Customer Reviews

The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read this book after a recommendation from the friend of a friend. She heard my vocational story and thought I would like it. She was correct. One of the neat things that happened when reading this book was that I was attending LinuxCon 2012 in San Diego and had a chance to meet Ted Ts'o - a Google employee and Linux Kernel Developer. The same day that I met Mr. Ts'o I read his name in the final pages of this book. I could not believe it! I had never heard of or met Ted Ts'o before this and yet in one day I saw him on stage as part of a panel discussion, was introduced to him, and then read his name in a book I was reading for pleasure and which was never supposed to be pertinent to the work I was reading about and researching. An amazing coincidence or not?

Very good read. Very interesting.
Can get a little slow at some parts. But that was what I was expecting.

The book is a great blend of spy story, technical expose and biography. While the technical details and technologies used are no longer current, the flavor, style and concerns are still very relavent and perhaps more accessible than the most up-to-date versions of the same stuff. As well, for middle aged technical people there is a great element of technical and social nostalgia that will be evoked. All in all, this was a joy to read. On top of all that, the author is quite an interesting character.

This is a classic book about real life network hacking.

The book reads like a detective story, and all the details are real life happenings of a grad student from Berkeley and some astute West German hackers during the Cold War era (mid 1980's). The technical details are not esoteric, and should not dissuade the non-techies from picking it up.

I picked up the book at the library one afternoon and could not put it down until the next day, when I had finished the last chapters.

IMPRESSIONS: Very captivating, good exposition of technical details for the lay reader, fast read.

Also, great epilogue speculating the future of security and "trust" on the web, meaning of digital security and how it will influence our lives.

Truth is often stranger than fiction, though it isn't always as interesting. THE CUCKOO'S EGG is the exception, giving us a tale just as exciting as any best-selling, fictional thriller and yet is entirely factual. Who would have guessed that such an exhilarating adventure could be totally enclosed in the not-entirely-sexy world of computer networks and security?

THE CUCKOO'S EGG is a fascinating story that began with a minor discrepancy on a small computer network in Berkeley and ended in an international sting operation. Cliff Stoll was the astronomer-turned-programmer who was on the trail of the mysterious hacker, and he tells the story quite well. This is a suspense filled tale of tracking this burglar to his lair, of frustrating red herrings and of maddening bureaucracy that stands in the scientist's way.

There are one or two places that don't flow quite as smoothly as they would have had the author been a professional writer and not an astronomer/computer-engineer. He also tends to be a bit repetitive in his discussions and his repeating of his philosophies. But, as I mentioned, this is from a scientist, not an English major, and his style does have a charm of its own. It helps the story feel more like something that's happening to just an average kind of guy, which is a great aid to heightening tension, and also helps carry the computer-illiterate reader. Despite having to convey some relatively difficult concepts, Stoll does an excellent job at explaining networks, operating systems, programming logic and other computer activities with a minimum of confusion. And while the average reader is gaining insight into the world of computer, the advanced, 21st Century computer operator may find something to feel nostalgic about in this story of late-80's computer networks.

I can easily recommend this book to anyone regardless of his or her prior knowledge of computers. While on the surface this is a story about breaking into electronic equipment, the appealing aspects of the story lie in the mystery itself, not necessarily in the tools of the trade. What this all boils down to is a good old-fashioned game of cops-and-robbers, when computer networks and Internet security were still only in their infancy.

I bought this book at the suggestion of a friend. I did not really expect it to be entertaining since most books on the subject are tough to get through. Instead it is as compelling as any good thriller. It is one of those books that are tough to put down once started, and I found myself staying up late to make it through just "a few more pages".
Try it and you're in for a treat.

Here's a great nerd's-eye view of Cliff Stoll's practically one-man stand to capture a 'Cracker' (aka a Malicious Hacker for the non-geeks). There's enough technical detail to get the point across without losing an audience. Mr Stoll has a great ability to write that doesn't alienate the non-computer savvy folk, yet keep us fellow geeks enthralled.

I bought this book almost 6 years ago, and I still read it today. Then, I knew very little about UNIX, but I still enjoyed the book. Stoll writes in a way that everyone can enjoy the story. Now, I am currently taking a course in UNIX/Linux, and I am reading the book again, this time rediscovering the case with a new perspective. The "Cuckoo's Egg" is an immensely enjoyable book.

Even to non-computer wise peoples The Cuckoo's Egg is a delightful read the explores the reality of computer hackers and the vulnerability of systems to new age hackers. In concise words it tells the story of a 75 cent discrepancy in a 'home-brewed' accounting system that leads to much more.

A well-written and thoroughly engaging account. Although this book will be most interesting to computer geeks, it is written to be accessible to all readers - technical jargon is kept to a minimum, or clearly explained when necessary. Because the events occurred in the eighties, many of the specifics seem rather dated now, but the basic principles are still relevant.

But the essence of this book is not the technical aspect - it's the very human story of an individual determined to solve a mystery at all costs. Stoll wrestles with adversaries (not only the spy himself, but also unhelpful government agents, his bosses, and even awkward computer systems), finds solutions to his problems (sometimes through cleverness and ingenuity, sometimes through tedious, determined effort), celebrates his victories and comes to terms with his failures, and shows how he has grown from the experience and come to new understandings.

Though Stoll downplays his computer expertise ("I'm an astronomer, not a programmer"), he's clearly a hacker in the truest sense of the word - ingenious, determined, iconoclastic, and a bit of a mystic. Frankly, he seems like a helluva guy, possessed of intellect, integrity, and a clever sense of humor. Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of the book is the insight it gives into the hacker mindset.

The book occasionally gets repetitive - usually to reinforce the technical concepts for the benefit of general readers - but overall, it's competently written and easy to read. Stoll isn't here to craft award-winning literature; he's here to tell a story, and he does that quite well.

I've read this book several times, and will certainly read it several more times. If you fancy yourself a hacker, or just like a good real-life adventure story, this book is essential reading.