In 1986, astronomer turned computer scientist clifford stoll had just started working on a computer system at the lawrence berkeley laboratory. A sentimental favorite, the cuckoos egg seems to have inspired a whole category of books exploring the quest to capture computer criminals. The book was published by daw books in 1985, and there was also a limited hardcover printing by phantasia press in the same year. When the accounting staff of stoll s university employer discovered 75 cents worth of time used with which no user was associated, they called him and demanded that he locate the phantom user. Cuckoos egg ebook by clifford stoll 9780307819420 rakuten. Read cuckoos egg by clifford stoll available from rakuten kobo. The cuckoos egg audiobook by cliff stoll 9781977300478. It is still compelling today, just in a different manner.
It could have been titled the story of ping oops that title has been taken. His crystal ball was a lot clearer than hes given credit for. Report video issue javascript must be enabled in order to access cspan videos. It is his firstperson account of the hunt for a computer hacker who broke into a computer at the lawrence berkeley national laboratory lbnl. Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive us citizen recognized its ominous potential. The cuckoos egg has long been acknowledged as mandatory reading for anyone interested in cybersecurity, especially those on the technical side of the field.
Cliff stoll is a seemingly scatterbrained astronomer. The story starts out with clifford stoll being recycled to a computer. Signin to download and listen to this audiobook today. The technology has changed, but the crime and the chase have remained the same. Cuckoo s egg is a science fiction novel by american writer c. Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive u. Clifford stoll s first book, the cuckoo s egg, is both a gripping spy thriller and an intriguing introduction to the futuristic world of international computer networking. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage paperback september, 2005 by cliff stoll author.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The cuckoos egg by cliff stoll before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive u. Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive us citizen recognized its. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage is a 1989 book written by clifford stoll. Clifford stoll clifford stoll tells the story of his discovery, tracking, and eventual capture of a. Written by cliff stoll, audiobook narrated by will damron. In my own opinion it shows how difficult it is to be heard when you are asking for help in solving a. Actually, that off target 1995 antiinternet column was amazingly ontarget clifford stoll. A cuckoo bird will lay its egg in another birds nest letting that bird raise the offspring as her own. The cuckoo s egg is well written and is considered a classic. Clifford stoll, an msnbc commentator, a lecturer, and a berkeley astronomer, is the author of the new york times bestseller the cuckoos egg, silicon snake oil, and hightech heretic.
Clifford stoll booklist clifford stoll message board. I read the cuckoo s egg when i was in high school i think and came away with the impression that stoll wasis a buffoon. It was nominated for the hugo award and longlisted the locus award for best novel. When, to the delight of the baffled fbi, cia, and nsa, cliff stoll nailed his spy, he wound up on the front page of the new york times. Cliff, as he is affectionately called, is a longhaired exhippie that works at lawrence berkeley lab. The technology has changed, but the crime and the chase. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage reissue by stoll, cliff isbn. Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive. In 1986, having recently lost his research grant, astronomer clifford stoll was made a computer system admin with the wave of a hand by the.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading cuckoo s egg. A sentimental favorite, the cuckoo s egg seems to have inspired a whole category of books exploring the quest to. Clifford stoll, an msnbc commentator, a lecturer, and a berkeley astronomer, is the author of the new york times bestseller the cuckoo s egg, silicon snake oil, and hightech heretic. The story starts out with clifford stoll being recycled to a computer analystwebmaster. Im a scientist, once i do something, i want to do something else.
A sentimental favorite, the cuckoo s egg seems to have inspired a whole category of books exploring the quest to capture computer criminals. Stoll wasnt even a computing pro he was an astronomer that used the computer to run programs. Cuckoo s egg is a novel by science fiction and fantasy author c. The cuckoo s egg by cliff stoll before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive u.
The cuckoo s egg has long been acknowledged as mandatory reading for anyone interested in cybersecurity, especially those on the technical side of the field. Clifford stoll published it in 1989, and the first time i read it, i devoured it over a weekend when i should have been writing my grad school thesis. The cuckoos egg is a story of persistence, love for ones work and is just plain funny. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage. Actually, that off target 1995 antiinternet column was. The cuckoo s egg by clifford stoll, bodley head, pp 326, pounds 12. The cuckoos egg by clifford stoll was fascinating the first time i read it in 1989, and when i saw it on one of the books to read lists on goodreads, i eagerly reexamined it. Coming from a unix background it was fun to see a system i recognized. The story, broken in 1989, quickly gathered headlines across the nation and stoll. Acknowledgments how do you spread the word when a computer has a security hole. The kgb, the computer, and me clifford stoll, the cuckoos egg. Still, even several years after its initial publication and after much imitation, the book remains a good read with an engaging story line and a critical outlook, as clifford stoll. If you find computers interesting this book is for you.
I saw the tv program on this story before reading the book. Stoll is also the same person who was doing thoughts at the end of the site. The cuckoos egg book by cliff stoll official publisher page. Do they leave their systems open to free communication, or. The cuckoo s egg by cliff stoll the cuckoo s egg page 1 of 254. Clifford stoll author clifford stoll, an msnbc commentator, a lecturer, and a berkeley astronomer, is the author of the new york times bestseller the cuckoos egg, silicon snake oil, and hightech heretic. Listen to the cuckoos egg tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage by cliff stoll available from rakuten kobo. Like a detective, davies and his colleagues studied adult cuckoo behavior, cuckoo egg markings, and cuckoo chick begging calls to discover exactly how cuckoos trick their hosts.
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