With old redwood paneling and bookshelves, and ancient faded. In case you missed all of cliff stoll s written articles, tv interviews, or lecture circuit appearances, the cuckoo s egg is about a yearlong effort to apprehend mark hess. While temporarily outofwork, he took on the job of systems manager for the computer at lawrence berkeley lab, in berkeley, california, as he had some programming experience. In 1986, having recently lost his research grant, astronomer clifford stoll was made a computer system admin with the wave. Clifford paul cliff stoll born june 4, 1950 is an american astronomer, author and teacher. Cliff, as he is affectionately called, is a longhaired exhippie that works at lawrence berkeley lab. Cliff stoll documents one of the earliest attempts to hack our nascent internet. When the accounting staff of stoll s university employer discovered 75 cents worth of time used with which no user was associated, they called him and demanded that he locate the phantom user.
Cliffs persistence 1932 words 8 pages the cuckoos egg. Clifford stoll, a physicist, treats his subject in a. It was my introduction to the security community and the idea that somebody had to protect these new. The cuckoo s egg is stoll s incredible story that eventually led to hunter, a group of computer hackers and spies who were connected with the kgb and operating out of germany.
Cliff stolls dramatic firsthand account is a computerage detective story, instantly fascinating and astonishingly gripping. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage by. Inside the world of computer espionage creases to the spine with light edgewear to cover. It didnt take him long there was a new user on the system called hunter. Stolls bestselling account of that affair, the cuckoos egg doubleday. Id say the cuckoos egg is a mustread for anyone interested in the interface. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone.
Why does the author, cliff stoll, choose to use bailiwick instead of ball of wax. His book, cuckoo s egg, was my favorite of his two books. The cuckoos egg is a story of persistence, love for ones work and is just plain funny. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. In the days when the presence of a computer did not presume the presence of a network they used to be freestanding units that could not easily communicate with another system, accounts to use the computer were expensive to maintain and heavily scrutinized by management. It is his firstperson account of the hunt for a computer hacker who broke into a computer at the lawrence berkeley national laboratory lbnl. The cuckoos egg by cliff stoll and salt by mark kurlansky. The cuckoo s egg by clifford stoll, bodley head, pp 326, pounds 12.
Armed with clear evidence of computer espionage, he began a highly personal quest to expose a hidden network of spies that threatened national security. Like a detective, davies and his colleagues studied adult cuckoo behavior, cuckoo egg markings, and cuckoo chick begging calls to discover exactly how cuckoos trick their hosts. Thirty years ago, cliff stoll published the cuckoo s egg, a book about his catandmouse game with a kgbsponsored hacker. Cliff s persistence by clifford stoll the cuckoo s egg is a story of persistence, love for one s work and is just plain funny.
Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage, stoll details the story involving markus hess, who sold the stolen information from u. A cuckoo bird will lay its egg in another birds nest letting that bird raise the offspring as her own. In 1986, having recently lost his research grant, astronomer clifford stoll was made a. Clifford stoll is currently the sole proprietor and sole employee of acme klein. Sep 19, 2017 the cuckoos egg decompiled is a cross between an online course and a book club. Discussion of the cuckoos egg by clifford stoll 2 11. For birding and evolution aficionados, the cuckoo is a lyrical and scientifically satisfying exploration of one of natures most astonishing and beautiful adaptations. Nov 02, 2019 greenbergs sandworm has earned a position beside cliff stolls cuckoos egg, and kim zetters count down to zero day, both in university curricula and your bookshelf. It was the transmission time from europe to new york. Today, the internet is a far darker placeand stoll has become a. It was my introduction to the security community and the idea that somebody had to protect these newfangled gadgets called computers. Cliff stoll is an astrophysicist and the author of silicon snake oil 1995 and the cuckoo s egg 1994. Clifford stoll is the author of the cuckoo s egg 4.
Clifford stoll, an msnbc commentator, a lecturer, and a berkeley astronomer, is the author of the new york times bestseller the cuckoos egg, silicon snake oil, and hightech heretic. The title derives from the method stolls hacker used to elevate himself to superuser. I read the cuckoo s egg when i was in high school i think and came away with the impression that stoll wasis a buffoon. The methods he used to track down russian hackers in the 80s are still part of the playbook for cybersecurity today. Martha was cliffs first wife, and was a prominent character in his book, the cuckoos egg.
Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage reissue by stoll, cliff isbn. Cliff stoll was given the job to bill someone for that 75 cents. In this book ive explicitly described some of these security problems. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage paperback sep 2005. The cuckoos egg book is well written by cliff stoll. A profile of cliff cuckoos egg stoll, a pioneering. The cuckoos egg by cliff stoll 9781416507789 dymocks. The course was recorded live online from nov 2017 through jan 2018. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage by cliff stoll on. Meet cliff stoll, the mad scientist who invented the art. He lives with his family in the san francisco bay area.
If youve enjoyed watching cliff stoll on numberphile, youll enjoy this book, which he wrote back in the late 80s. Sometimes i think he underestimates how, over the next few years, the industry will do a very good job getting rid of some of the limitations he criticizes. 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 hightech heretic. Real world lessons from the cuckoos egg jbc information. Cuckoos egg by clifford stoll nook book ebook barnes. Im not sure this was the first nonfiction cybersecurity book to make it big, but it certainly was a trailblazer for the genre. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage by clifford stoll 9,306 ratings, 4. Stoll wasnt even a computing pro he was an astronomer that used the computer to run programs that pointed telescopes properly. Our textbook will be cliff stolls epic the cuckoos egg the book that launched the career of many infosec practitioners and required reading for the field.
