Book Review:
The Cuckoo's Egg
by Cliff Stoll

The Astronomer and the Hacker

The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy through the Maze of Computer Espionage was one of those books you buy because it looks really interesting and then, for some reason, never get around to reading. With me, though, that's not actually all that unusual, being the former student of literature that I am. So I thought it a lucky coincidence when I had the opportunity to read it for this class. I'll admit now that I'm only about half way through, but that's enough to make sure I finish it. I only hope it doesn't get in the way of my other classes.

The Cuckoo's Egg is a detailed account of a computer operator's efforts to isolate and identify someone who has hacked into his system. That's one way to describe it, anyway. Despite the central role of computers and computer technology in the book, The Cuckoo's Egg is really more of a mystery wrapped up in a spy thriller. In 1986 Cliff Stoll is an astronomer at the Keck Observatory at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab in Berkeley, California. When his grant money runs out, he finds himself working for the lab's computer center as one of its operators. While learning his way around the system, he notices a 75 cent error in the lab's accounting system and decides to investigate further. Like pulling the thread of a sweater, Stoll begins to unravel what becomes an increasingly complex trail left by a hacker who's used the lab's system to access a myriad of other systems, the vast majority of which are military systems containing classified and unclassified data on topics like missile defense systems. In trying to track the hacker down, Stoll weaves a meandering path of his own through numerous federal agencies, including the FBI, CIA, NSA, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Defense Communications Agency, to name a few. However, while different entities want to be kept informed of the hacker's activities, no one is willing to step in and initiate a formal investigation to authorize search warrants and the like. So, Stoll is left to his own devices, which turn out to be remarkably effective.

Even throwing in a sexy term like "computer espionage" doesn't go very far to make the subject matter of The Cuckoo's Egg seem like something that would jump off the shelf, but the book succeeds (at least as a reading experience) by employing a dramatic, narrative style you would expect to find in a spy novel. Indeed, the book is aimed at readers both familiar and unfamiliar with computers. Stoll takes the time to explain the technical details in plain language as necessary, layering only as much detail as is required to help the reader appreciate the plot point of the moment. Because the extent of the plot is not laid out at once, more computer savvy readers can still enjoy the tale by piecing together the events just ahead of Stoll himself. To flesh out the narrative, Stoll also includes bits of his personal life, his relationship with his partner, glimpses of his colleagues and friends, and even a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Taken together, the result is a compelling book that draws the reader into the story on several levels, whether it's as a snapshot of computer security circa 1986 or just the entertaining account of a curious and persistent scientist.

If you're looking for a book that explains the nitty-gritty of computer security or will teach you the skills to catch your own hacker, The Cuckoo's Egg is not going to be much help to you. While it explains just enough for the reader to understand the principles of the hacker's various attacks and to appreciate Stoll's steps in hunting him, it is not a handbook for wary system administrators. If anything, it is a record of a particular era in the history of computer security. Likewise it's a portrait of a man whose ability to apply his scientific training (not to mention his well developed habit of meticulous log-keeping) to novel problems proves indispensable in the solving of a mystery. I hesitate to recommend changes to the book's balance between elements or to its emphasis on the time-honored struggle of man versus man, this time mediated through the faceless expanse of computer networks. The book (so far) is finding its mark with satisfying accuracy.

It doesn't hurt that not long ago I visited Berkeley for the first time and got to see for myself Telegraph Avenue, the bookstores, coffee houses, and UC Berkeley. It also doesn't hurt that I'm a semi-geek who learned computers on a UNIX-based PDP-11 and a VAX from Digital Equipment Corporation. So maybe for me there's a touch of nostalgia in The Cuckoo's Egg, too. I know that in the end Stoll catches up with his hacker, but I'm going to go ahead and finish the book to see how he does it. Besides, I want to find out if he and Martha break up (she's not in the acknowledgments!).

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