Our world has upgrade to depend on instant-based resources. We all depend on communication devices like cellular phones and the Internet. We hope the electricity doesn't disappear, and except for the occasional windstorm or hurricane, it doesn't. These dependencies all have their individual weaknesses, and for the most part, we don't worry about the stability of these systems. The intent of this book is to show how to audit security devices. We intent of this book is to show how to audit security devices. We decided that assessing devices that give us a sense of power would be useful. We could have written a book about assessing miscellaneous devices; however, as much fun as breaking your kitchen toaster may be, it doesn't exactly put you in position to take over the fridge or turn on the coffee maker. At least not yet. Devices used to protect assets would gain the most from an assessment, so we will be looking at different mechanisms used to offer various different protections.

The security devices of today are much more complex than those long ago. While some still are just electronic transistors, diodes, capacitors and resistors, many now have software and communication-based features. Easy-to-use and easy-to-deploy, microprocessors and hard drives are common and even used in car Global Positioning Systems (GPS), telephones, and even portable video game systems.

The instant availability of information and access to specific resources and functionality is driving the market behind new electronic devices. The market is also changing due...