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The Cuckoo's Egg

Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage

By Cliff Stoll

(39)

| Paperback | 9781416507789

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Book Description

Before the Internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive U.S. citizen recognized its ominous potential. Armed with clear evidence of computer espionage, he began a highly personal quest to expose a hidden network of spies that threatened national security. But woContinue

4 Reviews

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj8IA6xOpSk

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Ilias Bartolini said on Aug 6, 2009 | Add your feedback

Cyber documentary

The story of Cliff Stoll's search for the German crackers breaking into the computers at his workplace. Interesting!

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Hans said on Nov 13, 2007 | Add your feedback

Intriguing and funny

Published in 1989, it is one of the earliest non-fictional accounts of Internet cracking. In this book, Stoll shares his experiences of tracking a cracker stealing US military secrets. The book is written in the form of a journal which follows Stoll's discovery of the cracker and his year long stake ... (continue)

Published in 1989, it is one of the earliest non-fictional accounts of Internet cracking. In this book, Stoll shares his experiences of tracking a cracker stealing US military secrets. The book is written in the form of a journal which follows Stoll's discovery of the cracker and his year long stakeout. Stoll was an astronomer at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in 1985 when he noticed a discrepancy of 75¢ in the computer accounts usage. On pulling the string he found that a cracker was using the laboratory computers to get into MILNET computers (this is 1985 remember?). He starts tracking him, all the while taking detailed notes in his logbook of the cracker's moves. The stakeout drags out over a year as Stoll's cries to the FBI/CIA/NSA and all the other 3-letter agencies fall on deaf ears. Thankfully, the government agencies finally wake up to the problem and the cracker is arrested in his home country. Soon after this experience, the Morris worm hit the Internet and Stoll shares his experience of the worm in the book's epilogue.
I'd expected the book to be dry with technical stuff, but it was very funny. Stoll is a die-hard hippie and Leftie. The cracker jottings are interspersed with his Leftist takes on the 3-letter agencies, his jokes about research and astronomy and his life at liberal-friendly Berkeley. The book is well detailed in the technical aspects. The moves leading to the final discovery of the cracker are intriguing. An aspect which prominently stands out in the book is how the US government agencies back then had zero idea about the severity of computer security nor knew how to handle it. This cracker didn't do anything smart, all he did was social engineering and exploiting known program bugs. With just these tricks, he was able to get into hundreds of MILNET computers! This is a damn neat book to read.

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Ashwin Nanjappa said on Jun 25, 2007 | Add your feedback

One of the best book about hacking and detective work

One of the best book about hacking and detective work. Reads like a spy novel but it is all real. Cliff did a great job.

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Kempton said on Jun 20, 2007 | Add your feedback