No comments about Profs delve into cyber-crime fighting resources in state: many law enforcement agencies stretched thin.: An article from: Mississippi Business Journal.

No comments about Computer insecurity. (protecting against computer network crimes) (Issues in Focus: Communications for a New Century): An article from: Issues in Science and Technology.

No comments about Program for a Puppet.

No comments about The Computer Virus Handbook.

No comments about Law in Cyber Space.

No comments about Vandals with a conscience? (Tech Talk).(web site defacement declined after the September 11 attacks)(Brief Article): An article from: Security Management.

No comments about Intelligence and Security Informatics: IEEE International Conference on Intelligence and Security Informatics, ISI 2006, San Diego, CA, USA, May 23-24, 2006. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science).

No comments about A two-dimensional circumplex approach to the development of a hacker taxonomy [An article from: Digital Investigation].

5 comments about The Termination Node.

1. The Termination Mode makes it clear that although the story is fiction, it could really happen. It's non-stop action kept me reading from page 1 to the end. I especially liked the creative character names, which added a touch of humor to this very believable tale.



2. I picked this up from the new fiction books section in one of my University's libraries. I agree with the other reviewers that the book does have an interesting plot and the characters are somewhat realistic. The big however is that this book is written on what appears to be a junior high level. It reminds me of the easy reader book series that I had to read when I was quite small. I have by no means a strong vocabulary, but I struggled very hard to find a single word in the book I did not know. I understand that the author is a computer professional and not an english major, but this was a far cry from an adult level book. It would be better suited for a "young adult" section of a public library.



3. If you're reading this review, you've probably read this book before. Just under a different title, and by a different author.

   There are at least a half-dozen fairly popular books that have all followed this same formula before, and it's starting to wear a little thin. Brilliant hacker who lives in California (doesn't everyone live in CA?) gets caught up in some kind of major computer-crime incident, inevitably involving all the TLA government spook agencies (FBI, CIA, NSA, etc., although this book goes one better and even invents its own such agency: The ISD, or Internet Security Department), and manages to single-handedly solve everything by breaking into seemingly every computer on the planet.

   The Termination Node stands out in my memory, though, as the most tech-heavy of the techno-novels I've read. The authors aren't afraid of showing you command-line entries where they use commands like netstat or ping, which seems kind of refreshing, since it seems to indicate that the authors actually know something about computers. (Actually Lois Gresh is allegedly a real-life computer expert, which is probably what makes the difference.)

   But what makes this book so incredibly annoying, so exasperatingly stupid, is how easily the protagonist can crack into systems. She uses a variety of tricks which almost sound sort of plausible because they borrow from some real-world elements, but are just plain dumb when you think about it. A great example of this is the "blue box" which she uses at one point while making a phone call. No, she's not using it to make a 2600 Hz tone; The "blue box" in this book is a device which makes your phone number untraceable, by using loop lines. Huh? How are loop lines (which really do exist, and really are used for testing purposes as the book states) supposed to help you prevent someone from tracing your phone number? If you have any idea what the authors are talking about, this kind of impossibility just makes you want to scream. And if you don't understand the techno-talk, then the book will fly right over your head anyway and you won't enjoy it.

   It really illustrates a serious problem authors have when they try to create a book like this: The need to strike a balance between actually sounding technological, and being appealing to a broad audience. I appreciate this difficulty, and the book does try hard to do the impossible. Ultimately it was a fun read, which is why I'm giving it 3 stars.




4. I'm a techie...this is an enjoyable novel for a techie...check it out...



5. I read this book when it came out in 1999 and thought it was an entertaining but unrealistic view of the future of computers. I found it interesting that many of the reveiwers claimed they knew so much about computers and all of them seemed to think that the authors' predictions were way out of line. Several of the reviewers went out of their way to point out how much smarter they were than the two writers who had composed the book. Well, all of those hot-shot reviewers are gone and so is their laughter. During the past several years, this book has become famous as the most accurate account of computer crime ever to appear in a novel.

   Recently, the Federal Government released a report stating that over $2 billion had been stolen over the internet by hackers breaking into personal accounts and stealing money from everyday people. That's when I re-read THE TERMINATION NODE and discovered that Gresh and Weinberg had predicted all of the recent problems involving internet robbery five years ago. Though the book never received much coverage in science sections, it should have been on the front pages of newspapers throughout the country. Most citizens still have no idea how vulnerable their bank accounts are to hackers. Maybe it'll take a $50 billion dollar heist like the one in this book to convince everyone that they need to protect their internet investments better. This is a book every person worried about 21st century crime should read!

2 comments about Hacker.

1. I am a Teenager, i quite enjoyed reading - "Hackers" with its plot involving detective work and action. This is a very good book that keeps you interested all the way through the book never a dell moment arises. Well done Malorie Blackman



2. i own hacker and pig-heart boy and i would recomend it to anyoon! all my family enjoyed it and you will too! it is about a girl called vicky that is hacking into a the bank computer to help save her dad - he has been accused of stealing over a million pounds from the bank that he works in. this is what the blurb says: WHEN VICKY'S FATHER IS ARRESTED, ACCUSED OF STEALING OVER A MILLION POUNDS FROM THE BANK WHERE HE WORKS, SHE IS DETERMINED TO PROVE HIS INNOCENCE. BUT HOW, WHEN ALL THE EVIDENCE IS HIDDNE IN COMPUTER FILES? HELPED BY HER BROTHER GIB AND HIS BEST FRIEND CHAUCY, VICKY DECIDES TO TRY AND HACK INTO THE BANK'S COMPUTERS. FOR IF THERE IS ONE SCHOOL SUBJECT SHE IS REALLY GOOD AT, IT IS COMPUTING. BUT EVEN IF SHE DOES MANAGE TO BREAK INTO THE SYSTEM, CAN SHE FIND ALL THE ANSWERS BEFOR THE REAL THEIEF FINDS HER? you MUST READ this exellent book! Malorie is such a good author!