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The Cuckoo's Egg
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May 2025 BOTM: The Cuckoo's Egg by Clifford Stoll
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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 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.
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It isn't quite enough to see a picture. This one is relatively flattering. You have to see this guy move. This picture is representative since his hands are flailing about ... his typical demeanor in every interview I've seen ... and one hand is blurring from flashing around. This guy is absolutely hyperkinetic. This isn't ADHD. This is like Robin Williams doing Mork from Mork and Mindy or any of his cocaine infused stand-up comedy routines. You just have to see this guy. He has a TED talk he did, and he is jumping around and brushing his hair back and ... you just have to see him. It really gives color to the whole story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj8IA...
He made a documentary of the same story that aired under the program NOVA on PBS in the USA. It is on Youtube now. It's called The KGB, the Computer, and Me. It is a dramatic re-enactment of the story with all the real-life people playing themselves, including Clifford. Most of them are rather boring and poor actors, but play themselves boringly true. He is not boring. He is so unique ... quirky, bizarre, ... wild. He is such a spaz. You just have to see it, even if you don't watch the whole thing. Watch him move around. Eventually you get the thoroughly singular and unstoppable curiosity of this guy and it becomes clear that ... of course he couldn't stop tracking this hacker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGv5B...
His writing is fine. It doesn't convey the hyper aspects of his personality which might be bearable only in finite doses. I just wanted to share this. It really sheds light.
I am surprisingly hooked by this story! It's pretty nonstop, and a pretty cool window into the mid-1980s. Read half yesterday, might finish today.
just finished, definitely enjoyed. pretty sad to see that the same hacking stuff continues 40 years later.
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Too bad he doesn't have a photo in the author section. This guy's hair ... gives a little street cred. I saw a documentary about this back in the 90's. This guy manages to notice evidence someone has accessed some computer resources they shouldn't and he makes it his mission to track the hacker down. It's one of the earliest books on the subject, but ... seems to still rate highest among non-fiction hacking ... true cybercrime books.