Takedown

The capture of the notorious computer outlaw Kevin Mitnick on the evening of February 14, 1995, brought to an end one of the most dramatic and bizarre crime sprees in recent times. Mitnick had become the most wanted hacker in history by stealing millions of dollars worth of information from government, corporate, and university computer systems and had successfully outwitted Federal authorities for more than two years. But on Christmas Day he had made a fatal mistake when he launched a raid on the home system of brilliant computer security expert Tsutomu Shimomura — and inadvertently fired the first volley in a seven-week battle that would be waged across an entire continent — a battle that was ultimately fought for the soul of the Internet.

Takedown is Tsutomu Shimomura's own riveting account of the story that has already become a real-life epic for the Information Age - a classic manhunt that, instead of being carried out on crowded urban streets or backcountry roads, is conducted over telephone wires. Angered by the attack on his computer - which is soon followed by a series of threatening phone calls and the malicious scattering of his personal files throughout the internet — Shimomura sets out to learn the identity of his mysterious intruder, armed only with his expertise and an array of high-tech weaponry. With careful forensic work he uncovers a trail of clues that suggests that his quarry is not just a nuisance with a modem, but the "Dark-Side Hacker" himself — a fact that becomes clear when, thanks to an ingenious use of software, Shimomura and the support team he has assembled are able to electronically eavesdrop on an online conversation in which Mitnick reveals himself. The chase eventually takes Shimomura thousands of miles, across the country to Raleigh, North Carolina, suburb where, aided by local law officials, the FBI, and a group of savvy telephone technicians, finds himself in a stakeout in a minivan, waiting for Mitnick to play his final hand.

Takedown is an unprecedentedly detailed look at the workings of the Internet, and the opposing forces who are staking their claim to it — whether canny outlaws like Kevin Mitnick, who have made a sport of electronic theft, or champions of privacy and order, like Tsutomu Shimomura and the many others, who are seeking to protect the Net's integrity. With his co-author, New York Times reporter John Markoff, whose lucid coverage of technology has made him one of the most respected journalists in the field. Shimomura recounts a suspenseful adventure that at the same time addresses the fundamental questions of privacy and security in a brave new networked world — a world that many people fear has opened doors into their professional and private lives and can never truly be locked.

• Part One: Break-In
1. Julia's Return
2. Toad Hall
3. Damage Control
4. The Real World
5. Forensic Data
6. My Christmas Vacation
7. The Press Descends
8. Koball's Find
• Part Two: Pursuit
1. Botany
2. "You Lamers!"
3. Netcom
4. Proof
5. Kevin
6. "Tactical Nuclear Range"
7. Raleigh
8. The Stakeout
9. "You're Tsutomu!"
• Epilogue

Yet another book about Mitnick, by the amateur Shimomura. Why do I call him an amateur? I have been working internationally in security for 20 years (including the period in question), and I have never heard about Shimomura. Not before nor after this alleged incident. But I should have understood the whole story was rubbish when Markoff was involved. It is less painful and more rewarding to visit the dentist.