I would like to thank my parents for their constant guidance and encouragement. They gave me all the independence in the world to break rules and question fundamentals and have fun while doing all that. I also want to thank my wife, Lubaina; finding someone like her to be with me and agree to marry me rekindled my faith in fate and destiny. She takes care of the house and all my tantrums with a brilliant smile all the time. I want to thank my elder sister, who has the unshakeable faith in my abilities that only elder sisters can have. Apart from my family, I would like to thank my friends Riyaz and Anant whom I met at null - The Open Security Community and who are far more brilliant and knowledgeable than I will ever be.

I would like to thank Neeshma, whose help, support, and eternal patience in dealing with me is the only reason this book was completed. I would like to thank the technical reviewers, David Shaw, Luca De Fulgentis, and Rejah Rehim, who read through all that I wrote—most of which in the first draft was pretty sad. They guided me to make this book much better than I ever imagined it could be. Their insights and comments helped me understand and correct numerous mistakes and blunders. I will always be grateful to them for giving their time and effort to this endeavor.