The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier

"The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier" by Bruce Sterling is a non-fiction exploration of the early days of the internet, government, and the hacker community. Set against the backdrop of the 1990s, the narrative begins with a widespread telephone system failure at AT&T, sparking fears and suspicions within law enforcement about potential malicious hacking activity. With the rise of cyberspace, the book examines the relationships between hackers, law enforcement agencies, and telecommunications corporations. The book also explores the perspectives of law enforcement, laying bare their anxieties about the growing electronic underground and the possible dangers it could pose. It also considers the complicated relationships within the digital space itself, between the police, phone companies, and the underground hacker population, and serves as an introduction to the occasions that impacted the virtual world of the time.