Mafiaboy

by Michael Calce

In early 2000, the websites of CNN, Yahoo, E*Trade, Dell, Amazon, and eBay ground to a halt for several hours, causing a sense of panic everywhere from the White House to suburbia and around the world. After two months and hundreds of hours of wiretapping, the FBI and RCMP staged a late-night raid to apprehend the most wanted man in cyberspace—a fifteen-year-old kid. Mafiaboy. For eight years, Mafiaboy, a.k.a. Michael Calce, has ignored requests from every major media outlet in North America, he has not told a word of his story—until now. Using his story as a cautionary tale, Calce takes the reader through the history of hacking and how it has helped make the internet the new frontier for crime in the tweny-first century.

Genres: Nonfiction, Hackers, Technology, Memoir, Biography, History, Internet

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[David Lentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read "Mafiaboy" to understand better what drives individuals to hack. The damage caused by Calce as a teenage hacker was significant and created chaos for tens if not hundreds of thousands of people browsing the sites that he compromised. He admits that he was guilty of arrogance and hubris, which is a fairly good recipe for committing wrongdoing on a broad scale. Essentially, he was into hacking for the adrenaulin rush which accompanied the technical power plays that he made. I was surprised that he was unable to understand the link between his massive irresponsibility and the damage that he directly caused so many people. The book is narrated in the first person singular and initially the writing reads like the confessions of a teenage narcissist until he gets caught by the FBI and RCMP in Montreal. At this point the narrative seems to take on heroic overtones as if he were somehow noble and rebellious and uncompromising in the face of opposing powers. But as someone once wrote: show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy. More than mafiaboy's self-aggrandisement I became more impressed by how the regulatory watchdogs found him and the compassion that the Canadian justice system demonstrated to him. Ultimately, mafiaboy is repentent and decides to wear a white hat, which is certainly laudatory and redemptive. His advice to ensure that you don't get hacked is genuinely helpful and appreciated and represents precautions that we can take to diminish downside risk on the Internet. However, he points out that almost anyone can get hacked at any time through the gaping holes in code even as it continuously improves with broader bandwidth. The only really safe way to avoid all risk is to become a Luddite and stay off the Internet altogether. I recognize in the end that mafiaboy becomes wiser and humbler while maintaining his dignity through the good graces of a loving family and friends who helped to pull him out the other side of the adversity that he freely confesses he totally and foolishly brought upon himself. What really was the point of the chaos that he created given the damage it caused him and the high price that he paid? In his transformation and through divesting himself of his arrogance and hubris mafiaboy endeared himself to me and in the end I admired the man that he had become. Ultimately, the transformation of mafiaboy leaves him more deeply connected to other human beings, including his friends and family, than his Internet infamy had brought him. His hard lessons learned may have helped somewhat to fortify Internet security. Redemption brings humility and with his many other fine qualities like high intelligence mafiaboy seems to gain a stronger sense of his humanity which is a sign of real wisdom born of experience.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,25

Fascinating and easy read. A little outdated but soooo worth while.

[Morais · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an engaging and interesting read. Enjoyed getting more information about the Mafiaboy case, really cool

[Amanda Kotlar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book; however I'm super paranoid now about the security on my computer and phone. Michael's story is very interesting to me as I enjoy the mystery of hackers (even though I now very little about computers myself). If you enjoy reading Autobiographies and True Crime you should read this book.

[Douglaseng04 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel St-Pierre English 205

1. If you were casting these characters in a movie what actor/actress would play them?
If I could choose any actor in the world in the world to play Michael calce (Mafia Boy) I would choose Tom Cruise because he can play as anybody especially a top grade hacker like Mafia Boy.
Tom also has good hack movies like Mission Impossible.

2. Would you recommend this book to anybody else? To your close friends?
I would definitely recommend this nail biting book to anybody who likes books that holds your nose in the book. Why? You ask, because this book has a deep storyline that keeps you reading to the end.

3. How would the book have been different if it had taken place in a different time or place?
The whole book mafia boy would not have existed if this had happened in the 1800’s because back then there was no internet.

4. Did you learn anything from the book that you didn’t already know?
That the FBI doesn’t have any jurisdiction here in Canada they can only follow the R.C.M.P.’s lead.

5. Did the book end the way you expected?
He book did end the way I expected because at the end they say he started to work for the C.I.A and is a really good info gatherer

6. Did the actions of the character seem plausible Why? Why not?
Everything that happened in this book is entirely true because it actually happened.

