Toward the end of the first year of my undergraduate degree I read a book by Neil Barrett called Traces of Guilt, which describes the author’s involvement in computer-related crime as a security consultant and expert witness. It is written as a series of case-studies showing Barrett’s involvement in criminal cases ranging from paedophilia to murder, as well as private consultancy work such as dealing with a sociopath systems administrator at a wealthy holding company.
Despite the subject matter, it is surprisingly accessible (After all, it was my mother that recommended it to me!), but still contains enough technical information to keep a computer science student interested.
I read it again recently and even though five years have gone by since I first picked it up, very little of it seems dated. It’s definitely worth a read for anyone with an interest in computer-crime.
Traces of Guilt got me thinking about computer security from the “other side”, and is probably part of the reason that I’m studying computer forensics today.