 Order from Barnes & Noble with free shipping |
| Order from the publisher with free U.S. shipping.. |
| Buy it from Amazon with free shipping. |
| Read the Table of Contents |
| Read the FAQ about Translucent Databases |
| Read a case study
of how Amazon could protect the privacy of their customers with a translucent database. |
| Read a case study of how libraries can protect the security of their patrons. |
| Here's a list of Case Studies from the book |
| Support for Professors who use the book in courses. |
| Download the source code from the book. |
| Other Books by Peter Wayner |
| Contact the author: p3@wayner.org |
| Errors and Corrections |
| Take a Telecourse in the topic |
| Take a Full Day Course in Storing
Sensitive Information with MySQL |
| Info for Bookstores |
Check out the new title, Policing Online Games  |
Check out the new title, Java RAMBO Manifesto  |
 |
Storing Sensitive Information -- A Telecourse
Do you store personal information in your database?
Do you keep valuable financial data such as credit card numbers?
Are there medical records in your database?
Do you do business in Europe where privacy laws place strict limits on the information stored in your database?
Do you worry about hackers or dishonest clerks abusing your data?
If you need to worry about protecting the information of your clients, patients, customers, or business partners, this course is for you. The two-hour telecourse is a shortened version of the longer full-day course devoted to protecting sensitive information. If you can't spare the time to travel to a full-day version, this abridged version can still introduce you to topic. All you need is a telephone and a web browser.
This version explores how you can build databases that do useful work without keeping dangerous records by examining several case studies drawn from the book, Translucent Databases. The textbook with free shipping is included with the registration.
Some of the major modules:
- An introduction to the dangers of databases.
- How building "translucent databases" can avoid the dangers and protect the information.
- Creating a central database that is secure even if an attacker finds the root password to the database or the operating system.
- How one-way functions like MD5 or SHA can obscure information without destroying it.
- How to design encryption functions to hide information without exposing it to eavesdroppers, errant clerks, and malicious attackers.
- How to quantize information and strip away sensitive information without destroying all value to the data.
- How to add spurious entries to confuse eavesdroppers without detering authorized users.
Some of the case studies:
- A credit card database that locks out suspicious customers without making information available to untrustworthy clerks.
- A database that stores the locations of naval ships in a way that keeps them safe from harm.
- A babysitter scheduling service that matches parents with available sitters while protecting the sitters' identities and locations.
- A department store database that guards the modesty of customers.
- A private accounting system that detects fraud without revealing information.
- A poker game for the Internet that prevents cheating.
- A pharmacy database for preventing dangerous drug interactions while keeping medical records secure.
- A tool for travel agents to protect their clients from stalkers and kidnappers.
- A stock exchange transaction mechanism designed to stop insider-trading.
When you register, we send you an 800 number by email and copy of the textbook by postal mail. At the appointed time, you place a toll-free call, pop open a web browser, and listen. The slides from the talk will appear on the screen. Several web pages will include live demonstrations of working databases that let you try the concepts. If you have questions, you can either ask them online or by email. The course is designed to last two hours, but it will not end until all of the questions are asked and, with luck, answered. You're also welcome to ask questions afterwards by email.
Why You Should Take the Telecourse:
- If you can't spare a day or more to travel to the course.
- If you want a shorter introduction, not a full-day
exploration.
- If you want the pleasure of taking the course from your desk.
- You don't want a version tuned to a particular database
like
MySQL.
- You would like to save money.
- If you like meeting and interacting with other students in person.
- If you want more depth.
- If you like to travel.
- If you want a version tuned to a particular database like
MySQL.
- Reservations are held once payment is received.
- You can reschedule to a later course up to 1 hour before
the
course begins.
- Free telephone calls for US residents . Overseas students must pay for their own calls for now. We just don't have a good way to get good prices now.
To Sign Up
Fill out this form. When we receive it, we'll send you instructions for payment. When we receive your payment, we'll confirm your reservation. You can switch to a later course up to 1 hour before a course begins. More courses will be scheduled in the future.
The price is $160 with a $20 discount if you register 7 days in advance.