Preface

The problems of information security is a truly multidisciplinary field of study, ranging from the methods of pure mathematics through computer and telecommunication sciences to social sciences. The intention of this multi-authored book is to offer an introduction to a wide set of topics in ICT information security, privacy, and safety. Certainly, the aim has not been to present a complete treatment of this vast and expanding area of practical and theoretical knowledge. Rather, my hope is that the selected range of topics presented here may attract a wider audience of students and professionals than would each specialized topic by itself. Some of the information security topics contained in this book may be familiar turf for the reader already. However, the reader will likely find some new relevant topics presented here that can enhance his or her professional knowledge and competence, or serve as an attractive starting point for further reading and in-depth studies. For instance, the book may provide an entrance and a guide to seek out more specialized courses available at universities or inspire further work in projects and assignments. The start of this collection of information security topics goes back to a master-level continuing education course that I organized in 2005, where more than 10 professors and researchers contributed from six different departments at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The topics included cryptography, hardware security, software security, communication and network security, intrusion detection systems, access policy and control, risk and vulnerability analysis, and security technology management. The compendium of the lecturers' presentations then grew into a book initiative taken on by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's Strategic Research Programme Committee for Information Security, which I was heading. And more authors were asked to contribute with hot topics as this project grew. The topics and chapters in this book could have been ordered by many reasonable and acceptable principles. I chose to start with the basic components of hardware and algorithms, move toward integration and systems, and end with a chapter on human factors in these systems. Many interdependencies and some overlap exist between the chapters, of course, for instance, the electronic hardware realizations in Chapter 1 and the public-key algorithms in Chapter 2, so a total linear sequence of the chapters in this respect has not been possible to set. The index at the back of the book is meant to be a helpful guide to find all chapters and locations that deal with a specific keyword or problem issue. The book's cover drawing and all chapter front drawings are made especially for this book by Hannah Mjølsnes. This process went something like this. First, I tried to explain in simple words what the chapter was about, and then she made some pencil sketches of illustration ideas that we discussed. At a later stage, she worked out the complete illustrations on drawing paper, digitized these by scanning, and finally did the necessary postprocessing of the digital images for use in this book.