Cult of the Dead Cow
How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Davis
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Written by:
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Joseph Menn
About this listen
The shocking untold story of the elite secret society of hackers fighting to protect our privacy, our freedom - even democracy itself...
Cult of the Dead Cow is the tale of the oldest, most respected, and most famous American hacking group of all time. Though until now it has remained mostly anonymous, its members invented the concept of hacktivism, released the top tool for testing password security, and created what was for years the best technique for controlling computers from afar, forcing giant companies to work harder to protect customers. They contributed to the development of Tor, the most important privacy tool on the net, and helped build cyberweapons that advanced US security without injuring anyone.
With its origins in the earliest days of the Internet, the cDc is full of oddball characters - activists, artists, even future politicians. Many of these hackers have become top executives and advisors walking the corridors of power in Washington and Silicon Valley. The most famous is former Texas Congressman and current presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, whose time in the cDc set him up to found a tech business, launch an alternative publication in El Paso, and make long-shot bets on unconventional campaigns.
Today, the group and its followers are battling electoral misinformation, making personal data safer, and battling to keep technology a force for good instead of for surveillance and oppression. Cult of the Dead Cow shows how governments, corporations, and criminals came to hold immense power over individuals and how we can fight back against them.
©2019 Joseph Menn (P)2019 PublicAffairsYou may also enjoy...
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Overall
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Performance
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-
-
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Excellent writing
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Very interesting, technical but easy enough to understand.
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
An airliner’s controls abruptly fail mid-flight over the Atlantic. An oil tanker runs aground in Japan when its navigational system suddenly stops dead. Hospitals everywhere have to abandon their computer databases when patients die after being administered incorrect dosages of their medicine. In the Midwest, a nuclear power plant nearly becomes the next Chernobyl when its cooling systems malfunction. At first, these random computer failures seem like unrelated events.
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The Lazarus Heist
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Overall
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Performance
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Meet the Lazarus Group, a shadowy cabal of hackers accused of working on behalf of the North Korean state. It's claimed that they form one of the most dangerous criminal enterprises on the planet, having stolen more than $1bn in an international crime spree. Their targets allegedly include central banks, Hollywood film studios and even the British National Health Service. North Korea denies the allegations, saying the accusations are American attempts to tarnish its image.
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If you love the podcast, buy this.
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Overall
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A pioneer in the field of social engineering and a master hacker, Christopher Hadnagy specializes in understanding how malicious attackers exploit principles of human communication to access information and resources through manipulation and deceit. Now, he shows you how to use social engineering as a force for good - to help you regain your confidence and control. Hacking Humans provides tools that will help you establish rapport with strangers, use body language and verbal cues to your advantage, steer conversations and influence other’s decisions, and more.
Written by: Christopher Hadnagy, and others
What the critics say
"Long before there was a multi-billion dollar cyber industry, there were some ethical hackers who showed us that the Silicon Valley emperors had no clothes. They looked like misfits, but they showed us how insecure the Internet was and how to make it better. Joe Menn makes this previously untold story entertaining and relevant to today's cyber threats." (Richard A. Clarke, first White House "Cyber Czar")
"Cult of the Dead Cow reveals a story few know about the origins of white hat hacking and the heroes it celebrates. Despite the title, hacking isn't dead yet!" (Vint Cerf, co-inventor of the internet)
"Cult of the Dead Cow is an exhilarating and essential look into a part of the hacker underground that has shaped the modern world in profound ways. Readers will be amazed by this crew of eccentric, impassioned geniuses who have so often served as the Internet's conscience while lurking unknown in the shadows. The depth of Joe Menn's reporting is as astonishing as his storytelling - no one could have captured this tale better." (Ashlee Vance, author of Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future)
What listeners say about Cult of the Dead Cow
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Darryl Montgomery
- 2023-08-23
An Hacktivist Coming of Age Story
I understand others trouble getting into it. At first it seems like there will be a cast of characters as big as War and Peace. But the important ones keep coming back. And it's interesting to see as hacking grows up online who grows up with it and who doesn't - or, who just disappears. In a while I might just go through this book again.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Blair C.
- 2019-11-06
Hard to get into
Unlike the other infosec books on Audible, this one has been a chore to get into. Perhaps the rather monotone delivery of the narrator or the plethora of different characters to follow, just feels like listing to someone reading an entire section of Wikipedia.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
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- KenP
- 2022-06-15
Things you thought you knew, you were wrong about.
enjoyed the history of cDc, interesting personalities and story's of the early years of hacking and the net.
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- Percy Rotteveel
- 2020-12-29
Boring
By throwing around a lot of uninteresting facts and reading very fast it is a frustrating experience.
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