The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
Language: English
Pages: 399
ISBN: 1416507787
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
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.
slither into? 3. How did this bastard become super-user? 4. How did the louse get passwords to the Livermore Cray? 5. Did the skunk guard against detection? 6. Can you audit a varmint who’s system manager? 7. How do you trace an eggsucker back to his roost? Now those questions, I can answer. These NSA spooks spoke in morally null jargon, while I felt genuine outrage. Outrage that I was wasting my time following a vandal instead of doing astrophysics. Outrage that this spy was grabbing
kitchen gadgets with us. She was a professional violinist eking out a living by playing in two symphony orchestras and a chamber music trio, and giving lessons to kids. Claudia was seldom still or quiet. In her few moments between jobs, she simultaneously cooked meals, talked on the phone, and played with her dog. At first I listened, but soon her voice became like the background chirp of a parakeet while I worried about how malicious this hacker might be. While I’m at home, how do I know what
for free? Could someone have found a way around our accounting system? Big computers have two types of software: user programs and systems software. Programs that you write or install yourself are user programs—for example, my astronomy routines which analyze a planet’s atmosphere. Alone, user programs can’t do much. They don’t talk directly to the computer; rather, they call upon the operating system to manipulate the computer. When my astronomy program wants to write something, it doesn’t
them, and Special Agent Mike Gibbons called. In a couple minutes, I realized that at last, I was speaking to an FBI agent who knew computers. He’d written Unix programs, used modems, and wasn’t scared by databases and word processors. His latest hobby was playing Dungeons and Dragons on his Atari computer. J. Edgar Hoover must be rolling in his grave. Better yet, Mike didn’t mind communicating by electronic mail, although since anyone might intercept our traffic we used an encryption scheme to
German national postal service. The government communications monopoly.” “Why’s the post office running networks?” I wondered out loud. Here, the post office delivers letters, not data. “In a lot of countries, the post office owns the phone service. An historical outgrowth of government regulation. Germany’s probably the most centralized of all. You can’t get a telephone answering machine without government approval.” “So the hacker is coming from a government computer?” “No, it’s a private