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 una...
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Mar 19, 2008
Nick
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I read this book first around sixth grade and again last month. It was wicked good the first time and so-so the second time. I think as I've gotten older and wiser and more discerning, and as technology has progressed, this book hasn't aged well.
Here's the synop: Cliff Stoll is an astrophysicist who knows just a little something about computers (obviously a lot). He's living at UC Berkeley in the early days of the internets. One day he discovers a 75 cent accounting error (this is ba More...
Here's the synop: Cliff Stoll is an astrophysicist who knows just a little something about computers (obviously a lot). He's living at UC Berkeley in the early days of the internets. One day he discovers a 75 cent accounting error (this is ba More...
Mar 30, 2010
Bird Brian
rated it: 
Once again, Goodreads screws up the publishing dates! The original publish date was 1989, so as computer literature goes, this is a period piece. Before the mainstream public knew anything of an "internet", there was BITNET (a linkage of corporate and university mainframes), and a skeletal government proto-internet. In those Wild West days of the cyber-frontier, "hackers" made a sport of breaking into classified government computers. (think of the young Matthew Brodrick in "
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Oct 02, 2008
Rafael
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Por razones laborales he estado revisando temas de seguridad informática, eso me llevó a releer un texto que escribí y publiqué en Revista Red hace como diez años. Los temas de seguridad han evolucionado y hoy estamos inmersos en temas muy interesantes de biometría para autenticación de usuarios, como platicaba hace unos días con mi amigo Enrique Daltabuit, experto nacional en el tema. Sin embargo el texto de hace diez años tiene vigencia en la medida en la que comenta un libro fascinante, uno d
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Sep 14, 2011
Yune
rated it:
I became aware of Cliff Stoll through his website, where he sells Klein bottles. How cool is that? Anyway, his FAQ includes the question, "Are you the same guy that...?" and the answer, "Yep, same guy."
Same guy as what? I wondered. Thanks to the marvel of Internet search engines, I discovered he was responsible for one of the first documented cases of digital forensics -- on the track-down-the-hacker side, not as the target of the investigation. How cool was that? More...
Same guy as what? I wondered. Thanks to the marvel of Internet search engines, I discovered he was responsible for one of the first documented cases of digital forensics -- on the track-down-the-hacker side, not as the target of the investigation. How cool was that? More...
Jun 01, 2010
Linda
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I don't know why I love this book so much, but I do! I first read it about 20 years ago when it first came out, and read it for a third time last week. It reminds me a bit of the movie "Sneakers" when Redford tries to solve computer crime. But this is all true. A measly 75 cent accounting glitch puts astronomer-turned-computer-programmer on the trail of an international spy. Lots of insight into governmental blinders and how "helpful" those three letter agencies such as the C
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Sep 22, 2009
Jonathan
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Here is the story of how I came to read The Cuckoo’s Egg: I purchased it at a library book sale because it looked interesting, tossed it in a box because I didn’t have time to read it, and promptly forgot about it.
Then I got married, and we got real bookshelves instead of boxes, and I put the book on the shelf because it was hardbound and hardbound books show that you are a serious, thoughtful person.
Then my Uncle Steve came over from Florida and started telling me about More...
Then I got married, and we got real bookshelves instead of boxes, and I put the book on the shelf because it was hardbound and hardbound books show that you are a serious, thoughtful person.
Then my Uncle Steve came over from Florida and started telling me about More...
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Sep 02, 2009
Andre
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As a result of all of this reading, well, lately I've recently been, umm, learning a lot about myself.
A book is, in a very real sense, simply a mirror... except a highly amplified one that lets you hear your thoughts of what you've read.
I really liked this book (I flied through 330 pages in 3 days)! But the thoughts that I had while reading this book were, 'get to the point!' I found that highly frustrating to have to use logic to fight with myself on why he kept holding More...
A book is, in a very real sense, simply a mirror... except a highly amplified one that lets you hear your thoughts of what you've read.
I really liked this book (I flied through 330 pages in 3 days)! But the thoughts that I had while reading this book were, 'get to the point!' I found that highly frustrating to have to use logic to fight with myself on why he kept holding More...
