Clifford Stoll

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Clifford Stoll (born June 4, 1950 in Buffalo ) is an American astronomer and publicist . He became known through his book Kuckucksei , in which he describes his discovery of the KGB hack . He is currently working as a freelance curio dealer and teacher .

Life

Clifford Stoll grew up in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Dalhousie University and received his PhD from the University of Arizona in 1980 .

In 1986/1987, Clifford Stoll was instrumental in the arrest of the German hacker Markus Hess and the discovery of the KGB hack . The reason for the year-long investigation and monitoring to begin was a billing error of 75 US cents. As an interim administrator at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - due to a lack of work as an astronomer - he was put on the problem. He found that two systems were used to bill the times of the individual users, which should actually deliver a congruent result. However, there was a difference of 75 cents because a hacker broke into his system and he was unable to correctly synchronize the two systems to cover up his intrusion when leaving. In collaboration with the US and German authorities, Markus Hess was caught a year later.

Stoll described his hunt for the hacker in detail in the book Kuckucksei , which became an international bestseller and first introduced many computer users to the topic (and the problem) of hacking . Although he is actually an astronomer, the book gave him the reputation of being an excellent expert on computer and network technology. He taught physics for a time. He also sells blown Kleinsche bottles through his company, Acme Klein Bottles .

Stoll turned out to be a staunch critic of the Internet. His later books are critical considerations of the growing networking and change in society.

Works

  • Cuckoo egg . The hunt for the German hackers who cracked the Pentagon . ( The Cuckoo's Egg ), 1989, ISBN 3-596-13984-8 .
  • The desert internet. Ghost rides on the information superhighway. ( Silicon Snake Oil ), German edition by Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt / Main, 1996, ISBN 3-596-13850-7 .
  • LogOut. Why computers are out of the classroom and other high-tech heresies. ( High Tech Heretic ), German edition in the Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt / Main, 1999, ISBN 3-596-15512-6 .

Cinematic reception

The story was filmed by Clifford Stoll under the name "The KGB, the Computer, and Me" (The KGB, the Computer, and Me) (1990). The television film first aired in the United States on October 3, 1990 (TV). The film was produced on location by the WGBH Educational Foundation for the US television documentary series Nova . The episode is about 60 minutes long and also contains a short interview with the hacker Pengo ( Hans Heinrich Hübner ) and some recordings by Markus Hess that were taken during the trial in Celle.

The story of Markus Hess is told from the perspective of the German hackers in the film 23 - Nothing is as it seems . For dramaturgical reasons, Hess is combined into one person (David) in the film with Hans Heinrich Huebner (pseudonym "Pengo"), who was also involved in the KGB hack. Thus, the representation in the film does not quite correspond to the actual events.

The story of the discovery of the hack is also taken up in the documentary series Mysteries in the Museum (season 5, episode 11). The incident is described in detail on the basis of an exhibit - the oscilloscope, which enabled the hacker's distance to be estimated from Bell Laboratories. As a result, Clifford Stoll himself has a say.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.kleinbottle.com

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Stoll, Clifford
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American astronomer and publicist
DATE OF BIRTH June 4th 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Buffalo