It has been almost exactly twentysix years since the publication of cliff stoll s the cuckoo s egg. I have had a copy of this book since the early to mid 1990s and every now and then i get it out and read it again. Cuckoos egg by clifford stoll overdrive rakuten overdrive. Cliff stoll s reallife account in the cuckoo s egg belongs in a special category of obviously dated books that are still relevant. One can follow along easy enough even though the terminology is anachronistic. In fact i think the book is still on my shelf even now. The hacker, stoll says, was like a cuckoo bird, which lays its egg in another birds. Oct 10, 2014 the cuckoos egg, by cliff stoll, is a nonfiction account of the authors discovery of a farreaching, insidious hack, uncovered because of what looked like an. The cuckoo s egg by cliff stoll, 9781416507789, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Well written for a nontechnical audience, with enough detail for those of a more technical leaning to fill in the gaps, its a continue reading the cuckoos egg.
Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage is a 1989 book written by clifford stoll. Cliff, hes not much of an astronomer, but what a computer. Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive u. Acknowledgments how do you spread the word when a computer has a security hole.
Uncommonly good collectible and rare books from uncommonly good booksellers. In the beginning there was 75 cents missing 75 cents of computer time and use, that noone was being billed for. Stoll reevaluated his findings, and eventually found the three missing seconds. In 1986, astronomer turned computer scientist clifford stoll had just started working on a computer system at the lawrence berkeley laboratory when he noticed a 75cent discrepancy between the. Do they leave their systems open to free communication, or. Stoll didnt have the persistence to dig deeper into the software error, he would have never found the hacker in his system. After living on the east coat while attending massachusetts institute of technology for a bs and a masters of engineering, philly bookshelf s mission is close to her heart. I was 15 years old, talking with my new friend, martha matthews. He is best known for his scathing 1995 criticism of the future of the internet, a critique which ultimately proved unfounded, and his investigation in 1986, while working as a systems administrator at the lawrence berkeley national laboratory, that led to the capture of hacker markus hess, and for. The story starts out with clifford stoll being recycled to a computer analystwebmaster. Some say nothing, fearing that telling people how to mix explosives will encourage them to make bombs. Starting on november 9th, well get together every thursday night at 7. The cuckoos egg decompiled is a free online course designed to provide an introduction to information security, as told through the lens of cliff stoll s the cuckoos egg book. The cuckoo s egg by cliff stoll the cuckoo s egg page 1 of 254.
See all 21 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. It was a dangerous game of deception, broken codes, satellites, and missile basesa oneman sting operation that finally gained the attention of the cia. The technology has changed, but the crime and the chase have remained the same. The cuckoo s egg has long been acknowledged as mandatory reading for anyone interested in cybersecurity, especially those on the technical side of the field. Cybersecurity reads for every hackers bookshelf zdnet. The cuckoos egg by clifford stoll was fascinating the first time i read it in 1989, and when i saw it on one of the books to read lists on goodreads, i eagerly reexamined it. The cuckoo s egg by clifford stoll was fascinating the first time i read it in 1989, and when i saw it on one of the books to read lists on goodreads, i eagerly reexamined it. The kgb, the computer, and me clifford stoll, the cuckoos egg. In 1986, astronomer turned computer scientist clifford stoll had just started working on a computer system at the lawrence berkeley laboratory. The cuckoo s egg by cliff stoll before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive u. Hess was a west german hacker who broke into computers all over europe, north america, and japan through a tangled web of computer networks. The cuckoos egg by cliff stoll has definitely earned its place among them.
The cuckoo s egg is reader friendly, even for those who have only the vaguest familiarity with computers. Computer technology has progressed an unimaginable amount in the past 25 years, and yet the human element here remains timeless. Philly bookshelf programs get involved news map donate programs get involved news. I have mine on the bookshelf right across from my desk.
When, to the delight of the baffled fbi, cia, and nsa, cliff stoll nailed his spy, he wound up on the front page of the new york times. The story, broken in 1989, quickly gathered headlines across the nation and stoll became a genuine, if somewhat unlikely, american hero. Oct 01, 2000 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. The book takes you through the process of tracking an intruder in an age where this was uncharted waters. The hacker, stoll says, was like a cuckoo bird, which lays its egg in another birds nest so the other bird will hatch. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage audiobook by cliff stoll.
Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage by cliff stoll. The cuckoos egg quotes by clifford stoll goodreads. Its the true story of how he hunted down a mysterious hacker who was intruding. It was near and dear to me since it takes place during the years i was getting into computers and hacking. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage cliff stoll on. Jacklyn has loved reading her whole life and maintains a continually growing, impressive catalog of books on goodreads. How a berkeley eccentric beat the russiansand then made. It is still compelling today, just in a different manner. Clifford stoll published it in 1989, and the first time i read it, i devoured it over a weekend when i should have been writing my grad school thesis. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage. He originally was an astronomer, but since his grant.
209 1135 954 949 435 244 343 565 1065 269 1451 579 724 1180 613 164 176 867 486 407 1464 978 1102 311 855 368 924 285 1425 325 810 408 1368 763 1376 416 859 1228 215