Silicon Snake Oil Revisited

Abstract

Clifford Stoll authored The Cuckoo’s Egg, chronicling one of the first detected cybersecurity threats using the Internet. In 1995 and updated in 1998, Stoll followed the success of that book with Silicon Snake Oil. Promoted as the first book to ask intelligent questions regarding where the Internet was heading, we can now look back after nearly thirty years to see what one sage was expecting and what actually happened. Some of Stoll’s concerns have proven correct, especially about the proliferation of social media. However, there are other statements that, in 2023, are downright amusing. Case in point: “I don’t believe that phone books, newspapers, magazines, or corner video stores will disappear as computer networks spread. Nor do I think that my telephone will merge with my computer, to become some sort of information appliance.” Well, Cliff got that one wrong. The first iPhone was released less than ten years after this prognostication was published. The Palm Pilot and Research in Motion’s Blackberry were even earlier. Here is another pearl that turned to dust: “I doubt our offices will be replaced by minions working at home. The lack of meetings and personal interaction isolates workers and reduces loyalty.” The concept of a global pandemic and the need for business continuity was not imagined. This article delves into a contrarian’s view of the promise and dangers of the Internet in the 1990s and compares those thoughts with the world of 2023.