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The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage [Paperback]

Cliff Stoll
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (221 customer reviews)

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Book Description

September 13, 2005
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.


Frequently Bought Together

The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage + Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground + Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker
Price for all three: $35.20

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com 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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Astrophysicist Stoll's pursuit of a hacker trying to access American computer networks led to the discovery of a West German spy ring. "A quest that reads with the tension and excitement of a fictional thriller," asserted PW . "Although best appreciated by the computer literate, even illiterates should be able to follow the technical complexities with little difficulty."
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 399 pages
  • Publisher: Pocket Books (September 13, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416507787
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416507789
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (221 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

If you haven't read this classic hacker story then you should read Clifford Stoll's account. R. Blas  |  38 reviewers made a similar statement
This book is very well written. Santosh Raghavan  |  39 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 40 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Now it's time for the Hunter to become the hunted! December 13, 1999
By Nick
Format:Paperback
This was the second computer security book I read and it was like adding flame to a fire because it increased my curiosity and prompted me to want to know more about it, so I ended up reading Cyberpunk by Katie Hafner and John Markoff to get a more inside look. If you start reading it then you'll probably finish it the same day. It talks a scientist that stumbles on a mistake in the accounting part of his job as a scientist at Lawrence Berkely Lab and he makes the mistake into a chase through cyberspace. In the book the author takes on the role as a modern day Sherlock Holmes and in the end he realizes that it was only elementary.

Dealing with the CCC (Chaos Computer Club), Hunter (the main hacker), and the different networks will really make you think and keep you on your toes. Read it and see for yourself just how intense the experience will be. I advise you to get some sleep before you start because you probably won't be getting any anytime soon.

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39 of 43 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The unintentional counterespionage agent September 24, 2002
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
_The Cuckoo's Egg_ has everything most fictional detective novels wish that they had: a personable detective who does not mean to get involved as deeply as he does, federal agencies who cannot seem to take action, and a criminal mastermind who has everybody stumped until he encounters our detective. The best part of this whole book is that it really happened-- a feat that fictional mysteries can never match.

I knew Stoll's work through the more technical article "Stalking the Wily Hacker" and was pleasantly surprised to see how well Stoll was able to translate the technical side into a book-length narrative. IMO, this is significantly better than other more recent books about computer crime and still worth a read today (both for information and entertainment). Highly recommended.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A true spy story involving computer crime October 26, 2002
Format:Paperback
It starts with a 75-cent discrepancy in an account for computer time and ends with the arrest of a small group of German hackers. The journey from this start to the end is one of the most amazing in all of computing. Along the way, it involves the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, all branches of the United States military and the Soviet KGB. Fortunately, in the end the good guys emerge victorious, but it is hard to feel very comfortable about it.
This is a story about unauthorized access into computers, where the trespassers are after military and economic data. All information considered of value is sent to the Soviet KGB in exchange for money and drugs. A major undercurrent of the story is the lack of cooperation between the American federal agencies and how they refuse to commit themselves to anything. In the aftermath of the tragedy of 9-11, this is unsettling, as it appears that the lack of communication between the different agencies is where the real failure occurred on that terrible day.
Cliff Stoll is a combination computer programmer and astronomer who was the primary actor in the events that led to the apprehension of the hackers. A self-admitted California hippie type, he started being anti-government and yet ended up lecturing to some of the most governmental of institutions. In the end, he gives some of the best arguments as to why unauthorized access to computers is a serious crime. As a scientist, he understands how all benefit from the free flow of information and mutual trust and how hackers destroy that, forcing all into a state of perpetual paranoia.
This is one of the best popular books on computing that has ever been written. While there are some passages that require a bit of computer expertise to understand, they are very few and not essential to the understanding of the story. It also leaves you wondering as to how many other systems have been entered where the tracks are either nonexistent or have been ignored.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars Disaster!!!! Never downloaded properly.
How can I review it??? just blew $9.99 on this failed download to my Kindle. Amazon seems to have no way to fix this except to cancel and refund, which I did. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Dr. Nancy L. Nicholson
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating and educational
I really enjoyed this book. It was hard to put down. What I took away from this reading this book was "keep good notes".
Published 20 days ago by Garry P Glaspell
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story
This is a great story if you are a computer geek, or even if you aren't.... it follows a systems administrator who broke a spy ring because of a $0. Read more
Published 1 month ago by R. Schunk
5.0 out of 5 stars Digital historic security
Great read. Finished in only about 5 days cause I couldn't stop reading. For someone who is interested in the ARPAnet and old computing, this book was great. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars The ONLY Book in Hacking...
I am an Internet Security professional. Everything Stoll described in the book is technically accurate, and completely genuine. I read many books about hacking and "cyber attacks". Read more
Published 2 months ago by Whitfield Martin
4.0 out of 5 stars Egg-cellent Read
As a required text for my Grad school class, I enjoyed the wit and playfulness of the book. I've read enough stuffy stories lately! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Farinully
4.0 out of 5 stars Chronicle of what was required to get US to wake up.
I read the book when it first came out, and then I read it again many years later. What made the book so impressive to me was the effort required to sleuth and then to make... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Edward S Hessberg
5.0 out of 5 stars Cuckoo's Egg
This is the story of a system's operator noticing and bringing light to a hacker. It covers the steps taken to track down the ring. Read more
Published 2 months ago by WesB
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Spy Novel
Disclosure: I know Cliff Stoll, and he is indeed one of the rare people who lives to the fullest every moment of every day. He's a purest and a caring individual. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Brian A. Foster
5.0 out of 5 stars Thriller is in the detail!
Who'd a thunk a true suspense story without blood. Great book to read for all, expecially those folks dealing with Cyber Security.
Published 2 months ago by Dennis Stiff
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The Cuckoo's Egg for Kindle version is needed
A worthy goal, but in the interim, perhaps a paper copy will do. Its a great book and I wouldn't let it being analog (non-electronic) put me off reading it. My dad gave me a copy, oh, within a year of it being published, and he said, 'You'll really like this, but when you hit the middle you'll go... Read more
Dec 5, 2010 by W. B. Abbott |  See all 3 posts
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