The Cuckoo's Egg - Hardcover

Clifford Stoll

4.27

12,850 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0370314336 ISBN 13: 9780370314334

Publisher: The Bodley Head Ltd, 1990

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

A true tale of electronic skulduggery and detection in the world of computers. It tells of a year the author spent tracking down a hacker who was using his computer as a way station to gain access to dozens of other systems all over the US, including sensitive military and intelligence networks.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

A sentimental favorite, The Cuckoo's Egg seems to have inspired a whole category of books exploring the quest to capture computer criminals. Still, even several years after its initial publication and after much imitation, the book remains a good read with an engaging story line and a critical outlook, as Clifford Stoll becomes, almost unwillingly, a one-man security force trying to track down faceless criminals who've invaded the university computer lab he stewards. What first appears as a 75-cent accounting error in a computer log is eventually revealed to be a ring of industrial espionage, primarily thanks to Stoll's persistence and intellectual tenacity.

From the Publisher:

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 users on his system. The hacker's code name was "Hunter"-- a mystery invader hiding inside a twisting electronic labyrinth, breaking into U.S. computer systems and stealing sensitive military and security information. Stoll began a one-man hunt of his own, spying on the spy-- and plunging into an incredible international probe that finally gained the attention of top U.S. counter-intelligence agents. The Cuckoo's Egg is his wild and suspenseful true story-- a year of deception, broken codes, satellites, missile bases and the ultimate sting operation-- and how one ingenious American trapped a spy ring paid in cash and cocaine, and reporting to the KGB.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.