Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground

( 25 )
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up in Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Hardcover
$16.25
BN.com price
$25.00 List Price (Save 35%)
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$5.83
$25.00 List Price (Save 77%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (27)  
Used (10)  
New (17)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 3
Showing 1 – 10 of 27 (3 pages)
$5.83
(Save 77%)
Central Kentucky Book Supply KY
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(1201)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Very Good
2011 Hardcover Very Good Condition! Used texts may NOT contain supplemental materials such as CD's, info-trac, access codes, etc...Any item over 4lbs is not eligible for ... international shipping. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Nicholasville, KY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$5.83
(Save 77%)
Central Kentucky Book Supply KY
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(1201)

Condition: Very Good
2011 Hardcover Very Good Condition! Any item over 4lbs is not eligible for international shipping.

Ships from: Nicholasville, KY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$5.83
(Save 77%)
Central Kentucky Book Supply KY
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(1201)

Condition: Very Good
2011 Hardcover Very good condition. Any item over 4lbs is not eligible for international shipping.

Ships from: Nicholasville, KY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$10.95
(Save 56%)
talley's books
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(11)

Condition: Like New
Hardcover Fine 0307588688 Unread. Minor shelf wear.

Ships from: Kress, TX

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$11.99
(Save 52%)
woodysbooks
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(3161)

Condition: Very Good
Excellent customer service. May ship from alternate location depending on your zip code and availability. Satisfaction guaranteed!!

Ships from: Martinez, CA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$12.60
(Save 50%)
Better World Books Bargain
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(17)

Condition: Good
100% Money Back Guarantee. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase ... benefits world literacy! Read more Show Less

Ships from: Mishawaka, IN

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
$13.38
(Save 46%)
Books Any
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(1916)

Condition: New
2011 Hard cover New. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 266 p.

Ships from: Valley Stream, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$13.50
(Save 46%)
PaperbackshopUS
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(4793)

Condition: New
Shipped from US in 4 to 14 business days. Established seller since 2000

Ships from: Aurora, IL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$14.00
(Save 44%)
ShipFastFromAustinTexas
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(17)

Condition: Good
2011-02-22 Hardcover Good Xjb72Get it fast.

Ships from: austin, TX

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$14.45
(Save 42%)
Whiteysbooks Ny
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(265)

Condition: New
Hardcover New 0307588688 This is a hardcover book with dust jacket.

Ships from: Staten Island, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 3
Showing 1 – 10 of 27 (3 pages)
Close
Sort by
NOOK Book (eBook)
$11.99
BN.com price

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

More About This Book

Overview

Former hacker Kevin Poulsen has, over the past decade, built a reputation as one of the top investigative reporters on the cybercrime beat. In Kingpin, he pours his unmatched access and expertise into book form for the first time, delivering a gripping cat-and-mouse narrative—and an unprecedented view into the twenty-first century’s signature form of organized crime.
 
The word spread through the hacking underground like some unstoppable new virus: Someone—some brilliant, audacious crook—had just staged a hostile takeover of an online criminal network that siphoned billions of dollars from the US economy.
 
The FBI rushed to launch an ambitious undercover operation aimed at tracking down this new kingpin; other agencies around the world deployed dozens of moles and double agents. Together, the cybercops lured numerous unsuspecting hackers into their clutches. . . . Yet at every turn, their main quarry displayed an uncanny ability to sniff out their snitches and see through their plots.
 
The culprit they sought was the most unlikely of criminals: a brilliant programmer with a hippie ethic and a supervillain’s double identity. As prominent “white-hat” hacker Max “Vision” Butler, he was a celebrity throughout the programming world, even serving as a consultant to the FBI. But as the black-hat “Iceman,” he found in the world of data theft an irresistible opportunity to test his outsized abilities. He infiltrated thousands of computers around the country, sucking down millions of credit card numbers at will. He effortlessly hacked his fellow hackers, stealing their ill-gotten gains from under their noses. Together with a smooth-talking con artist, he ran a massive real-world crime ring.
 
