A Hacker Goes to Federal Prison

by Ben South

Ben South is a computer programmer and a graphic designer. Combine those with youth and a little stupidity and you've got a what unfolds to be a tale he thought he would never have to tell. This is Ben South's account of his experience as a stupid, young adult and what it was like going through the federal court system and ultimately serving a sentence in federal prison for a white collar crime. You may laugh. You may feel sorry for him. If you've ever wondered what a hacker was thinking or why they do the things they do this adventure is for you. If you ever wondered what it was like going through federal prison from start to finish this will give you some hints. This white collar true crime story will fit the bill perfectly. Aged about a decade since he's made his mistakes, a little perspective is added to this young hacker's account.

Genres: Nonfiction

125 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2013

Reviews

[Kathleen Whalen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This guy was hardly a hacker. He made fake IDs. That's hardly hacking. His claim that he coined the phrase ROTFL and ROFLTCOPTER seems beyond absurd to me, but OK I'll give him that one. This is just a narrative of everything that happened to him once he got caught. He was dumb and talked to the LE without his lawyer present and they nailed him. He says over and over again that he can't write certain details because he can't remember or that the details are fuzzy. I don't know but I don't think the name of my cellmate in prison would NOT be a fuzzy detail. If this guy can write a book. I surely can. A narrative book on what I did yesterday would probably be more exciting than this book.

[Johnzsmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The guy made some fake IDs and got busted. Nothing he did had anything to do with hacking. The book was a fairly lite somewhat interesting read. You cannot help but feel sorry for the pure stupidity this guy exudes. He was hardly a hardened criminal, just a guy caught up in doing sketchy stuff for some extra cash. I get the feeling that he won't be trying something like that again.

I got this free through Amazon, and I would recommend it as a free or maybe a 99 cent book, especially if you are looking for a quick read to pass the time. I would not have been very happy if I had paid regular book price for it.

[Kent Winward · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I might have been more gentle in my review if the title hadn't been misleading. Fake ID Maker goes to Federal Prison because he can't figure out his own computer passwords doesn't have quite the same ring as Hacker Goes to Prison. The book loses focus between the narrative between navigating the justice system and unrelated computer topics. I'm loathe to review the book so negatively, because you can feel the author's earnestness, but the problem is in book structure and thematic unity. He does manage to get in some interesting content.

[Kelsi Flint · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting read if you go in with the correct expectations. Like what others have said, the title can be very misleading. The author is a hacker if you also define a hacker as one who makes fake IDs. There were, however, interesting insights on what it was like for him in prison. Writing style was very straight forward and slightly better than most of my high school students. That being said, he has a good sense of humor that came out in his writing.

[Cary Aaron]

Great Read!!!

This is a great book!! A very interesting read! Hope you enjoy as much as I did! I am sure most people would actually learn a lot from reading this like I have!