Books

Below are some of my favourite books, which you might also enjoy reading.

• Ross Anderson, Security Engineering. The Holy Bible of computer security, this book has it all: from UNIX and networking to dual control and even perimeter security. It’s a very long read so be sure to dedicate a lot of time to this book. It’s free on Ross Anderson’s website.
• Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, Everybody Lies. This book drives home a point which you likely haven’t considered before: our Google search information says a lot about who we are. In fact, they tell us more about who we are than we know ourselves. This book, written by a former Google data scientist, explores some of the insights we can get from them that we couldn’t get from surveys. It’s depressing finding out how revealing the data Google holds on us is, but the book is incredibly eye-opening.
• Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. A classic comedy series, this one deserves to be on everybody’s shelf.
• Scott Galloway, The Four. A critical review of four of the biggest tech companies (Facebook, Apple, Google and Amazon) which explores how these companies came to be, what makes them so powerful and their impact on society. It’s well-written and entertaining, and is a great read if you’re into business ethics or simply despise big tech.
• Tom Clancy’s Threat Vector and Full Force and Effect. Tom Clancy writes some absolutely brilliant military/political thrillers, and these two books are the best examples of that.
• Jonathan Katz & Yehuda Lindell, Introduction to Modern Cryptography. A great place to start if you want to begin understanding cryptography and its applications to computer systems. It’s a surprisingly light read too!