Asymmetric, Cyber, Hacking, Odd War – Page 21

2000/08/222009/12/04

Review: Cybershock–Surviving Hackers, Phreakers, Identity Thieves, Internet Terrorists and Weapons of Mass Disruption

5 Star, Asymmetric, Cyber, Hacking, Odd War

Sensationalist, Populist, Useful, Worthy,

August 22, 2000

Winn Schwartau

There will be those quick to trash this book as sensationalist, and they are partly right. What most people, including the critics, do not realize is that Winn Schwartau went out on a limb in the late 1980's and early 1990's and is *the* primary reason Congress got concerned enough about these issues to demand a Critical Infrastructure Protection program funded at over $1B–it was Winn, not others quick to claim the line, that testified to Congress about an “electronic Pearl Harbor” on 24 June 1991. This book is unabashedly populist and seeks to make this very complex threat entertaining and understandable, and for that reason alone it is worth the time to consider. There are many other serious books for engineers, this is the one for anyone at all from housewife to student to executive. Great airplane book, won't save the world, but will certainly increase your consciousness across the board. Worthy.

2000/04/082009/12/04

Review: The Tunnels of Cu Chi

6 Star Top 10%, Asymmetric, Cyber, Hacking, Odd War, Insurgency & Revolution, Intelligence (Government/Secret)

Required Reading for All Command & Staff Officers,

April 8, 2000

Tom Mangold

This is required reading for every commander and every staff officer, and for every intelligence professional, both at the entry-level and at mid-career. Two things really hit home from this book: 1) the fact that we were completely clueless about the physical, mental, and cultural toughness and dedication of the Vietnamese who opposed our interference in Viet-Nam; 2) the fact that we are completely unable to detect tunnels under our base camps or in the tactical environment (although new technology is coming along). They dug 200 miles of tunnels by hand, including extensive networks under the major Bien Hoa complex.

2000/04/082009/10/24

Reviews: Cyberwars

3 Star, Asymmetric, Cyber, Hacking, Odd War, Intelligence (Government/Secret)

European Perspective on Cyberwar,

April 8, 2000

Jean Guisnel

Jean, a nationally-respected journalist in France who has covered espionage matters for decades, is the author of one of those rare French books that make it into the U.S. marketplace. Translated into English after great reviews in Europe, it charts the migration of European and Anglo-Saxon intelligence professionals into cyber-space.

2000/04/072009/11/01

Review: Hackers–Heroes of the Computer Revolution

5 Star, Asymmetric, Cyber, Hacking, Odd War, Change & Innovation, Culture, Research, Information Society, Information Technology

The Real Thing–Definitive Early Study,

April 7, 2000

Steven Levy

This is the definitive book on the early hackers, true hackers, and should be required reading for all those people, generally with good intentions, that ignorantly refer to electronic criminals and vandals as “hackers”. Steven starts his book with a “who's who” in hacking that includes Lee Felsenstein from Interval, Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, and Woz Woniak, among others, and then goes on in three parts to examine the original night hackers at MIT and other nodes of excellence, then the hardware hackers, and finally the game hackers. Hackers are a national resource, and it is only the ignorant who do not understand this.

2000/04/072009/11/01

Review: Masters of Deception–The Gang That Ruled Cyberspace

4 Star, Asymmetric, Cyber, Hacking, Odd War, Information Society, Information Technology

Fun But Reader Beware,

April 7, 2000

Michele Slatalla

This is a fun read, but as with the Hafner and Markoff book, reader beware. Erik Bloodaxe, one of the major characters in the book and my friend as well as a trusted security engineer, inscribed this book as follows: “Robert, Hope you enjoy this classic example of 3rd rate speculative fiction. So much for journalistic integrity, eh? /s/. I also know Phiber Optic, and tried to keep him out of jail, even offered to house him and hire him on parole, but to no avail. This is a good story that crosses over frequently into speculative reporting, but it may be better for that, capturing some of the spirit of competition that exists between very talented hackers who by and large do no harm.

2000/04/072009/11/01

Review: The Hacker Crackdown–Law And Disorder On The Electronic Frontier

5 Star, Asymmetric, Cyber, Hacking, Odd War, Culture, Research, Information Society, Information Technology, Justice (Failure, Reform), Misinformation & Propaganda

Distingushed, Accurate, Superior to Government Story,

April 7, 2000

Bruce Sterling

This is one of three books I trust on hackers and hacking (Levy and Turkle are the other two trusted authors). Bruce, a very distinguished author in WIRED and science fiction circles, went to great lengths to investigate and understand what was happening between hackers exploring corporate systems, corporate security officials that were clueless and seeking scorched earth revenge, and Secret Service investigators that were equally clueless and willing to testify erroneously to judges that the hackers had caused grave damage to national security. Bruce is a true investigative journalist with a deep understanding of both technical and cultural matters, and I consider him superior to anyone in government on the facts of the matter.

Update of 31 May 08 to add links:
The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit, Twentieth Anniversary Edition
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Information Payoff: The Transformation of Work in the Electronic Age
Collective Intelligence: Mankind's Emerging World in Cyberspace (Helix Books)
The Unfinished Revolution: Human-Centered Computers and What They Can Do For Us
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace

2000/04/072009/11/01

Review: Cuckoo’s Egg

5 Star, Asymmetric, Cyber, Hacking, Odd War, Communications, Crime (Government), Crime (Organized, Transnational), Information Operations, Information Technology

Riveting, Relevant Now, Deep Insights,

April 7, 2000

Clifford Stoll

This is an absolutely riveting story of how a brilliant physicist, assigned as an initiation rite to track down the reason for a 75 cent error in the computer accounts of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, ultimately identified and nailed an East German electronic espionage specialist. In passing, he outlines with great preciseness the insecurity of the entire U.S. government, military, law enforcement, business, and academic electronic communications and computing network, and reveals the total fragmentation as well as the general ignorance of almost all of the US and international organizations associated with these networks.