Hacker Crackdown

The bestselling cyberpunk author "e;has produced by far the most stylish report from the computer outlaw culture since Steven Levy's Hackers"e; (Publishers Weekly). Bruce Sterling delves into the world of high-tech crime and punishment in one of the first books to explore the cyberspace breaches that threaten national security. From the crash of AT&T's long-distance switching system to corporate cyberattacks, he investigates government and law enforcement efforts to break the back of America's electronic underground in the 1990s. In this modern classic, "e;Sterling makes the hackers who live in the ether between terminals under noms de net such as VaxCat as vivid as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. His book goes a long way towards explaining the emerging digital world and its ethos"e; (Publishers Weekly). This edition features a new preface by the author that analyzes the sobering increase in computer crime over the twenty-five years since The Hacker Crackdown was first published. "e;Offbeat and brilliant."e; Booklist "e;Thoroughly researched, this account of the government's crackdown on the nebulous but growing computer-underground provides a thoughtful report on the laws and rights being defined on the virtual frontier of cyberspace. . . . An enjoyable, informative, and (as the first mainstream treatment of the subject) potentially important book . . . Sterling is a fine and knowledgeable guide to this strange new world."e; Kirkus Reviews "e;A well-balanced look at this new group of civil libertarians. Written with humor and intelligence, this book is highly recommended."e; Library Journal