When Hackers Ride Horses: A Review of Cyberpunk (Summer, 1991)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier
By Katie Hafner and John Markoff
$22.95, Simon and Schuster, 354 pages

Review by The Devil's Advocate


The exploits of Kevin Mitnick, Pengo, and Robert Morris have become legendary
both in and out of the hacker mainstream. Until now, however, hackers have had
to worship their idols from afar. Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the
Computer Frontier unites hackers in this true-life testimony by presenting an
in-depth, up-front view of these "techno-menaces" without the overreactive
doomsday prophecies that usually accompany such a work.

Cyberpunk is a fitting sequel to Steven Levy's classic Hackers. Whereas Levy s
treatise addressed the origins of hacking in its infancy, Cyberpunk is the New
Testament depicting hacking as it is in the here and now. More than just a
synthesis of current trends, however, Cyberpunk depicts the hacking lifestyle
and cyberpunk culture that has evolved alongside our boundless fascination with
computers and information. Cyberpunk portrays hackers as they really are: real
people with lives not unlike our own. Yes, hackers have emotions, desires, and
problems just like we do. No, they're not all computerholics or socially
inferior psycho cases withdrawing into the depths of the "matrix" to escape
from reality. If anything, Cyberpunk will blast away some of the antiquated
stereotypes that have persisted throughout the '80s.

In Cyberpunk, all the central characters identify closely with their science
fiction counterparts. Indeed, the (Inter) "net" is one of the many threads that
tie the lives of Mitnick, Pengo, and rtm (Robert Morris) together. The most
interesting story by far is that of Pengo, a West Berliner who, more than any
other character, epitomizes what it means to be a cyberpunk. Pengo was truly a
computer outlaw: aspiring to the likeness of the character Case in William
Gibson's Neuromancer, traveling the Net in search of data to sell, and owing no
allegiance to country or nation. Readers familiar with The Cuckoo's Egg will
find this section particularly interesting. Cyberpunk's account of the West
Berlin hackers makes The Cuckoo's Egg look like a fledgling fluttering in the
quirkiness of Stoll's campy prose. Now readers can see what it was that Stoll
himself was trying to vicariously experience through his own terminal.
Cyberpunk provides the missing pieces and puts Stoll's Cuckoo into perspective.

The book confirms what hackers on all coasts have known and preached for years:
that a computer system's worst enemy is its users. Nearly every system was
hacked by exploiting poorly chosen passwords or bugs in the operating systems.
Interestingly, Cyberpunk also confirms that the authorities amount to only so
many bumbling Keystone computer cops desperately trying to match wits with
misfits. The fact is that everyone described here got busted because they
either talked too much or were betrayed by close friends. Without such help,
the long arm of the law appears to be nothing more than a wet noodle.

Perhaps the central weakness of Cyberpunk is its somewhat blatant bias and lack
of objectivity. Time and time again, readers will encounter the author's own
prejudices slipping through the cracks between the lines. Although no one is
innocent in Cyberpunk, readers will easily get the impression that Mitnick is
the sinner of the three. This is despite the fact that Mitnick's exploits
appear equal, if not less damaging, than those of the others. Unfortunately,
the bias rears its ugly head in a number of passages, a telltale sign that the
authors appear to be more incensed with Mitnick's attitude than with anything
else. It is also no coincidence that Mitnick is the only central character that
refused to be interviewed for the book.

Despite this weakness, Cyberpunk remains a thought-provoking looking glass into
the lives of the most interesting people in the Information Age. The true tales
of these harbinger hackers will leave readers spellbound while they eagerly
await a sequel.