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Title: Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage by Clifford Stoll ISBN: 0743411463 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 03 October, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.73
Rating: 5
Summary: "Cuckoo's Egg: crime story for bookworms & cybertechs alike"
Comment: OK, I admit it. This is one of those books that I simply could not put down until finished from cover to cover. I first read this book in '93, when I was taking a UNIX Admin class (sorry to say I did not evolve into a guru or wizard ;-D); found it absolutely fascinating and have been recommending it to folks ever since. Cliff Stoll gives a factual yet immensely enjoyable account of his investigation into the evil doings of some net hackers. For anyone who has ever wondered about the workings of our networks, this is a must-read. And even non-techies won't be disappointed with this book because of Stoll's personable style. I'm buying a new copy today because the last time I loaned out my old paperback, I didn't get it back. Lost in cyberspace, maybe? Anyway, I can't wait to read Silicon Snake Oil next.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent book.
Comment: This book suceeds on many levels. Its a well written suspenseful spy novel that evolves very smoothly and engages the reader very early on. It is also an excellent description of computer / telecommunications technology that most anyone can understand, since he goes to the trouble to stop and explain, in laymens terms, UNIX utilities, daemon outputs, satellite technology, and microwave-oven protocol (check out the sneaker-melting fiasco on p 269). Stoll proves to be hell-bent on capturing the rogue user despite the lack of support from superiors and government agencies, and the toll it takes on his personal life. His frustrated accounts of his treatment at the hands of federal agencies as he petitions assistance from the FBI, the CIA, the NSA (among others) in capturing this potentially dangerous mole are testaments to the power of beaucracy in this country. However, he still manages to humanize the employees of these otherwise caricatured federal agencies by describing them as real people who want to help, rather than just surly trench-coated spies. I especially enjoyed reading about Stoll's low-tech solutions to slowing the hacker as he rifled through delicate documents by jangling keys over the connector to resemble static (simply cutting the line would have tipped the hacker off). This is a very enjoyable book, and I'd also recommend the reader try to find a videocassette copy of the NOVA TV special on PBS. Although it loses a lot of the book's details in the attempt to condense into one hour, it allows the viewer to see and hear the author, one of the quirkiest, most entertaining techno-goobers you'll come across.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great story, well written, a must.
Comment:
This is a story of a young astronomer who was ignoring his proper job and playing with computers too much, who discovered some alarming hacking into US defence computers and decided to track down the culprits.
Stoll is a persistent thoughful and imaginative investigator and occasionally puts his scientific training to good use, for example when he theorises on the location of the hackers based on their network latency.
I found this utterly enthralling, and it is the only book where I have literally read it through from start to finish unable to put it down, which in my case meant getting to bed at 5.30 in the morning.
As well as a fascinating story of hacking and detection, the book contains wry anecdotes of the total gulf between Unix, VMS and Apple Mac users. Although the story is 10 years old, these attitudes still prevail to this day. And of course Unix still RULES!!!!
The age of the story is revealed when a mini-computer is described as being powerful because it musters 10 MIPS. These days that won't support a mail program :-)
The book also relates in intimate detail the dreadful buck-passing that went on for months before the US powers finally did something.
Interspersed with the main story are some bits and pieces of Stoll's own life and this reader found it a little sad how he devoted so much time to catching the hackers whilst fully aware that his girlfriend was missing him at home, and then in a wistful series of postscripts we learn they split up - perhaps there was some connection.
This is the best of all of these books on computer crime - a must!
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Title: The Masters of Deception : Gang That Ruled Cyberspace, The by Michele Slatalla ISBN: 0060926945 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 1996 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin D. Mitnick, William L. Simon ISBN: 0471237124 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 04 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy ISBN: 0141000511 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 02 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised by Katie Hafner ISBN: 0684818620 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 1995 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Fugitive Game: Online With Kevin Mitnick by Jonathan Littman ISBN: 0316528692 Publisher: Little Brown & Co (Pap) Pub. Date: 1997 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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