Jun 24, 2009
Claire
rated it:
While it dragged in parts, in fact I remember kind of thinking I'd stop soon, multiple times during it; it always picked up just enough at the last possible minute. And since it's true, you know that the pacing was due to it being.. real life. And in fact, the pacing to me in retrospect was among the more fascinating aspects - this danger.. or this 'situation' even, that kind of recedes; might be over entirely... then it's back! And plans are made and intentions and further learning is gained an
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Jun 10, 2009
Bob
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PB-Cliff Stoll is an astronomer who has been “recycled” to Keck Observatory at Lawrence Berkley Lab computer center. Now and aside – this a mystery, but it is also a true story. They time is 1987 and the early days of the internet and Cliff is tasked in his new position to reconcile a .75 cent difference in the accounting procedures for charging for computer time. This simple request turns into a year long search across time zones and countries for a computer hacker who has gotten into the co
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Jun 01, 2011
Elli
rated it:
I really appreciated this book, and Cliff Stoll is an excellent storyteller. I think he's fabulous. He and wife are a combination to be remembered! It was almost like a musical portrayal, building up the pressure, adding the proper elements to ease and balance and really coming into a crashing ending which I haven't quite reached yet.
It's also sort of like a movie I would have loved to have seen. I can just imagine the full hippie scene..."Be Polite Now" to the "expensive More...
It's also sort of like a movie I would have loved to have seen. I can just imagine the full hippie scene..."Be Polite Now" to the "expensive More...
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Mar 23, 2009
Brian
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All I can say is WOW!. It’s a true story about a guy who really isn’t all that computer savvy, yet gets a job working with high-end systems at Berkeley. A minor system accounting error turns into a huge trek down the road of tracking a hacker through a maze of connections and red tape.
The story takes place in the late 80’s, however, I found that it still pulled me in. The way he used the technology available at the time and the process he takes you through as he painstakingly tracks More...
The story takes place in the late 80’s, however, I found that it still pulled me in. The way he used the technology available at the time and the process he takes you through as he painstakingly tracks More...
Mar 23, 2011
Ryan
rated it:
The The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage by Clifford Stoll is a fantastic journey into the history of computer espionage taking place way back to the mid-late '80s. As a computer novice who's dabbled in the world of unix/linux I found the real-life journey of Cliff Stoll, from Astronomer to hacker-hunter, an exciting adventure to follow.
What seemingly starts as a 75 cent error brings Stoll digitally crisscrossing the world searching for who's respo More...
What seemingly starts as a 75 cent error brings Stoll digitally crisscrossing the world searching for who's respo More...
Feb 27, 2011
J.R.
rated it:
In 1986 an astronomer was given the task of tracking an apparent 75 cent accounting error in computer records at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.
That assignment led Clifford Stoll on a 10-month chase to discover the identity of a hacker or hackers who breached security of private and government systems around the world.
The most amazing aspect of the case is that Stoll encountered so much reluctance on the part of government agencies, includ More...
Aug 29, 2010
D.
rated it:
Very interesting and insightful account of a hacker's attack (from the good guys' perspective) which was hardly taken seriously in a time way before the Internet as we know it. I do agree with some of the other reviewers stating little Cliff is a bit too whiny about not being supported by the various "three-letter agencies" in his crusade against this spy and it does get a bit repetitive after a while. Same goes for the parts about his personal life, although it was interesting to see
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Mar 24, 2011
Bjoern
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I've read this book already several times over the last decades (in the german translation), but this new reread was every bit as enjoyable as all the times (5-7, i don#t really know and still i'm every time surprised about the afterword with it's second story... oops spoilers! :D) in the past. Cuckoos Egg still is one of my favorite books, mainly because of the weird mixture of computer talk, spy story, historic episode and truly mind boggling circumstances described.
Cliff Stoll si More...
Cliff Stoll si More...
Dec 03, 2008
Lee
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I really liked this book, but some of his personal life information was less than interesting. I was mainly interested in the actual investigation instead of what he had going on in his life and how the investigation impacted his personal life. Some people might really like that aspect of the story, though.
Clifford Stoll is asked to check out some potentially buggy accounting software, or at least look into why some account charge is off by a little bit. This inquiry leads him t More...
