On C-SPAN November 30th
On CSPAN November 30th
I never really had any desire to publish a book or to talk about, let alone write about my life. For me there was nothing special about growing up the way that I did. I had a family who loved me and friends I could count on. My situation was no worst then those around me.
In fact the book came about when I pitched an idea for a documentary about hackers to two people whom unbeknownst to me had ties to the publishing industry. It was to be a documentary that painted a true picture of hacker culture and its ties to the security community, dispelling the most common myths about hackers and what it meant to be a hacker.
Those two people advised me to write a book with the same theme, using the proceeds from the book to finally create the documentary. One thing led to another and the book was no longer about hackers in general, but about me. If I had written this book alone it would have been the book I described above. And while that book would have been interesting, it would have just been another book about hackers.
Working with a ghostwriter was sometimes difficult but he was able to extract a lot of stories out of me that I wouldn’t have normally shared. Stories about my family, growing up and my attempted suicide. The result of that collaboration created something more then a book about a hacker or former computer cracker. It tells of a story of struggle, disappointment and ultimately achievement. A story of a poor kid who took the only skill he had and made something of himself, in many ways it’s an American dream story set on the razors edge of technology.
So when I was asked to speak at this jail for Youthful Offenders in Orlando, Florida I jumped at the opportunity. These were kids, not much younger then I who had mostly given up hope. I don’t really know if my story could have changed one of their lives or even helped them but I had to try.
I am still young, and the meaning of life and what has happened to me in my life thus far is not entirely clear, I don’t think it will ever be. But I have learned that the true hacker spirit, that of curiosity and that of determination produces results in any aspect of life. And later when I entered the business of computer security I learned the importance of trust. Not just trust of systems and networks, but most importantly the trust of people and giving those people the chance to trust in me.
This is the message I tried to give to these young men. And though I’ve heard that due to technical problems CSPANs audio and video quality for that event was poorer than usual. I am sure the people who needed to hear it most did.
Ejovi Nuwere
Technically Speaking
The event will air on C-SPAN Booknotes November 30 at 2:30 PM EST
And then again on C-SPAN Booknotes December 7 at 12:00 EST
November 26th, 2002 at 11:28 am
Hi, I am so pride of you. You are truly an inspiration. I just completed your book. I mention your book to everyone that will listen. I cannot being to tell you what your story meant to me. You are the type mentor I would desire for my baby. God Bless You. Ms Kirby. PS Tell your grandmother and uncle they did a great job.
November 26th, 2002 at 3:08 pm
Wow, thank you Ms Kirby. I’ll be sure to pass on the message.
November 30th, 2002 at 5:26 pm
Ejovi: I accidently happened upon the BookTV chanel and heard most of your talk to the Youth Offenders in Orange Co, FL .I was instantly captured by your poise and composure as you quietly finished your talk then fielded questions from the audience. It was hard to image you as anything other than the brilliant, hard-working, computer expert that you obviously are! Your answers were well thought out before you spoke and I’m sure were eagerly digested by those youngsters. It was touching to see how they clutched your book to their chests and went up to get them autographed. I know you gave them hope and may well have started more than one potentially valuable member of society on his way to his future. God bless you and all your future efforts.
Lorraine
November 30th, 2002 at 5:38 pm
Mr. Nuwere,
I just finished watching the C-SPAN program, and am much impressed. I am glad I found your web site, that it lists the next airing of the program. I will tape it, so that my wife can watch it.
My wife is a Probation Corrections officer at a local Youth Facility. They don’t let the cadets watch much TV, but this kind of program would certainly be good for them. Your frank honesty would resonate with them, and your message of self-improvement (bootstrapping yourself, as it were) would be good for them to hear. Heck, it would be good for my own kids to hear, and their life has not been in any way as difficult as yours.
My wife tells me stories about her cadets, and many of them make us sad. So many of her cadets want to ‘play’ the system, and as you illustrated, jump from Point A to Point C without the intervening work. Your point of telling your audience to find out what it is they love, and to throw themselves into it is a truly great message.
Keep up the good work, and good luck with college. I’m a router guy, 42 years old, and missed out on getting a computer science degree. Second biggest mistake of my life. I was a member of the ACM for a while (”professional” membership, what with working in the industry) and subscribing to the different journals gave me a three year headstart on knowing where the industry was going. So when you get to NYU, consider looking up the local ACM chapter.
I’ll be getting the book soon.
God bless you,
David Gerisch
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