This fascinating and useful book by noted expert Peter Neumann contains accounts of mishaps, failures, and other disasters attributed to computers. Computer-based systems are everywhere in our lives, from the smallest radio components to the largest aerospace installations; and while computers can make our lives easier, they can also fail, and the people using them can make errors-causing inconvenience or even catastrophe. Neumann characterizes different kinds of computer-related risks, discusses risk causes and effects, and considers their implications. He also suggests ways to minimize such risks in the future. Featured are sections on reliability and safety problems, security vulnerabilities, privacy, and global systems.