The Cuckoo's Egg cover art

The Cuckoo's Egg

Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage

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The Cuckoo's Egg

By: Cliff Stoll
Narrated by: Will Damron
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About this listen

Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive US citizen recognized its ominous potential. Armed with clear evidence of computer espionage, he began a highly personal quest to expose a hidden network of spies that threatened national security. But would the authorities back him up? Cliff Stoll's dramatic firsthand account is "a computer-age detective story, instantly fascinating [and] astonishingly gripping" - Smithsonian.

Cliff Stoll was an astronomer turned systems manager at Lawrence Berkeley Lab when a 75 cent accounting error alerted him to the presence of an unauthorized user on his system. The hacker's code name was "Hunter" - a mysterious invader who managed to break into US computer systems and steal sensitive military and security information. Stoll began a one-man hunt of his own: spying on the spy. It was a dangerous game of deception, broken codes, satellites, and missile bases - a one-man sting operation that finally gained the attention of the CIA...and ultimately trapped an international spy ring fueled by cash, cocaine, and the KGB.

©1989 Clifford Stoll (P)2020 Tantor Espionage Freedom & Security Politics & Government Security & Encryption True Crime War & Crisis Exciting Thought-Provoking Inspiring Computer Security

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All stars
Most relevant
I enjoyed this account. The fact that it happened decades ago in no way minimises its impact. It is let down a bit by the author's somewhat confusing stance on his own political leanings. He is basically a left-wing student type having difficulties with his realisation that most FBI, NSA and CIA personnel with whom he deals are basically decent people with no personal axes to grind. His relationship with girlfriend Martha is also at times nauseatingly sickly-sweet; they like to make quilts together and this gets several needless mentions - this guy is just too good to be true. He clearly wishes to be seen as an innocent abroad in a big bad world, and this too is irritating. These things apart, I found it a good listen.

Great story but iffy presentation at times.

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This is one of those stories that gradually builds as it progresses.
It's a little dated now in terms of what we all assume is security, but back then things were far simpler.
A very interesting delve into the early days of hackers versus good guys.

Starts a little slow but gets very interesting!

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The careful balance between technical detail and narrative progression of the real life events makes this a really entertaining read. It's excellent to see looking back how much we still suffer from similar issues but also how many of the solutions are so common place in everyday conversation that its simply mandated when signing on to websites, leaving the reader to really get an idea as to how much technology has progressed so rapidly.

Honest I love this book

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Great story and just shows even though high profile hacks get on the news now. Computer security has always been important.

Reignited my passion as a cybersecurity professional!

Best narration I’ve heard so far!

Thrilling story and narration

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I have to say I only read this as it was free on the audible plus catalogue and was recommended to me, largely because I’d read some spy fiction. I’m so pleased I did. It’s a really fascinating story that brings to life the very very early years of the internet.
Despite the level of detail on the technical details, it’s still way to follow and genuinely quite exciting!

Really interesting

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