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Cult of the Dead Cow

How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World

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Cult of the Dead Cow

By: Joseph Menn
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Joseph Menn
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About this listen

 The shocking untold story of the elite secret society of hackers fighting to protect our freedom, “a hugely important piece of the puzzle for anyone who wants to understand the forces shaping the internet age” (The New York Times Book Review)

Cult of the Dead Cow is the tale of the oldest active, most respected, and most famous American hacking group of all time. With its origins in the earliest days of the internet, the cDc is full of oddball characters – activists, artists, and musicians – some of whom went on to advise presidents, cabinet members, and CEOs, and who now walk the corridors of power in Washington and Silicon Valley.

Today, the group and its followers are battling electoral misinformation, making personal data safer, and organizing to keep technology a force for good instead of for surveillance and oppression. Cult of the Dead Cow describes how, at a time when governments, corporations, and criminals hold immense power, a small band of tech iconoclasts is on our side fighting back. Freedom & Security History History & Culture Politics & Government Security & Encryption Technology & Society True Crime Technology Computer Security Hacking Surveillance

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Critic reviews

"An invaluable resource. The tale of this small but influential group is a hugely important piece of the puzzle for anyone who wants to understand the forces shaping the internet age."—New York Times Book Review
"The author narrates a fast-paced story about how a little-known movement that could trace its roots to the psychedelic rock of the 1960s-one visionary was the son of the Jefferson Airplane's drummer, while another was a lyricist for the Grateful Dead-would eventually serve as security advisory for the Pentagon, the cybernetics industry, and geopolitical forces around the globe... A quick tale of black hats and white hats, with a lot of gray area in between."—Kirkus Reviews
"Long before there was a multi-billion dollar cyber industry, there were some ethical hackers who showed us that the Silicon Valley emperors had no clothes. They looked like misfits, but they showed us how insecure the Internet was and how to make it better. Joe Menn makes this previously untold story entertaining and relevant to today's cyber threats."—Richard A. Clarke, first White House "Cyber Czar"
"Cult of the Dead Cow is an exhilarating and essential look into a part of the hacker underground that has shaped the modern world in profound ways. Readers will be amazed by this crew of eccentric, impassioned geniuses who have so often served as the Internet's conscience while lurking unknown in the shadows. The depth of Joe Menn's reporting is as astonishing as his storytelling - no one could have captured this tale better."—Ashlee Vance, author of Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
"Cult of the Dead Cow reveals a story few know about the origins of white hat hacking and the heroes it celebrates. Despite the title, hacking isn't dead yet!"—Vint Cerf, co-inventor of the Internet
"This dramatic story of how the Internet's first hackers learned to handle their outsized abilities can help us grapple to control the power of today's technology titans."—Bruce Schneier, Harvard fellow and lecturer and author of Click Here to Kill Somebody
"A beautifully researched, engrossingly told story about how CDC and its members and offshoot groups invented much of what has become normal in the modern practice of tech and security...Menn zeroes in on a perfect spot between the personalities and the tools, and in so doing, answers some important questions about how we arrived at the place we're at today, where information security is at the heart of questions of national security, human rights, free speech, and the survival of our democracies and our species itself."—Cory Doctorow, author of LittleBrother and Homeland
"A must-read for anyone who cares about how we broke the internet...and how we just might save it."—Dustin Volz, Wall StreetJournal security reporter
All stars
Most relevant
Interesting book worth listening. Probably more interesting for gen X’ers that remember the early internet

How CDC is so connected to other hacking groups

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Despite being focused on CDC the author does a fantastic job at summarising the broader history of hacking, touching on important points throughout the last few decades.

Anyone who has an real interest in hacking history should give this book a listen.

Fascinating History of Hacking

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Although not an US citizen, this book sheds slot of light over the subjects that technology advancement is bringing to us humans. With the amount that is now invested in AI and machine learning, it's also time to invest in humanizing technology and protecting our privacy.

Interesting and informative. Your mind will love..

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As someone that works in this field and remembers the phracking and BBS scene, I thought I would enjoy this book. Unfortunately i found it tedious with very little interesting content, and quit halfway through as it was just too dull to persevere with.

Utterly tedious

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I was hoping for something more in depth than this load of rubbish. It is essentially 7 hours of glorifying the key members of CDC without really explaining anything. Don’t get me wrong I wanted to learn about CDC and that is why I got this book but I really thought there would be more substance. It felt as though the author was just trying to blow smoke up the a** of members maybe to try and gain their respect?

Glory be to the cult of the dead cow

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