And for years, he did it all with seeming impunity, even as countless rivals ran afoul of police.
 
Yet as he watched the fraudsters around him squabble, their ranks riddled with infiltrators, their methods inefficient, he began to see in their dysfunction the ultimate challenge: He would stage his coup and fix what was broken, run things as they should be run—even if it meant painting a bull’s-eye on his forehead.
 
Through the story of this criminal’s remarkable rise, and of law enforcement’s quest to track him down, Kingpin lays bare the workings of a silent crime wave still affecting millions of Americans. In these pages, we are ushered into vast online-fraud supermarkets stocked with credit card numbers, counterfeit checks, hacked bank accounts, dead drops, and fake passports. We learn the workings of the numerous hacks—browser exploits, phishing attacks, Trojan horses, and much more—these fraudsters use to ply their trade, and trace the complex routes by which they turn stolen data into millions of dollars. And thanks to Poulsen’s remarkable access to both cops and criminals, we step inside the quiet, desperate arms race that law enforcement continues to fight with these scammers today. 
 
Ultimately, Kingpin is a journey into an underworld of startling scope and power, one in which ordinary American teenagers work hand in hand with murderous Russian mobsters and where a simple Wi-Fi connection can unleash a torrent of gold worth millions.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

Gone are the days when hackers were pimply-faced nerds hanging out in their parents' basements. Today's hackers are often daring international cyber-thieves, pulling off multi-million rip-offs. Until his conviction in September, Max Butler (a.k.a. Max Ray Vision) was at the top of that ignominious heap, raking in more cash and credit card numbers than even he could process. Kevin Poulsen's Kingpin follows Max in his metamorphoses from a "white hat" software security designer into a stealthy syndicate head who engineered a hostile takeover of the hacker underground. Max's story serves as a total immersion tutorial on what these virtual backdoor bandits are doing to transform crime.

Publishers Weekly
In a previous life, Poulsen served five years in prison for hacking. So the Wired senior editor and "Threat Level" blogger knows intimately the terrain he explores in this page-turning tale of the criminal exploits of a hacker of breathtaking ambition, Max Butler, who stole access to 1.8 million credit card accounts. Poulsen understands both the hows of hacking, which he explains clearly, as well as the whys, which include, but also can transcend, mere profit. Accordingly, his understanding of the hacking culture, and his extensive interviews with Butler, translates into a fascinating depiction of a cybercriminal underworld frightening in its complexity and its potential for harm, and a society shockingly vulnerable to cybercrime. The personalities, feuds, double dealing, and scams of the hackers are just one half of this lively story. The other half, told with equal verve, is law enforcement's efforts to find and convict Butler and his accomplices. (Butler is now serving a 13-year sentence and owes .5 million in restitution.) Poulsen renders the hacker world with such virtual reality that readers will have difficulty logging off until the very end. (Feb.)
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
Kirkus Reviews

Max "Vision" Butler—currently in a federal penitentiary—once sat atop a billion-dollar criminal empire trafficking in stolen credit-card numbers. How he got there and how the authorities finally managed to topple him is a harrowing tale shot through with technology and tragedy.

Butler was a just another American outcast working in Boise, Idaho in the late 1980s when the Internet began to take off. An incredibly gifted computer geek, he caught the gathering cyber wave—and could have ridden it all the way to untold riches. All he had to do was play it straight and use his incredible programming prowess for good instead of evil. Alas, that's something Butler found harder to do than cracking computer codes. He tried for a while, even becoming a "white hat" cyber-security consultant, but something about the black-market world of online thievery always called him back. In this complex story full of multifaceted machinations both mortal and machine, Wired editor Poulsen successfully sifts through Butler's many sordid capers. While the author avoids alienating readers who don't know their bits from their bytes, he also provides enough jargon for technophiles. Even though readers may not exonerate Butler for swindling so many for so long, Poulsen makes them care enough about him to wonder why he kept doing it.

