Decoding Cybersecurity: A Comprehensive Guide for the Non-Techie

The imperative to defend against cyber threats is a fact of life in the digital age. World governments, Silicon Valley, and Wall Street all agree that their sensitive and proprietary data needs to be protected from bad-faith actors. We have all seen headlines decrying Russian hackers, North Korea infiltrating Sony Pictures, and controversial names like Snowden, Assange, and Manning. But cybersecurity isn't just a concern for Pentagon officials and business tycoons. If you've used your phone, opened your laptop, or checked your email today, you are a participant in the world of cybersecurity. We've all received phishing emails, been alerted of suspicious logins, and questioned why a "strong password" needs all those letters, numbers, and special characters. And yet, even though cybersecurity is such a central part of modern life, it's practically unintelligible to the non-techie. In this enlightening and accessible new book, Pablo Brum closes the gap between high-minded concepts and the day-to-day skills and strategies that readers need to know to stay safe in the digital world.

Author: Pablo Brum
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Published: 09/01/2026
Pages: 296
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
Size: 9.14h x 5.92w x 1.11d
ISBN: 9781493093373


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 06/01/2026

About the Author
Pablo Brum is an intelligence and cybersecurity professional. He has closely studied Cold War urban guerrillas, global hacktivists, state-sponsored network intrusion campaigns, and the all-important discipline of online trolling. He has worked in academia, in the non-profit sector, and at large technology multinationals like CrowdStrike and Mercado Libre. He is on the faculty of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. His work has been featured on NPR, the National Interest, Vice, Spain's RTVE, and the journal Studies in Conflict & Terrorism.