Clifford Stoll is asked to check out some potentially buggy accounting software, or at least look into why some account charge is off by a little bit. This inquiry leads him t More...
Sep 07, 2009
Cecile
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I had the good luck of finding this book in a bookshop in France a long time ago, I was still at school then. I picked it up among books in French, it had only a plain hard cover, without the flap. At last I can see here what the cover looks like.
At that time I was interested in computing history, particularly the hacking part. Probably because I had seen the Wargames movie, but also because I was destined to work as a programmer.
Since then I've read this book several times.
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At that time I was interested in computing history, particularly the hacking part. Probably because I had seen the Wargames movie, but also because I was destined to work as a programmer.
Since then I've read this book several times.
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Jan 20, 2009
Felix_scarecrow
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I really do not read spy/espionage type books, but I figured that this was computer based and an account of real events so why not. I was really impressed with this. The book underlines a lot of good points when it comes to computer security, which even if very dated are still applicable.
I would not have expected an astronomer to write a book as compelling as this, but I really could not put this book down. Beyond his descriptions of tracking the Cuckoo, he describes his own perso More...
I would not have expected an astronomer to write a book as compelling as this, but I really could not put this book down. Beyond his descriptions of tracking the Cuckoo, he describes his own perso More...
May 30, 2011
Jon
rated it:
A highly enjoyable, if sometimes a bit monotonous, ride through the early days of hacking and computer security. An unsuspecting astrophysicist finds himself leading the hunt for a hacker who seems innocent enough at first, but is soon discovered to be breaking into military computers and selling secrets to the KGB. The fact that the story documents a real-life manhunt from the perspective of a civilian caught between reluctant intelligence agencies makes it an interesting and fun read. As a com
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Dec 18, 2010
Stephen
rated it:
This book is a must-read for any system admin/computer tech. I've never had so much fun reading terminal output than when I had this book in my hands. Cliff Stoll tells the story of how, through a simple accounting error, he discovered that a hacker was trying to find his way into government computer systems. In a time where there were no such thing as "computer crimes" he goes from local police, to FBI, to the CIA trying to find somebody who can help him track down this guy. This book
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Sep 22, 2011
John
rated it:
This is an interesting story (with some funny anecdotes) and even 20 years on it still has some valuable tips about IT security.
Since this is a true story, there's quite a large "cast", and it can be difficult to keep track of who's who, particularly when some of them drop out of the narrative without fanfare.
I have a background in IT, and if you don't then you won't understand all of this book, although I'm not sure how much of a problem that will be. Actually, More...
Since this is a true story, there's quite a large "cast", and it can be difficult to keep track of who's who, particularly when some of them drop out of the narrative without fanfare.
I have a background in IT, and if you don't then you won't understand all of this book, although I'm not sure how much of a problem that will be. Actually, More...
Apr 19, 2009
Eve
rated it:
Interesting and true story about an astronomer and computer geek who tracked a hacker breaking into government computer networks. (Most say that he did this after "discovering" a 75 cent accounting error, but the discrepancy was brought to his attention by a co-worker.) He accomplished this with sheer determination and persistance, because the government was not interested in helping until the very end. The author shows how various government agencies and defense contractors were ov
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Aug 27, 2011
Adil
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Cliff Stoll is an astronomer who also happens to run a computer server in the seventies - when they still charged you time for using the computer's processor. One day, he discovers a seventy-five cent accounting error in the computer customer account logs.
Nerd alert! What seemed like a small mistake actually turns out to be something that is much more serious - a hacker is using Cliff's computer server for illicit means! Cliff becomes engrossed in his hunt for the hacker - and the r More...
Nerd alert! What seemed like a small mistake actually turns out to be something that is much more serious - a hacker is using Cliff's computer server for illicit means! Cliff becomes engrossed in his hunt for the hacker - and the r More...
