In addition to being an excellent reference on Mac security technology, this volume provides an in-depth review of general network security issues. While Mac users almost universally tend to believe that a Mac platform is more secure than any other platform, this is not necessarily true if important aspects of security are overlooked during initial configuration, which certainly can (and does) happen.

This book is divided into five major sections. Part 1, “The Big Picture,” introduces readers to the world of security on a Mac. Chapter 1, “Security Quick-Start,” covers Apple’s security toolkit for providing a more secure environment and the best practices for deploying it. The next chapter focuses on the processes that run on a computer, including what initiates them, what terminates them, and their ownership. Chapters 3 to 5 deal with securing user accounts, setting up permissions for access to resources within the computer, and securing logging and monitoring techniques that are available in the system.

Part 2, “Securing the Ecosystem,” consists of four chapters. Chapter 6 covers application security, and chapters 7 to 9 deal with Web browser and email security, malware protection, and data encryption.

Part 3, “Network Traffic,” goes beyond securing the operating systems of individual computers on a network. Instead, it deals with securing the backbone of the network. Chapters 10 to 12 cover securing network infrastructure, the Mac OS X software firewall, and securing wireless networks.

Part 4, “Sharing,” deals with safely sharing resources over a network. Chapters 13 and 14 are on file services and Web services, and chapter 15 is on securely using Mac remote administrative tools. The final chapter in this section, chapter 16, focuses on the Mac OS X server. In it, the authors discuss security options that are available and those that are crucial for securing such servers in a network.

The last part of the book, “Securing the Workplace,” is quite relevant, since the workplace is where numerous Mac users are connected to a network. This section consists of three chapters. Chapter 17 provides best practices for network scanning and intrusion detection and prevention, chapter 18 focuses on backup and fault tolerance, and chapter 19 deals with forensics after an attack has occurred, to better understand how security can be compromised.

Although this is a technical book for technical users, it is also rich with security policy considerations and conceptual background. It is a must-read for anyone responsible for an enterprise-wide Mac security network.