I AM A HACKER!

In this memoir, a Russian computer hacker reflects on his dreams, triumphs, and failures.

Artimovich grew up in Russia during the days of perestroika, the son of teachers. But he was a shiftless student who was particularly bored by literature, much to the chagrin of his mother, who specialized in it. Still, he did have a dream to become an engineer, and took an early interest in computers. The first one in his home was a ZX Spectrum, which became the lodestar of his attention: “I found my passion in the computer, in a world without prohibitions and rules. Those prohibitions and restrictions, that my upbringing and education imposed on me, in the end, I used as an incentive for my personal growth.” The author would eventually distinguish himself academically in mathematics, physics, and computer programming, but he remained uninterested in school throughout college and simply gave up going to classes during his third year. But he continued to pursue his passion for graphic design and computer game development. After being expelled from college, he found work at a computer firm, and then later in less respectable pursuits, including pornography and the selling of generic forms of Viagra from India. He was wildly successful financially, but that prosperity was destroyed when he was arrested for “distributed denial of service”cyberattacks, tried, convicted, and sent to prison. In this ambitious memoir, Artimovich clearly accomplishes what seems to be his principal aim—to educate the world about the real lives of Russian hackers, who have been deeply mythologized as favored and encouraged by their government. In addition, he provides a captivating and scathing critique of the Russian educational system, and deftly presents the reasons for the absence of a Russian Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, his account overflows with granular details. More than once, he furnishes pages and pages of electronic messages he exchanged with others. He also never tires of discussing, sometimes confusingly, the specifics of his criminal case. Still, the memoir may appeal to readers with a deep interest in the world of cybercrime.

An insightful but overly detailed account about a hacker’s turbulent life.