Loading...
8th out of 11 books
—
9 voters
My rating:
add to my books
CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised
Using the exploits of three international hackers, "Cyberpunk" provides a fascinating tour of a bizarre subculture populated by outlaws who penetrate even the most sensitive computer networks and wreak havoc on the information they find -- everything from bank accounts to military secrets. In a book filled with as much adventure as any Ludlum novel, the authors s...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
November 1st 1995
by Simon & Schuster
(first published 1991)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
251)
I liked Katie's book for both its style and storytelling, as well as the subjects that she put under her microscope.
Kevin Mitnick made up the first portion and, while I enjoyed the biography and tale of "the Dark-Side Hacker", it was not my favorite of the trio. If I recall correctly, even Kevin Mitnick himself found flaws in the story although, to my knowledge, it was not determined if it was valid or simply sensationalism.
Pengo and Project Equilizer made up the s...more
Kevin Mitnick made up the first portion and, while I enjoyed the biography and tale of "the Dark-Side Hacker", it was not my favorite of the trio. If I recall correctly, even Kevin Mitnick himself found flaws in the story although, to my knowledge, it was not determined if it was valid or simply sensationalism.
Pengo and Project Equilizer made up the s...more
Published in 1991 with epilogue in 1995, this is a classic look into the early hacking world in my opinion. It also presents the other side of "The Cuckoo's Egg" by Clifford Stoll, which I first read about 15 years ago, and keep as a piece of early networking memorabilia.
The writing style reads like very good prose with emphasis on detail to the point that it sometimes becomes difficult to keep names, dates, and actions straight in each segment. If you're not interested in ...more
The writing style reads like very good prose with emphasis on detail to the point that it sometimes becomes difficult to keep names, dates, and actions straight in each segment. If you're not interested in ...more
Having heard the basics about these stories, I decided to read up on it, officially. I mean, as official as testimony gets, and I'll get to that in a minute.
This book is a look into a particular era of hacking, an era early enough in the game that: 1. you could hack a computer through the phone line, 2. once getting the right user name you could conceivably have access to an entire computer system, 3. everyone but the most savvy still used passwords like "guest" or "sy...more
This book is a look into a particular era of hacking, an era early enough in the game that: 1. you could hack a computer through the phone line, 2. once getting the right user name you could conceivably have access to an entire computer system, 3. everyone but the most savvy still used passwords like "guest" or "sy...more
Insight into three computer criminals and their psychological backgrounds: Kevin Mintick, Pengo and a third. The details were terrific and I got a lot of precise chronology of these earlier crimes sorted out from the mix-ups in the perspective fothcoming Take-Down & The Cuckoo's Nest. Also I had a chance to see a different view of CLifford Stoll from his stance in Silicon Snake-Oil.
This book was awesome and, along with 2600, was my introduction to Kevin Mitnick (I read this a long while back) and other like minded individuals. At the time it was the best read ever for me and for anyone else that owned a computer and a modem. I am more than sure anyone reading this now will feel the same, even if only for the purpose of nostalgia.
Many of the subjects profiled in this book, most-notably Kevin Mitnick, contest the conclusions drawn by the authors.
That said, it's a fascinating read about some of the earliest and most (in)famous hackers. It's a great companion to The Hacker Crackdown and The Cuckoo's Egg.
That said, it's a fascinating read about some of the earliest and most (in)famous hackers. It's a great companion to The Hacker Crackdown and The Cuckoo's Egg.
Sensationalist writing, apparently not very fact-based, and assumes too much about the motives of the characters. Not bad for getting a feel for the hacking scene in the early 90s, but the writing isn't strong enough for me to finish it - I ended up Wikipedia-ing the cases I didn't finish/get to.
Very interesting stories. Not bogged down by too much detail
Simon Magnus
rated it
Recommends it for:
Anybody interested in espionage (what hooked me) or to computer technology from 1970-90
Recommended to Simon by:
A shelf find
An interesting book. I thought it was pretty amazing, and likely would have given it a four, if I hadn't done my own research afterwards and found out that half of the stuff about Mitnick was lies. Great fiction, though dissapointing journalism ethics.
Educational in accounting for historical aspects of 80s and early 90s hacking and phreaking. Insight into how hackers come to be, thier view of themselves, and of the world around them. An interesting non-flattering view of Mr. Mitnick's exploits.
This is non-fiction about hackers in the US. It is a good read. It shows that the author has no idea about computers, but it is sourced and annotated very well bearing that in mind. I recommend it to any programmer geek who wants to read about hackers.
A look into some classic hacking schemes done by the most notorious hackers (i.e. Kevin Mitnick). Maybe a little outdated now but still interesting.
Katie Hafner is a bitch, even without this book's shoddiness.
Jonathan
marked it as 2-academic-cyber
Zex
marked it as to-read
Ploetzly
marked it as to-read
Nadia
marked it as to-read
Bmw5261
marked it as to-read
Amaya
marked it as to-read
Robert E.
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers Also Enjoyed
![Upgrading and Repairing PCs [With DVD] by Scott Mueller](http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171563632m/106354.jpg "Upgrading and Repairing PCs [With DVD] by Scott Mueller")
Katie Hafner is a journalist who writes books and articles about technology and society. She is a technology reporter at The New York Times and was a contributing editor for Newsweek. She has worked at Business Week, and has written for Esquire, Wired, The New Republic and The New York Times Magazine. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
-Wikipedia
More about Katie Hafner...
-Wikipedia
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
