Hacker and Cracker History

The well-known hackers of today grew out of the phone phreaking activities of the 1960s. In 1969, Mark Bernay, also known as “The Midnight Skulker,” wrote a computer program that allowed him to read everyone else’s ID and password at the organization where he worked. Although he was eventually fired, no charges were ever filed, as computer crime was so new, there were no laws against it.

Computer innovators include:

Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs —

Members of the Homebrew Computer Club of Palo Alto. John Draper was also a member of this early computer club. Wozniak and Jobs went on to become co-founders of Apple Computer.

Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson —

While not criminal hackers, their desire for discovery led to the development of UNIX in 1969 while working at Bell Labs.

Well-known hackers and phreakers include:

John Draper —

Dubbed “Captain Crunch” for finding that a toy whistle shipped in boxes of Captain Crunch cereal had the same frequency as the trunking signal of AT&T, 2,600Hz. This discovery was made with the help of Joe Engressia. Although Joe was blind, he could whistle into a phone and produce a perfect 2,600Hz frequency. This tone was useful for placing free long distance phone calls.

Mark Abene —

Known as Phiber Optik. Mark helped form the “Masters of Deception” in 1990. Before being arrested in 1992, they fought an extended battle with “Legion of Doom.”

Kevin Poulsen —

Known asDark Dante. Kevin took over all phones in Los Angeles in 1990 to ensure victory in a phone “call-in contest,” for a Porsche 944. He was later arrested.

Robert Morris —

The son of a chief scientist at the NSA. Morris accidentally released the “Morris Worm” in 1988 from a Cornell University lab. This is now widely seen as the first release of a worm onto the Internet.

Kevin Mitnick —

Known as “Condor,” Mitnick was the first hacker to hit the FBI Most Wanted list. Broke into such organizations as Digital Equipment Corp., Motorola, Nokia Mobile Phones, Fujitsu, and others. He was arrested in 1994 and has now been released and works as a legitimate security consultant.

Vladimir Levin —

A Russian hacker who led a team of hackers who siphoned off $10 million from Citibank and transferred the money to bank accounts around the world. Levin eventually stood trial in the United States and was sentenced to three years in prison. Authorities recovered all but $400,000.00 of the stolen money.

Adrian Lamo —

Known asthe “Homeless Hacker” because of his transient lifestyle. Lamo spent his days squatting in abandoned buildings and traveling to Internet cafes, libraries, and universities to exploit security weaknesses in high-profile company networks, such as Microsoft, NBC, and the New York Times. He was eventually fined and prosecuted for the New York Times hack.

Although this list does not include all the hackers, crackers, and innovators of the computer field, it should give you an idea of some of the people who have made a name for themselves in this industry. Let’s now talk more about ethical hackers.