I read an extremely intesting book last week. Cliff Stoll’s “The Cuckoo’s Egg” is a true story about how the author was tracking a hacker in the mid-eighties. It reads like a spy novel, but is appearently all true. I picked the book up at 11 at night, and was unable to put it down until I had completed the whole thing!

The book gives a pretty good understanding of computer crime, crimefighting, and the basic methods of the typical script kiddie. The exploits that the bad guy uses are all real vulnerabilities, but happily, they are all (mostly) corrected today.

Despite its technical detail and accuracy, the book should be accessible to the general public. I highly recommend it!