Mar 15, 2011
Bjoern
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Eines meiner liebsten Bücher überhaupt. Muss ich in der deutschen Übersetzung gewiss schon ein halbes Dutzend Mal gelesen haben, häufiger haben es bei mir bisher nur wenige Bücher geschafft, vor allem die ersten HP Romane... Faszinierende Geschichte um einen Computernerd der auf die Spur eines mysteriösen Hackers stößt, der quer durch die USA alle möglichen Regierungssysteme angreift und ausspioniert. Aber eben nicht trocken und voller Fachjargon erzählt sondern auf spritzige und mitreissende We
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Aug 24, 2010
Paul
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I met Cliff Stoll after at a Computer History Museum panel discussion about computer security (he was one of the panelists) - and he's quite the vibrant, whizzy, mad-scientist type! There was a group of us chatting with him late into the night, surrounded by old Cray, VAX, and PDP machines, much to the chagrin of the CHM volunteers.
I can't remember if I read the book before or after this encounter, but Cliff's personality definitely shines through this autobiographical account of a set More...
I can't remember if I read the book before or after this encounter, but Cliff's personality definitely shines through this autobiographical account of a set More...
Jun 15, 2011
Christopher
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Clifford Stoll's "Cuckoo's egg" is a great true crime book that features no bodies, no grisly crime scenes, and even manages to throw in dashes of humor here and there as this detective tracks a new breed of criminal - through the wires.
The geek in me gobbled this book up, as I had grown up in the shadow of guys like Marcus Hess and others, my own moral compass keeping me from growing up in their footsteps as well. Clifford's transformation from a relative neophyte to dedica More...
The geek in me gobbled this book up, as I had grown up in the shadow of guys like Marcus Hess and others, my own moral compass keeping me from growing up in their footsteps as well. Clifford's transformation from a relative neophyte to dedica More...
Nov 17, 2009
Mister
rated it:
This is one of the books that really defined my life.
While in the astrophysics program at Berkalurk, young Clifford Stoll is asked to look into an extra couple cents being charged for their computer use. What follows is the discovery of an East German (Cold War era mind you) hacker using Berkeley's computer network to enter private miliary networks.
This is one of the most realistic novels on hacking you could find. Forget the deck's of Gibson and the 3D, motorcycle raci More...
While in the astrophysics program at Berkalurk, young Clifford Stoll is asked to look into an extra couple cents being charged for their computer use. What follows is the discovery of an East German (Cold War era mind you) hacker using Berkeley's computer network to enter private miliary networks.
This is one of the most realistic novels on hacking you could find. Forget the deck's of Gibson and the 3D, motorcycle raci More...
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Mar 16, 2011
Zana
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I read this as procrastination from writing -- er, I mean research! Research into the culture of network administrators in the 1980s, for the Novel That Will Never Be Finished.
It's quite a good book. The mystery of the hacker and the methodical way in which the author-protagonist tracked him down is well laid-out, and even suspenseful when I feared it would get boring. But what really makes the book is the character of the author. He brings his outside life in, and frankly discus More...
It's quite a good book. The mystery of the hacker and the methodical way in which the author-protagonist tracked him down is well laid-out, and even suspenseful when I feared it would get boring. But what really makes the book is the character of the author. He brings his outside life in, and frankly discus More...
Apr 21, 2008
Hawke
rated it:
Just finished (binge) reading a book called "The Cucko's Egg" by Cliff Stoll. He would have preferred to rename it to match his paper "To Catch The Wily Hacker".
It's a true, very detailed story.
It's not a work of literature by any means, the writing style is very casual, but not dissuading.
If I were (once again) teaching courses in information security, and it was a 101 introduction style class, this would definitely be the book I would recommend they read to s More...
It's a true, very detailed story.
It's not a work of literature by any means, the writing style is very casual, but not dissuading.
If I were (once again) teaching courses in information security, and it was a 101 introduction style class, this would definitely be the book I would recommend they read to s More...
Feb 13, 2008
Jared
rated it:
This book is an entertaining, true-story look at tracking hackers down in the early days of computer networking. It's a must-read for computer and network security professionals to demonstrate the importance of logging, auditing, and persistence in catching clever black-hats.
Cliff Stoll, an astrophysicist, had to take a job running computers for the Lawrence Berkeley Lab when the funding ran out for his research. One of his first assignments was to track down the source of an accou More...
Cliff Stoll, an astrophysicist, had to take a job running computers for the Lawrence Berkeley Lab when the funding ran out for his research. One of his first assignments was to track down the source of an accou More...
