CRACK99

The Takedown of a $100 Million Chinese Software Pirate

De: David Locke Hall

Narrado por: Mark Peckham

The utterly gripping story of the most outrageous case of cyber piracy prosecuted by the US Department of Justice.

A former US Navy intelligence officer, David Locke Hall was a federal prosecutor when a bizarre-sounding website, CRACK99, came to his attention. It looked like Craigslist on acid, but what it sold was anything but amateurish: thousands of high-tech software products used largely by the military, and for mere pennies on the dollar. Want to purchase satellite tracking software? No problem. Aerospace and aviation simulations? No problem. Communications systems designs? No problem. Software for Marine One, the presidential helicopter? No problem. With delivery times and customer service to rival the world's most successful online retailers, anybody, anywhere - including rogue regimes, terrorists, and countries forbidden from doing business with the United States - had access to these goods for any purpose whatsoever. But who was behind CRACK99, and where were they?

The Justice Department discouraged potentially costly, risky cases like this, preferring the low-hanging fruit that scored points from politicians and the public. But Hall and his colleagues were determined to find the culprit. They bought CRACK99's products for delivery in the United States, buying more and more to appeal to the budding entrepreneur in the man they identified as Xiang Li. After winning his confidence, they lured him to Saipan - a US commonwealth territory where Hall's own father had stormed the beaches with the marines during World War II. There, they set up an audacious sting that culminated in Xiang Li's capture and imprisonment. The value of the goods offered by CRACK99? A cool $100 million.

An eye-opening look at cybercrime and its chilling consequences for national security, CRACK99 is like a caper that resonates with every amazing detail.

©2015 David Locke Hall (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

sad story of power gone awry

The author tries (in vain) to make the reader identify with software companies as victims, and ignores the outrageous prices they extort from the US government. .. It's sad to learn the lengths said government then go to punish copyright infringements. Ass backwards.

interesting listen

a little long on details but interesting story. worth the time. I think it was the authors intention to give a sense of the amount of work that went into the case

Volume is too low

Recorded volume is too low. Can barely hear it with the sound all the way up.

Not what I thought it was going to be.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, it was not like the story I was expecting at all. Maybe it was my fault for not looking in to it enough.

Was CRACK99 worth the listening time?

I thought books like @WAR, Data and Goliath where way better. So no it was not worth my time.

Great Story - everyone should listen

Story was great and exciting, but also contained valuable knowledge. Reader also done a great job. Kudos!