Quinnipiac University’s Cybersecurity Program Director, Frederick Scholl, Ph.D.

We hear about fake news, fake purses, and false everything on a daily basis. It’s not a light topic, because nation states utilize social media manipulation as one of their favorite strategies in cyberwar strikes. What happens if the information we view isn’t trustworthy? We are even more reliant on what we see on the displays in front of us during this period of social isolation. The second leg of the CIA’s security trinity of confidentiality, integrity, and availability is data integrity.

Some of these difficulties were brought home to me recently while shopping on Amazon. I’m always on the lookout for new cybersecurity books. Cybersecurity, a 2020 book by Elijah Lewis, piqued my interest. “A thorough beginner’s guide to master the worlds of cybersecurity from A-Z,” it offered. It also received 4.5 ratings and rave reviews. I paid $17.99 with the hopes of finding some useful materials for teaching cybersecurity.

The quick delivery promised by Amazon was fulfilled. I was shocked to find no author biography when I first opened the book. In the 107 pages, I was similarly having problems finding any substantial content. There are no diagrams!? Then I went over each chapter and parsed some of the wording. Chapter 7—”Times are changing quickly”; Chapter 8—”The Internet of Things is more important than ever for businesses”; Chapter 8—”You should not give data to the internet of things (IoT) that doesn’t need it”; Chapter 9—”Critical infrastructure is the assets, systems, and networks that play a critical role in the security of the nation-state”; Chapter 9—”Critical infrastructure is the assets, systems, and networks that play a crucial role in the security of You see what I mean. I began to wonder if the book had been created by an AI software (Artificial Intelligence). I went to Amazon’s “Author Page.” There’s nothing there, despite the fact that Mr. Lewis has authored several other works. Then I went to LinkedIn to look for his profile. There was nothing there, either.

I then returned to the Amazon reviews. What were the names of the reviewers? Julie recommends books on cybersecurity, cricket, and vegetarian food, while John S. evaluates books on cybersecurity, hydroponics, and pregnancy! I didn’t see any reviewers with legitimate credentials. Are they also forgeries?

Finally, I sought some technological assistance. Fakespot is a website that checks online reviews for authenticity (www.fakespot.com). A reviewer’s reviewer is a reviewer’s reviewer. It investigates the validity of the reviews. After looking at the reviews for my work, I came up with the following: An F is not a good grade in school.

I’m grateful to Amazon for quickly issuing a refund for this book. They were very courteous when they posted my one-star review “This book is a fake” (“We and millions of Amazon shoppers appreciate the time you took to share your experience with this item”).

What I discovered is that we are all susceptible to being duped. I’m usually on the lookout for good cybersecurity books, and I pressed the “Buy Now” button a little too quickly. Certain product categories, such as weight-loss and Bluetooth headphones, already have 50-70 percent suspicious evaluations, according to the Washington Post. To that list, we can now add cybersecurity books.

Quinnipiac University’s online MS in Cybersecurity program will help you broaden your skills. Learn from industry experts how to reduce business risks by improving information security processes.