Why is the internet so insecure? How do hackers exploit its vulnerabilities? This book tells the stories of five great hacks, their origins, motivations and consequences. Scott Shapiro's five stories demonstrate that computer hacking is not just a tale of technology, but of human beings. Yet as Shapiro shows, hackers do not just abuse computer code - they exploit the philosophical principles of computation: the very features that make computers possible also make hacking possible. He explains how our information society works, the ways our data is stored and manipulated, and why it is so subject to exploitation. Both intellectual romp and dramatic true-crime narrative, this exposes the secrets of the digital age.