CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised

Author - Katie Hafner ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Simon & Schuster was reviewed on 4-Nov-2008.

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1) Paperback Book CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised by Simon & Schuster. Katie Hafner and John Markoff write an excellent book about three groups of individuals that got caught hacking and compromising computers in the 1980s. The stories themselves are able to stand alone. This book can be read and re-read, and enjoyed each time.

The story of Kevin Mitnick is the story of an aloof, over-wieght, junk-food junkie that has been portrayed as the stereotypical computer hacker addict/criminal. His persistence and technical expertise caught many experts off guard. His multiple downfalls (arrests) and convictions reveal a lot of how computer specialists´ shortcomings in approaching security procedures and problems helped enable his success. The debate regarding security and freedom of information still continues. Their was little difference in personalities between Kevin and many of the experts.

The story of the West German group (which includes Pengo as a member) that had some connection with the Chaos Computer Club and committed espionage for the old Eastern Bloc for relatively little money is a sad story. The addiction to computers and drugs, and the lack of mature guidance as youngsters allowed these men, of little moral convictions, to evolve to betray their country and the western world and wrap it in some starry-eyed belief that providing information to the Eastern Bloc would make the world safer by equalizing the technical information for both sides. This story reads like a Peter Seller´s Pink Panther version of a bad James Bond movie. The individuals involved were lucky that the Iron Curtain collapsed before they were tried for treason and espionage, and sentenced. Cliff Stoll´s The Cuckoo Egg describes his part in the case as he experienced it from UC Berkley.

The final section is about the unique individual, Robert Morris, and the virus/worm he released which caused havoc across the United Stated in the mid-1980s. This incident received a lot of press at the time. The authors are sympathetic to Robert and appear to accept that the havoc caused was not intentional, and the havoc was caused by a programming error. The `light´ sentence he received when was convicted was mainly due to judicial confusion regarding computers and computer crimes that existed back in the 1980s - there was even debate among the computer experts as to if he had done anything really wrong. The incident could not have been a career enhancer for his father, a top scientist at the National Security Agency.

The book is great in providing information about the early era of computers and the interent. It could be termed the `wild west´ years of the early internet. Laws and expertise regarding computers lagged badly behind the advances, especially regarding the internet. Confusion and no technical understanding among judges,lawyers and law enforcement was the rule not the exception. It is little better today.

This is another excellent book that can be read and re-read that was partially written by John Markoff.

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2) Paperback Book CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised by Simon & Schuster. ...Steven Levy´s "Hackers". Hackers is the more technically and historically detailed of the two. Cyberpunk is a breezy bit of pop journalism centering on three early cases of hackerism. It´s an entertaining read, though substantively little more than a gloss on Levy´s much better book.¤

3) Paperback Book CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised by Simon & Schuster. I have read this book a number of times over the years (I picked it up when it first came out) and have always enjoyed reading it. Even though it does only scratch the surface of the hacker culture, it´s definitely an entertaining read. I know that I´ve heard that many of the things that were written in here (especially about Kevin Mitnick) have been termed libelous and untrue by some people. I can´t vouch for what´s fact and what´s not in this book. I can only say that it does give a good idea what hacking was like in the good ´ol days.
If you like this book, you might want to try Steven Levy´s book "Hackers", which really (I think) gives you a better understanding of the spirit of most hackers, and covers the history of hacking from the early days of MIT, up until now. Cyberpunk doesn´t, but it´s still definitely worth reading if you enjoy a good story.¤

4) Paperback Book CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised by Simon & Schuster. Although Markoff is an exceptional writer and the book is both easy to read and entertaining, the content is presented as factual when the truth is that these guys definitely wrote the book with only part of the whole story at their disposal. One of the main "cyberpunks" depicted in the book is Kevin Mitnick, who claims that he has never even met John Markoff. How can the book fairly and accurately speak to the topic of hacking during the early days of the Internet revolution when they never did any investigations with real "hackers"? The story is told only from a law enforcement point-of-view. I am sure that the Rodney King story is told differently by King than the LAPD. Same goes for this case.

Like many works today that seem to be written for financial reasons, it seems very one-sided and sensational.¤

5) Paperback Book CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised by Simon & Schuster. First off, John Markoff does NOT tell an unbiased story, especially regarding the Mitnick case. Kevin Mitnick, preferring to keep a low profile, has not promoted his own story, and as a result he has had his name slandered by mediawhores like Markoff. Markoff traveled extensively with Tsutomu Shimomura, the security expert who eventually (and with much government aid) apprehended Mitnick. It is quite clear whose side he is on as he repeatedly demonizes Mitnick as a fat, malicious, juvenile person with no self-control and no respect for anyone else. This typecasting is quite understandable though, once you know that Markoff has a share in the Miramax movie Takedown that details Mitnick´s capture. Nobody wants to see such unfair treatment happen to a real, sympathetic person. (Takedown, incidentally, is more slanderous than Cyberpunk and from which the real Kevin Mitnick, whom it is based on, is not getting a dime).

But apart from my distaste for Markoff, this book still failed to be a interesting read. I enjoy reading about the early history of hacking, etc, so I bought it with high hopes. The only reason I didn´t put it down was because it was my only reading material on a six hour bus trip. The Internet revolution was fascinating and the people involved in it were interesting, dynamic people. But to hear Markoff tell it, everyone was petty, whining, insecure, and one-dimensional, with no other motivation than to cause trouble for others. He hasn´t got a gift for writing novels with well-rounded and interesting characters that the reader can actually sympathize with and care about.¤

6) Paperback Book CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised by Simon & Schuster. Using the exploits of three international hackers, Cyberpunk explores the world of high-tech computer rebels and the subculture they´ve created. In a book as exciting as any Ludlum novel, the authors show how these young outlaws have learned to penetrate the most sensitive computer networks and how difficult it is to stop them. Serial rights to Los Angeles Times.¤

7) Paperback Book CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised by Simon & Schuster. A classic look into cracker subculture, Cyberpunk tells the stories of notorious hackers Kevin Mitnick, Robert T. Morris, and the Chaos Computer Club. Like Where Wizards Stay Up Late, the book Hafner co-wrote on the origins of the Internet, Cyberpunk is informative, well-written, and entertaining. The story of Morris, who became infamous for unleashing a crippling worm that brought the Internet to a grinding standstill, is still as relevant and ominous today as it was at the time. The space devoted to Mitnick is a must-read companion to either Takedown or The Fugitive Game. Many of the stories surrounding the Dark Side Hacker, such as the story of his Norad break-in, are called into question in Cyberpunk, making this book a good launching pad for many different accounts of the Mitnick legend. The portrait of the two members of the Chaos Computer Club is a memorable look into the minds of the younger generation of computer hackers. Before you check out any book of this genre, read Cyberpunk.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 2-Dec-2008, , 450-110-920-0X0-871-OYB-UKB-8

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