CUCKOO'S EGG
May 2012 · Doubleday
4.5star
125 reviewsreport
Ebook
326
Pages
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About this ebook
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 would the authorities back him up? Cliff Stoll's dramatic firsthand account is "a computer-age detective story, instantly fascinating [and] astonishingly gripping" (Smithsonian).
Cliff Stoll was an astronomer turned systems manager at Lawrence Berkeley Lab when a 75-cent accounting error alerted him to the presence of an unauthorized user on his system. The hacker's code name was "Hunter"—a mysterious invader who managed to break into U.S. computer systems and steal sensitive military and security information. Stoll began a one-man hunt of his own: spying on the spy. It was a dangerous game of deception, broken codes, satellites, and missile bases—a one-man sting operation that finally gained the attention of the CIA . . . and ultimately trapped an international spy ring fueled by cash, cocaine, and the KGB.
Cliff Stoll was an astronomer turned systems manager at Lawrence Berkeley Lab when a 75-cent accounting error alerted him to the presence of an unauthorized user on his system. The hacker's code name was "Hunter"—a mysterious invader who managed to break into U.S. computer systems and steal sensitive military and security information. Stoll began a one-man hunt of his own: spying on the spy. It was a dangerous game of deception, broken codes, satellites, and missile bases—a one-man sting operation that finally gained the attention of the CIA . . . and ultimately trapped an international spy ring fueled by cash, cocaine, and the KGB.
Ratings and reviews
4.5
125 reviews
Wes Jones
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May 16, 2014
Great book on early computer thieves. One man's quest to find answers lead him across the world and into an area of spying that he never would have imagined. A MUST read for anyone interested in black/grey/white hat hacking. It reads very easy and is not boring or dull. Has just enough technical information to keep you entertained without making you fall asleep.
7 people found this review helpful
Joe LaPenna
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September 8, 2014
I got quite a chuckle over mid 80s layman's explanations of technology and felt vested in the narrative, I wanted to know how it was going to end. A bit repetitive, dozens of paragraphs repeated the same sequence of events.
1 person found this review helpful
C. Martinez
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May 21, 2013
Engaging from beginning to end. The author does a brilliant job of making you feel his need to find the cause of a small accounting discrepancy, grow into a life altering obsession to track down an international hacking ring.
About the author
Clifford Stoll, an MSNBC commentator, a lecturer, and a Berkeley astronomer, is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Cuckoo's Egg, Silicon Snake Oil, and High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian. He lives with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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