Cyber crimes have become commonplace and capture the public's imagination.

Details of some of the digital misdeeds are revealed in Tangled Web by Richard Power.

Security issues are often overlooked in the quest to save money. One hour spent with this frightening book will convince you to employ the very best security expert you can find and not quibble about the fees.

Stories include the Russian who parted Citibank from eight million dollars, two hackers with the ability to shut down the AT&T telephone network and an electronic entrepreneur who tried to sell 84,000 credit card numbers burnt on to a CD and encrypted with a key taken from a novel about the Mafia.

The facts are more disquieting than any work of fiction. Cyber crime is now big business and the people who commit it are often prepared to back up their digital activities with violence.

Forget the spotty teenage hacker. These guys are hardened criminals and they could be living next door to you.

The book is not really a bedtime read. It is fascinating in the way a venomous snake is fascinating. Not cuddly and comfortable at all.

With 431 closely-referenced pages and a wealth of useful diagrams and scary anecdotes, Tangled Web gathers much of the available information concerning cyber crime and turns it into a relatively easily-digestible read.

Price: £18.50.

Contact: 0121 778 3333.

Feel good factor: 8 out of 10.