(wair – What Am I Reading)
Clifford is an hippie astronomer that has been put to work in the local Berckely University computer department when his grant money runs out. At the very dawn of the internet (arpanet or esfnet), computers are big, computing power is expensive and access is billed to whoever is using it. On his first day Cliff stumbles upon an accounting error of 75 cents. Somebody is using the mainframe and not paying for it, somebody "unautorised". The book takes you down the rabit-hole of one of the first international hacker hunts. Cliffords tells a tale that spins out into wiretaps, phone traces, Nuclear Missile Sites, the FBI and the CIA. It tells the tale of a more naive world where "digital security" is still just a pipe dream and passwords are sent in the clear.
The thing I love about this book (it’s my second time reading it) isn’t just the nostalgia for the early days of the net. It’s Cliffords delightfully honest and modest writing style. Explaining every technical detail through the eyes of a laymen but with the mind of a scientist. The thing that stuck with me is how he admits he doesn’t know what he’s doing but just finds stuff out as he goes along. This non-macho attitude is endearing because he embraces ignorance with curiosity and to me that is what makes this author special.
The book has been turned into a documentary where Clifford plays Clifford in his own wacky colourful way or there are a bunch of online appearances you can find with a simple search query. He’s quite the character, I can tell you that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Stoll