SELF-TAUGHT hacker Barrett Lyon was thrilled when a secret service agent joined him to help defend a Vegas bookmaker against cyberattacks by Kazakhstani hackers in 2002. Lyon hoped to learn a thing or two from a pro, but instead the agent dusted a computer for fingerprints.
That’s just one of many incidents in this gripping book that show how the authorities often find themselves out of their depth when criminals get to grips with doing “business” internet-style.
Lyon eventually went undercover on his own to pursue criminals who were extorting money from the then-fledgling internet economy and helped bring some…
