Summary of Clifford Stoll's CUCKOO'S EGG

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I was transferred from the Keck Observatory at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab to the computer center in the basement of the same building. I was to fake enough computing to impress astronomers, and maybe pick it up fast enough that my co-workers wouldn’t catch on.

#2 I was given the task to find a bug in our accounting system. I found that the system recorded each time someone connected to the computer, logging the user’s name and terminal. It timestamped each connection, recording which tasks the user executed, how many seconds of processor time he used, and when he disconnected.

#3 I began to have confidence in the local accounting programs. They didn’t balance, but they weren’t dropping pennies. I’d learned the system and practiced two obsolete languages. Next day, I sent an electronic mail message to Dave, preening my feathers by pointing out the problem to him.

#4 The Unix computer's accounting system showed that Sventek had logged in at 8:25 on Saturday, done nothing for half an hour, and then disconnected. The home-brew software also recorded Sventek's activity, but it showed him using the networks from 8:31 until 9:01 A. M.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822524538

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I was transferred from the Keck Observatory at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab to the computer center in the basement of the same building. I was to fake enough computing to impress astronomers, and maybe pick it up fast enough that my co-workers wouldn’t catch on.

#2

I was given the task to find a bug in our accounting system. I found that the system recorded each time someone connected to the computer, logging the user’s name and terminal. It timestamped each connection, recording which tasks the user executed, how many seconds of processor time he used, and when he disconnected.

#3

I began to have confidence in the local accounting programs. They didn’t balance, but they weren’t dropping pennies. I’d learned the system and practiced two obsolete languages. Next day, I sent an electronic mail message to Dave, preening my feathers by pointing out the problem to him.

#4

The Unix computer's accounting system showed that Sventek had logged in at 8:25 on Saturday, done nothing for half an hour, and then disconnected. The home-brew software also recorded Sventek's activity, but it showed him using the networks from 8:31 until 9:01 A. M.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The word hacker has two different meanings. The people I knew who called themselves hackers were software wizards who were able to creatively program their way out of tight corners. They knew all the nooks and crannies of the operating system.

#2

The term hacker is used to describe someone who breaks into computers. However, in common usage, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers. But in common usage, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers.

#3

The computer’s operating system splits the hardware resources into many apartments, which are then used by different users. Within the computer, one user may be solving a math problem, another sending electronic mail to Toronto, and a third writing a letter.

#4

A hacker with super-user privileges would hold the computer hostage. With the master key to our system, he could shut it down whenever he wishes, and could make the system as unreliable as he wishes. He could read, write, or modify any information in the computer.

Insights from Chapter 3

#1

While Berkeley Lab did not have any classified research, it was a center for designing nuclear bombs and Star Wars laser beams. Livermore, on the other hand, was a center for designing nuclear bombs and Star Wars laser beams.

#2

I was the