Stealing the Network: How to Own the Box

"Stealing the Network: How to Own the Box is a unique book in the fiction department. It combines stories that are false, with technology that is real. While none of the stories have happened, there is no reason why they could not. You could argue it provides a road map for criminal hackers, but I say it does something else; it provides a glimpse into the creative minds of some of todayâ??s best hackers, and even the best hackers will tell you that the game is a mental one."
- from the foreword by Jeff Moss, President & CEO, BlackHat, Inc.

From Chapter 5, The Thief No One Saw

This is my story. My name is Dex. I'm a 22-year-old systems administrator. I live in an upper-class apartment in New York's CBD. My apartment is lined with computers, coffee cups, and cables. I work eight hours a day for a small online e-commerce site, mostly managing servers and security.

In my free time, I run my own contract development company, writing mostly C/C++. I also moonlight as a "Rent a Thief" for a black market media "distribution" company based out of Taiwan. On demand, I hack into companies and steal whatever is required. Usually, it's a new, highly anticipated game or a large, expensive CAD (computer-aided design) software package. Once, I was even asked to steal software used to design a nuclear power plant. I don't ask questions. This thievery doesn't stop at software, though. There is big money in commercial plans, financial data, and customer contact lists, as well.

I do this because I enjoy the rush and the feeling of outsmarting someone else. I never tell anyone else about a hack, and to date, only a few companies I've hit even suspected that they had been hacked. I am not a part of the typical hacker community, and I always work alone....