Beginning in the fall of 1999, a number of Internet-related businesses and
financial institutions in the United States suffered computer intrusions or
"hacks" that originated from Russia. The hackers gained control of the victims'
computers, copied and stole private data that included credit card information,
and threatened to publish or use the stolen credit cards or inflict damage on
the compromised computers unless the victims paid money or gave the hackers
a job. Some of the companies gave in and paid off the hackers. Some decided
not to. The hackers responded by shutting down parts of their networks and
using stolen credit card numbers to order thousands of dollars' worth of
computer equipment. THE LURE is the true, riveting story of how these Russian
hackers, who bragged that the laws in their country offered them no threat,
and who mocked the inability of the FBI to catch them, were caught by an FBI
lure designed to appeal to their egos and their greed. The story of the sting
operation and subsequent trial is told for the first time here by
the Department of Justice's attorney for the prosecution. This fascinating
story reads like a crime thriller, but also offers a wealth of information
that can be used by IT professionals, business managers, lawyers, and academics
who wish to learn how to protect systems from abuse, and who want to respond
appropriately to network incidents. It also provides insight into the hacker's
world and explains how their own words and actions were used against them in
a court of law; the evidence provided is in the raw, uncensored words of the
hackers themselves. This is a multi-layered true crime story, a real-life law
and order story that explains how hackers and computer thieves operate, how
the FBI takes them down, and how the Department of Justice prosecutes them
in the courtroom.

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