The Hacker Crackdown
Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier
by Bruce Sterling · first published 1992
71% recommend29% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Entertaining narrative history of the early hacker scene, phone phreaks, BBSes and the first federal prosecutions, including Operation Sun Devil, Steve Jackson Games and the founding of the EFF. Free online.
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…political spectrum. Before the left-leaning Reddit had a subreddit on cop abuses, the libertarian magazine Reason (reason.com) had them as a regular feature. And of course many of us read Bruce Sterling's The Hacker Crackdown as kids, and I wouldn't say that I mainly sympathized with the "crackdown" side when reading it...
on “Rogue Academic Downloader Busted by MIT Webcam Stakeout, Arrest Report Says” ↗…used a computer, he instead faced long-term incarceration. This is a disparity that EFF has fought against for years." This is very related to the founding of the EFF, check out Bruce Sterling's "The Hacker Crackdown" for a great account of it and one of the early cases (Steve Jackson Games).
on “Farewell to Aaron Swartz” ↗I second this. And if you enjoy The Hacker Crackdown you should also read The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stole, and Do It! by Jerry Rubin, which are also non-fiction. The latter one is only a little related to the hacker subculture since it happens just before…
on “The Conscience of a Hacker” ↗If you'd like some good dawn-of-time history about the BBS era Phrack came out of (and the people who started it) The Hacker Crackdown by Bruce Sterling is available free on Archive.org (book 101!). Fun read, probably even more so if you weren't there. https://archive.org/details/thehackercrackdo00101gut
on “Phrack Issue 70” ↗"The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier" by Bruce Sterling, should really be on on the must-read list. Another on I highly recommend is "The New Hacker's Dictionary" by Eric S. Raymond. Finally,…
on “Ask HN: Books on Computer History” ↗The Hacker Crackdown by Bruce Sterling (non-fiction). Interesting history of hacking.
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗…what became webmd) "In the plex" (Google) "The Nudist on the Late Shift" (kind of like founders at work, a bit light but hey) "Hackers" (by Stephen Levy, again, kind of light, but entertaining) "The Hacker Crackdown" (by Bruce Sterling, entertaining) ------------General Business------------ "Losing My Virginity" (Richard Branson) "King of Capital" (Steve Schwarzman, guy that started Blackrock) "Art of the Deal"…
on “Entrepreneurial Habits” ↗So true. When will they learn? This instantly reminded me of Bruce Sterling's classic book, "The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier". A must-read if you enjoyed this post.
on “AT&T hackers warned of vulnerability, now proven right” ↗Check the external links here for free versions of The Hacker Crackdown, a non-fiction account of the whole situation by Bruce Sterling. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hacker_Crackdown
on “FBI seizes riseup.net server” ↗Classic. Anyone interested in this era should check out "The Hacker Crackdown" by Bruce Sterling.
on “The Conscience of a Hacker” ↗Bit late but Bruce Sterling's "The Hacker Crackdown" is worth a listen: https://boingboing.net/2008/01/13/podcast-of-bruce-ste.html
on “Ask HN: Favorite tech-related audiobook” ↗It's also worth reading The Hacker Crackdown, which has an analysis of various hacker manifestos in part 2, and in general is an excellent read.
on “The Hacker's Manifesto (1986)” ↗The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier, by Bruce Sterling. This, especially, since a new generation is facing the exact same battles that Sterling wrote about. We still have computer-illiterate…
on “Olduse.net: a 30-year delayed Usenet feed (2013)” ↗…such authorative sources as the fictional move "war games"... [ed: whops, no - that's one of the top ten false facts; apparently sundevil was limited to credit card fraud] See also: Bruce Sterling, hacker crackdown.
on “SJ Games vs. the Secret Service (1990)” ↗Bruce Sterling's The Hacker Crackdown (nonfiction, now freeware). Lots of important early hacker history and run-ins with the authorities, plus the origin story of the EFF.
on “Ask HN: Recommendations of good cybercrime novels?” ↗