Germany: penetrating a U.S. network for espionage

The first hint about a highly publicized episode of espionage through computer networks occurred when Clifford Stoll, an astrophysicist at the University of California's Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL), discovered a mysterious $0.75 charge on an accounting report. His curiosity led to him to try to find its source, and he concluded that someone had broken into the network. Searching through system records led him to an unauthorized user named Hunter, and to other mysteries, such as use of an inactive account of someone known to be away traveling. The intruder had also broken in by using a guest account and password occasionally provided for guests to LBL. The account name and password were easy to guess, because both were the word GUEST. Stoll concluded the intruder had originally broken in through the guest account and had managed to find a way to copy the password file, which provided access through many other accounts.

Since the intruder seemed more determined and curious than a student hacker, Stoll proceeded to carefully track the intruder's use of the system, along way creating an electronic record of everything the intruder did. Stoll set a number of traps to entice the intruder to search through files on the system, thereby staying attached long enough for federal law enforcement agents to trace the incoming call. Eventually they found the computer hacker was in Germany. Further investigation after the hacker was arrested by German authorities found that he was being paid by the KGB, the USSR's spy organization. Stoll wrote his story in the 1990 book The Cuckoo's Egg, and received national notoriety.

Questions:

1. Use the WCA framework to organize your understanding of this vignette and to identify important topics that are not mentioned.

2. What issues (if any) make this case interesting from an international or intercultural viewpoint?

3. How is this case related to the potential commercial application of computer networks for exchanging information or transacting business?

Source: Stoll, Clifford. The Cuckoo's Egg. New York: Pocket Books, 1990.

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