The Cuckoo’s Egg

tracking a spy through a maze of computer espionage

by Clifford Stoll

No cover — Clifford Stoll: The Cuckoo’s Egg (Hardcover, 1990, The Bodley Head Ltd)

Hardcover, 288 pages

English language

Published Feb. 28, 1990 by The Bodley Head Ltd.

ISBN:: 978-0-370-31433-4

View on OpenLibrary

(9 reviews)

In the days when the presence of a computer did NOT presume the presence of a network (they used to be freestanding units that could not easily communicate with another system), accounts to use the computer were expensive to maintain and heavily scrutinized by management. 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. Stoll wasn't even a computing pro - he was an astronomer that used the computer to run programs that pointed telescopes properly. But he was a member of a club that exists today - that person elected to do network administration because he drew the short straw. Stoll tells the ensuing circa 1985 tale of analysis when people worldwide were only just discovering what networks could reveal... and hide. Rather like today.

19 editions

norb reviewed The Cuckoo’s Egg by Clifford Stoll

Engrossing Read On the History of Cybersecurity Incident Response

4 stars

I've had this book recommended to me personally as well on several lists of "cybersecurity books everyone should read" so I finally got around to reading it.

The story, while slightly repetitive, unfolds in a first person, linear style. I found the book easy to read, and while the cybersecurity ideas presented seems commonplace today, I think they were probably groundbreaking when the book came out.

I found it fascinating that Cliff's use of a logbook, external monitoring systems, a pager, a very early form of a "canary token," and a few other technical ideas are still in use today. (OK, maybe not the pager exactly but lots of IT people get text alerts on their phones!)

His inability to get any help from the 3 Letter Federal Agencies was not surprising. It took 9/11 to fix some of those communication problems (but not all from what I understand).

Anyways, …

I've had this book recommended to me personally as well on several lists of "cybersecurity books everyone should read" so I finally got around to reading it.

His inability to get any help from the 3 Letter Federal Agencies was not surprising. It took 9/11 to fix some of those communication problems (but not all from what I understand).

Anyways, this is a fascinating look at how one person laid the path for the future of cybersecurity incident response. While the technical details probably aren't relevant in this day and age (1200 baud modems, anyone?) this book should be required reading for anyone that has a personal or professional interest in cybersecurity.

sandijosie110@bookwyrm.social reviewed The Cuckoo’s Egg by Clifford Stoll

Great introduction to information security: spies, philosophy, and so much more.

5 stars

This book is an excellent introduction to hacking. It's great for beginners as it explains concepts on a fundamental level. It asks moral questions surrounding information security and who protects users. It is also a great starting point for people who need to see the picture of their learning or are struggling with being interested in learning about information security.