Daniel G. Graham, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at the UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science, has announced the publication of his book, “Ethical Hacking: A Hands-on Introduction to Breaking In.”“Because so much of our productivity depends on technology, attacks on our technological infrastructure can have grave social and economic consequences. Understanding how to defend this infrastructure is not enough. We need more ethical hackers to help secure it,” Graham wrote in the book's introduction.
Attacks against companies, sovereign states and activists have accelerated over the past decade. In 2021, hackers stole more than $100 million in cryptocurrency, attempted to poison the water supply in Florida and targeted Colonial Pipeline with ransomware, effectively shutting down half of the East Coast's fuel supply.
“I wanted to help prepare aspiring security researchers and malware analysts for important careers in protecting the world's technological infrastructure. That preparation starts with understanding how infrastructure is being attacked,” Graham said.
The book guides readers — from the safety of a virtual lab — through a wide range of modern attack methods, such as building botnets and implanting malware. Graham also writes about trojans, encryption, cryptography and designing ransomware.
“Ethical hackers can use their skills to creatively access systems and discover vulnerabilities before they're exploited by bad actors,” Graham said. “I hope my book will inspire the next generation of ethical hackers.”
Graham earned his bachelor's degree in computer science and master's degree in engineering from UVA in 2010 and 2011, respectively. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in computer science from the College of William and Mary in 2016. Prior to joining UVA Engineering in 2018, Graham served as a program manager at Microsoft.