In 1986, astronomer turned computer scientist Clifford Stoll had just started working on a computer system at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory when he noticed a 75-cent discrepancy between the charges printed by two accounting programs responsible for charging people for machine use. Intrigued, he deduced that the system was being hacked, and he determined to find the culprit. This is the re-enactment of how he tracked down KGB cracker Markus Hess through the Ethernet to Hannover, Germany.
Acting
Stoll plays himself with chaotic, charming enthusiasm.
Production
Gloriously 90s reenactments with period-accurate beige computers.
Direction
NOVA documentary rigor meets indie spy thriller pacing.
Director
Robin Bates
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Stoll wrote the bestselling book 'The Cuckoo's Egg' about this same case, and the NOVA documentary came just two years later while the tech was still current.
Karl Koch, mentioned in the keywords, was a real German hacker tied to the KGB who died under mysterious circumstances in 1989—his story intersects with Hess's espionage ring.
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