Electronic books still have an oddly high price in certain niches, despite the fact storing long tail data products doesn’t actually cost very much. As a result I recently went on a bit of a secondhand book buying spree on Amazon. Taking a bit of a break from constant social media updates and obsessive RSS reading means I’ve had time to catch up on various books which really should be essential for anyone in the technology space.
Hackers by Stephen Levy:
It’s hard to believe that I hadn’t got around to reading Hackers – it’s a legendary book charting the history of computing and the pioneers involved. First published in 1984, and re-released in 2010 as a 25th Anniversary Edition, it really falls into three parts. The first looks at the origins of computing, and hacking at MIT. The second features the Homebrew computing club, which spawned Apple and many other companies, followed by the final section which focuses on the exploits of early videogame company Sierra Online.
What unites the book is the ‘hacker ethic’ which it really defined in print for the first time. Whether it’s The Tech Model Railway Club at MIT who first started sneaking into the huge but primitive mainframe computers in the 1960s, the hardware hackers creating home computers, or the developers who became superstars due to their success in the videogame industry, the common thread follows the rise of the hands-on hacking imperative, and the way it was first threatened and then subsumed by business interests. It’s interesting that the book ends with the lone figure of Richard Stallman, the ‘last true hacker’ and founder of the Free Software Foundation, as the rise of Free Software / Open Source has fueled a resurgence in open software and hacking which has again led to hardware innovation in 3D Printing, Drone aircraft and more.
Although the events of the book took place in the 1960-1980s, not only are those ignorant of history doomed to repeat it, but the motivations and concerns of the people involved in each section are as relevant today as they were at the time. How can you motivate hackers and those who work on projects for the joy of them rather than pay? Or what role should intellectual property and copyright actually play when business and technology innovation come together?
It’s eminently readable, even for people who don’t care about machines like the PDP-6 or TX-0 at MIT in the AI lab being run by some of the ex-TMRC. Despite the acronyms and some detailed explanation of the processes involved in various groundbreaking programs, there are plenty of anecdotes such as AI robots escaping their lab, or the habits of passionate anti-smoking hackers to persuade fellow diners in restaurants to extinguish their cigarettes.
I’m pretty certain this is one book which will be staying at the front of the bookshelf for dipping back into.
The Art of Intrusion: Kevin D Mitnick and William L.Simon
Infamous hacker (using the negative cyber-criminal interpretation of the term) turned security consultant Kevin Mitnick has written various books on the subject of business intrusion with co-author Bill Simon, and whilst Ghost in the Wires covers his own story as America’s most wanted computer criminal, The Art of Intrusion is interesting as it tells the stories of various successful exploits in accessing sensitive business data.
Benefiting from his hacking reputation, various people felt safe in admitting the mechanics of both computer intrusions and those using social engineering – although names of individuals and companies are often changed for obvious reasons. Mitnick apparently judged the voracity of the exploits and is pretty open about how trustworthy he considers each tale.
Despite the idea of glamorous computer crime capers, The Art of Intrusion is a much more technical book, going into a fair amount of detail into how each hack was accomplished (Without giving away exactly how to imitate each exploit). It also features Mitnick’s consultancy as he advises companies on how to avoid falling prey to the same problems at the end of each chapter.
Even if you’re not particularly interested in the technical aspects, particularly as the book is six years old at the time of writing, there are plenty of important lessons about the mentality of those who might be targeting your online business, as well as decent advice for all staff to avoid physical intruders using persuasion and social engineering to gain access. Particularly detailed are the exploits of the legal hackers – those performing penetration tests to analysis weakness for a business, including getting into the secure areas of a casino in Las Vegas, for example!
The post Catching up on essential tech reading: Hackers and The Art of Intrusion appeared first on TheWayoftheWeb.
