BKHKRCRK.RVW  940314
 
Bantam Books
1540 Broadway
New York, NY  10036
"The Hacker Crackdown", Sterling, 1992, 0-553-56370-X, U$5.99/C$7.50
 
It is important to keep in mind that the crackdown of the title refers to a
specific incident:  the series of raids in 1990 by various United States law
enforcement agencies which tend to be collectively, if incorrectly, subsumed
under the code name, "Operation Sundevil".  The book brings together a number
of the stories surrounding this event, as well as giving some background,
particularly in regard to AT&T and the US Secret Service.  There are, however,
significant gaps which prevent it from being an overall analysis of either the
cracker/phone phreak culture or the data security/law enforcement community.
 
As an overview of the 1990 raids, the book is entertaining, often informative,
and generally well written.  Digressions often provide very interesting
background, although at times they consume entire chapters without much bearing
on the central issues.  Those who were around for the electronic discussions of
the 1990 raids will possibly be glad of the collection of all the stories into
one place.  (Those who have dealt with the crackers, phone phreaks and wannabes
will readily recognize some of the descriptions, as well as the repeated
emphasis on braggadocio as a primary character trait.)
 
Although Sterling is aware of the debate over the term "hacker"; indeed, he
worries over contributing to the degradation of the term; he does not
distinguish between the various communities of electronic outlaws.  In fact, he
states, at one point, that all are the same.  Similarly, his contacts with law
enforcement and data security people are limited.  For these reasons, the book
is not useful as a general introduction to the field.
 
The writing is highly opinionated.  The US-centric view of technology borders
on jingoism.  In general, neither law enforcement nor the cracking communities
are seen with any favour.  Although we can sympathize with Sterling's
motivation in wanting to bring to light the injustice done to his friend, the
extreme sarcasm which cloaks most of the first half of the book makes it
difficult to understand what point he is trying to make.
 
For those involved in data security, a very entertaining read.  For newcomers,
please take it with a very large grain of salt.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994   BKHKRCRK.RVW  940314

==============                      
Vancouver      ROBERTS@decus.ca    | "Hey, when *you* have the
Institute for  Robert_Slade@sfu.ca |  box, *then* you can give
Research into  rslade@cue.bc.ca    |  us geography lessons.
User           p1@CyberStore.ca    |  Until then, Tahiti is in
Security       Canada V7K 2G6      |  Europe."    - Sneakers