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MAX VISION

the computer-security equivalent of the FBI's fingerprint database, capable of identifying virtually every known attack technique and variant. Max built on his success by writing papers dissecting Internet worms with the same clear eye he'd applied to the ADM worm. The technology press started seeking him out for comment on the latest attacks.

In 1999, Max injected himself into another promising venture aimed directly at tricking black-hat hackers. The Honeynet Project, as it would later be called, was the work of a former Army officer who applied his interest in military tactics to erect network “honeypots”—decoy computers that served no purpose but to be hacked. The Honeynet Project would secretly wire a packet sniffer to the system and place it unprotected on the Internet, like an undercover vice cop decked out in pumps and a short skirt on a street corner.

When a hacker targeted a honeypot, his every move would be recorded and then analyzed by security experts, with the results released to the world in the spirit of full disclosure. Max delved into the forensic work, reconstructing crimes from raw packet data and producing cogent analyses that blew the lid off some of the underground's concealed techniques.

But Max knew his rising recognition as a white hat wouldn't save him from the federal grand jury. In quiet moments, he fantasized with Kimi about escaping his fate. They could run off together, to Italy or some remote island. They'd start over. He'd find a benefactor, someone with money who recognized Max's talent and would pay him to hack.

The couple's relationship was suffering under the weight of the government's silent looming presence in their life. Before the raid, they hadn't much planned for the future. Now they couldn't. The future had been taken out of their control, and the uncertainty was toxic. They fought in private and snipped at each other in public. “The reason I signed the confession is because we'd just gotten married, and I didn't want to hurt you,” Max said. He blamed himself, he added. By getting married, he'd given his enemies a weapon to use against him, a fatal flaw.