Ghost in the Wires by Kevin Mitnick

Reviewed by Lori
Ghost In The Wires: My Adventures As The World's Most Wanted Hacker
Title: Ghost in the Wires

Author: Kevin Mitnick

Format: Ebook

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 4951822 (Publisher's Hardcover)

Description: The adventures of the world's most wanted hacker

Rubric Rating: Level 3 - Laud it.

Why I Read It: Recommended by my husband and downloaded to my phone to read while on vacation.


Lori's Notes: This was not the first book I was planning on reading while on our vacation.  As my husband likes to call me, I'm a bit of a "momo" when it comes to technology.  However, seeing as I'm doing more and more online it certainly captivated my interest in terms of personal security  This book was a completely fascinating autobiography of Kevin Mitnick.  One of the best known phone phreakers and hackers.  The novel begins with his first forays into phone phreaking to his eventual capture by the FBI.  What I found most interesting was his ability to "social engineer" people.  By using the right language and terminology and dropping a few names Kevin was able to get people to give him passwords, source code, and even hardware.  He fully admits to being a hacker and yet doesn't use his power to cause harm.  He does it just for the challenge.  However, the thing I found difficult to swallow, was that despite the fact that he's not causing damage he is still doing things that are illegal.  I'm a "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" sort of thinker so after getting caught the first few times you'd think his lesson would have been learned - particularly when he talks about how upset it made both his mother and grandmother - but like an addict he just can't seem to stop himself.  When he finally is caught the prosecutors exaggerate the cost of his crimes and he's charged and held in solitary.  His incarceration ends with a "Free Kevin" campaign and a new era in his life begins - as a security consultant - hacking for good.


Recommended Readers: Grade 10 and Up
  • Fantastic book for all library collections
  • Great autobiographical title for non-fiction reading
  • Anyone interested in technology and early days of hacking.

Themes: Non-Fiction, Autobiography, Hacking, Phone Phreaking, Technology, Social-Engineering, Big Brother, Security, Cat and Mouse, Outwitting Authority, Friendship, Trust, Betrayal, Family, Action and Consequences.  

Cross-Genre Links: 

Movie: Hackers (1995)
Movie: Takedown (2000)
Websearch: Kevin Mitnick


Post-Reading Questions and Activities: 
  • Do you agree that Kevin's hacking is harmless just because he doesn't steal or cause damage?  What about the resources used in trying to prevent his crimes?
  • Why do you think the government exaggerates his crimes?
  • Why is Kevin kept in solitary confinement?
  • What is social engineering?  Have you ever been socially engineered?  Give examples where this might happen.
  • How are "hacking" and "security consulting" the same and how are they different.
  • Take apart a piece of technology and try to put it together again.  Can you make it work better?

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for Reading!

Popular posts from this blog

Bluffton by Matt Phelan

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title:  Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Author:  Matt Phelan Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 138305 Description:    Henry bonds with a young Buster Keaton over games of baseball while the latter summers locally with a troupe of vaudeville performers. Rubric Rating:   Level 3 - Laud It Why I Read It:  A growing interest in Graphic novels and a fascination with silent films. Notes:   I really liked this graphic novel.  The images are soft – softly coloured and softly focused.  This is the story of Henry Harrison and the summers that Buster Keaton and the Vaudeville troop come and stay at Bluffton.  While Henry is a fictional character Buster Keaton is not and the novel is based on his autobiography. The arrival of Buster brings excitement to Henry’s life.  They fill their summer days with baseball, pratfalls, and pranks. When Buster leaves for the show, Henry’s life returns to normal, helping his father at the har...
Read more

Cardturner by Louis Sachar

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title: Cardturner Author: Louis Sachar Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 43908 Description: When his wealthy uncle, a champion bridge player who has lost his vision, asks seventeen-year-old Alton to be a cardturner for him, Alton has no idea how much he will ultimately learn from his eccentric relative.  Includes appendix by Syd Fox with information about bridge. Rubric Rating: Level 3 - Laud It Why I Read It: I really enjoyed the novel Holes and this book is by the same author. Lori's Notes: Alton's rich uncle, a champion bridge player, is blind and needs a cardturner for him to play.  A fantastic story about families and relationships, it weaves together the storylines of Alton and his uncle and first loves.  It does delve a little into the paranormal/ghostly but it wasn't distracting to the overall sense of the novel.  It also touches on the idea of how relationships change and change us.  I'm not a bridge player at all and had no idea how the game was p...
Read more

Echo Echo Reverso Poems about Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title:  Echo Echo Reverso Poems about Greek Myths Author:  Marilyn Singer Illustrator:  Josée Masse Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 112980 Description:  This collection of reversible poems helps readers gain new perspectives on ancient Greek myths. Curriculum Links:  Art: Mirror Images, Graphic Design Character Education: Courage Language Arts: Tales, Myths and Legends Reading: Poetry Social Studies: Early Civilizations Science: Earth and Space (Constellations and the Night Sky) Writing: Voice and Perspective Notes:  This is a lovely poetry book.  I was struck by the colourful illustrations that are designed as mirror images to highlight the myths in the poems.  I particularly like the art portrayed on the cover that is inverted and found with the first poem -  An Age of Marvellous Myths .  The poems are reversos - a poetry form the author has invented - the poem is read first top to bottom, it is then reprinted in...
Read more