The Cuckoo's Egg

One of the main themes I noticed while reading The Cuckoo's Egg was the theme of persistence. Clifford Stoll seemed like he had to go through some great lengths to get to his ultimate goal of uncovering the hacker. Just as the hacker spent so much time spying, Stoll had to place himself in the role of hacker in order to be one step ahead. It was interesting seeing how Stoll followed something with which he had no deep personal connection with past all the dead ends he ran into. Something that he knew to be unethical drove him to keep inquiring with the three letter government agencies and even when his relationship with Martha was waning because of his endeavor. The title really does portray the journey well, as a maze that Stoll had to explore through many different avenues. It makes me curious whether tracking a spy would be similar with how technology and the internet has changed since 1986. With the move from using computer lines to going over networks, it seems that the basis of espionage such as obtaining secrets and spying on many systems would stay intact thought the methods of obtaining these secrets may change. It would be fascinating to know whether spying over the internet has become easier than it was during Stoll's somputer security days or whether the access to spying has become limited by increased technology and security measures.