7. Were there any personality traits that you could identify with?
Yes there were, one is that he is a person that likes to fiddle with things that he shouldn’t. Two is that he’s a rule breaker and doesn’t like school


8. What was you’re favorite part of the book?
When the cops came and arrested mafia boy. Because there was a lot of mystery in what was happening

9. Do you feel the book fulfilled you’re expectations? Were you disappointed?
I was not disappointed at all by this book because I was always pulled into the storyline of the book and couldn’t put the book down. Its actually kind of insulting to ask me if I was disappointed.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story of a boy who fell in love with computing from the age of 6, a year after his parents divorce, while still enjoying sports and friends at school. Things took a darker turn when his best friend was killed at age 12. Aside from math and sports, school no longer got any respect from him, and the feeling became mutual, as he focused on learning more about doing things on the internet. Hacking made him feel powerful, and in 3 years he learned enough to run distributed denial of service attacks that took down the websites of many large companies including CNN, Yahoo and Ebay in Feb 2000. Luckily for him, his father was wealthy and hired a good lawyer. But he still hated the next 4 years as he was arrested, stringent bail conditions were imposed, including a ban on contact with his 3 closest friends, sent to juvenile detention for breaking bail conditions, plead guilty to 56 charges, sentenced to 8 months in a group home followed by 1 year of parole. Part 2 provides some history of hacking and computer security, with some advice on how to protect yourself. Although the basic principles of this advice remain true, details are dated.
Food for thought about the need to try to understand what your kids are thinking and doing, about getting in trouble with the police, and about computer security.

[Sigurd Alnes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had never before had such an urge to hit myself in the face as I had when reading this book. The book is written by a skiddie who calls himself a hacker, describing how he took down the web servers of among others Yahoo and eBay. In the book he gives the impression of that these acts were done on purpose, with a tool he had developed in cooperation with others. After reading this I decided to visit his Wikipedia page, where I discovered that he in 2011 told Radio Canada that the tool he used for the DoS attacks was found on the web, and that he didn’t perform the attacks on purpose. The first part I am willing to believe, but not the second. After reading these facts, the rest of the book was just shit. I sat there wondering how much this French-Canadian wannabe-hacker had earned selling his book of lies. In reality, this is a book about a kid with a computer, who tries to grab as much attention as possible in IRC chat rooms by wrecking shit for others using tools he claims to have developed himself. I would discourage everyone from either downloading or buying this book. It’s not worth the money, and definitely not worth the time spent reading it.

[Black Heart Magazine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An autobiographical account of a (then) 15-year-old hacker's crimes, plus a bit of internet security info tacked on at the end. I had higher hopes for this book, as its title really builds it up. Mafiaboy's story is not as exciting as, say, watching Hackers or even reading about some of the other hackers he idolized at the time (Kevin Mitnick, Kevin Poulsen, etc.). The internet security tips included are pretty basic, but are a must-read for anyone who uses the internet (i.e. everyone!). I was hoping for much larger revelations as to how the internet is "still broken," as well as ideas about how to "fix" it.

[Chloe Thonus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off pretty good but fizzled out by the middle and then got pretty slow in the end. It's also pretty unlikely the full truth is being told, given fact that he supposedly "wasn't boasting" and then admitted he proceeded to boast later and claimed to have just left these DDoS programs running during school with no one noticing he was connected to the dial up internet all day. Would be a lot better if the second half went faster, as it really felt like it dragged. Not bad though, the first half is interesting and pretty accurate to late 90s hacking.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Book was interesting - half of it. Lots of useless info in it that made the point of the book pointless. Author was a young punk who got off easy. Don't think he thinks so, but that's a punk for you. Disturbing how easy a hacker can access your computer (unless you have Free Zone Alarm installed)

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book. It was kind of written like a research essay though, i.e. it didn't flow like a novel but just as a book of information. A lot of his tips should be known so it wasn't anything new. The take on his hacking and arrest resulting sounded honest and was interesting to learn about.

[Gavin Dardis]

This book is a good read for anyone interested in hackers or computers in general. It gives a lot of information on how to protect your computer from attack. The story of mafiaboy's development as a person is a solid driving force for the story also.

[Josh McDevitt-Spall · Rating 3 out of 5]

First section great. Second section blah.

[Streetraker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will be updating & upgrading my computer virus, malware & spyware protection IMMEDIATELY!

[Citesc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good start, good read! Bad end, bad read! Mafiaboy turns out too be Scaredboy!

[Smjrifle Joshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite book and the first book I read properly. I was deeply hooked with the adventures and was carrying the book everywhere

[Paul Mamani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book
Very captivating life odysey of Mr Calce.
I enjoyed reading it too much

[Jewelsm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!!!!