anonymous. The main idea is to make it much more difficult for the intruder. So, put up "so many obstacles that an attacker will give up and move on to another target. . . Being anonymous in today’s digital world requires a lot of work and constant vigilance."

All in all, I found THE ART OF INVISIBILITY to be an interesting, fairly-practical read. It was good to be reminded about the proper setup of networks, and how vulnerable public systems can be. I don't feel the need to go out and buy a "burner" phone anytime soon, but it's good to know.

Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.