HISTORY This Week An Astronomer Hunts a KGB Hacker
6 snips
Sep 8, 2025 
In this intriguing discussion, Cliff Stoll, an astronomer and author of The Cuckoo's Egg, recounts his unexpected journey tracking a KGB hacker in 1986. A tiny accounting error unveils a major cybersecurity breach into U.S. military systems. Stoll shares the challenges of monitoring the rogue hacker known as Sventech, revealing how this case marked a pivotal moment in cybersecurity. The conversation highlights the link between early internet vulnerabilities and espionage, showcasing a thrilling intersection of astronomy and security.
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Small Error, Big Discovery
- Cliff Stoll woke to a pager alert about a 75-cent accounting error and discovered an intruder on the lab network.
- That tiny billing discrepancy launched his months-long hunt for a hacker accessing military systems.
Early Internet Naiveté
- In 1986 many agencies treated network intrusions as harmless curiosity rather than crime.
- That attitude let a persistent hacker roam sensitive military systems for months unnoticed.
Sleeps In The Server Room
- Cliff printed every keystroke from 50 phone lines by borrowing printers and sleeping in the computer room.
- The next morning he found long printouts revealing the hacker moving from Berkeley to military networks.