A compelling ride.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780307588685
  • Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 2/22/2011
  • Pages: 288
  • Sales rank: 146,967
  • Product dimensions: 6.40 (w) x 9.30 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

KEVIN POULSEN is a senior editor at Wired.com and a contributor to Wired magazine. He oversees cybercrime, privacy, and political coverage for Wired.com and edits the award-winning Threat Level blog (wired.com/threatlevel), which he founded in 2005.

Table of Contents

Cops and Carders ix

Prologue xi

1 The Key 1

2 Deadly Weapons 6

3 The Hungry Programmers 14

4 The White Hat 19

5 Cyberwar! 25

6 I Miss Crime 33

7 Max Vision 42

8 Welcome to America 49

9 Opportunities 54

10 Chris Aragon 64

11 Script's Twenty-Dollar Dumps 73

12 Free Amex! 80

13 Villa Siena 85

14 The Raid 91

15 UBuy WeRush 98

16 Operation Firewall 105

17 Pizza and Plastic 115

18 The Briefing 120

19 Carders Market 124

20 The Starlight Room 130

21 Master Splyntr 134

22 Enemies 139

23 Anglerphish 144

24 Exposure 150

25 Hostile Takeover 159

26 What's in Your Wallet? 170

27 Web War One 176

28 Carder Court 183

29 One Plat and Six Classics 189

30 Maksik 194

31 The Trial 201

32 The Mall 208

33 Exit Strategy 213

34 DarkMarket 224

35 Sentencing 229

36 Aftermath 234

Epilogue 241

Notes 243

Acknowledgments 265

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 25 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(8)

4 Star

(9)

3 Star

(5)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(3)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 25 Customer Reviews

  • Posted May 2, 2011

    Wow

    I work with fraud at a bank and this book has brought the whole other side of fraudsters into a new light. It is written almost like a fiction novel, but with factual data. A great read!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 10, 2011

    Don't follow pricing strategy...

    Agree with other reviewers - very disappointing to see this priced the same as a hard-cover. If this becomes a trend, we may be witnessing the beginning of the end of e-books.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted March 4, 2011

    Very interesting read if you're into crime and technology

    I really enjoyed reading this book, although it was almost a twin to another book of a similar theme, but this covered from the "bad guys" perspective rather than law enforcement. Overall it was a good read. I like how the chapters were kept short and to the point. They were addicting and almost movie like. I would recommend this to anyone interested in crime and technology and how the internet has changed the way criminals do business.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted March 4, 2011

    Not spending full price for e-book

    Not going to do it

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 16, 2011

    Pricing is Absurd

    Would happily pay $6-8 for this book in electronic form but will not be paying full price for it! Fortunately a quick search for "Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground.PDF" provided some interesting results. Just like the movie industry, looks like the publication industry didn't learn a single thing from what the music industry went through. Oh well, their loss losing a customer willing to pay reasonable prices but not willing to be taken advantage of.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted April 27, 2011

    great read - pricing is fixed now

    First book that I've read straight through in a long time. Well written, not too technical but still covers the general concepts. Focuses on the criminals and looks at the motivation of many of the main characters. Includes links for checking out more information (most of which is still around on the internet).

    Highly recommended.

    Oh, and I bought it for $12.99 from BN, so they've fixed the pricing. I agree with the others that a nook book should be about half the printed price.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 28, 2011

    Reason?

    Is there a reason why the electronic version is the same price as the hardcover? I would very much like to buy this book, but I do not want to pay the hardcover price . . .

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 22, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    Pricing is wrong.

    You cannot charge the same for an ebook as the hardcover. When this is priced more appropriately I'll buy it for sure.

    0 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 26, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 3, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 19, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 29, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 9, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 12, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 23, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 8, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 7, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 26, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 12, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 23, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 25 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit