Researchers Are Liberating Thousands of Pages of Forgotten Hacking History From the Government (vice.com) 35
An anonymous reader writes: In 1989, just a few months after the web became a reality, a computer worm infected thousands of computers across the world, including those of NASA. Late last month -- 30 years after the "WANK worm" struck NASA -- the agency released an internal report that the agency wrote at the time, thanks to a journalist and a security researcher who have embarked on a project to use the Freedom of Information Act to get documents on historical hacking incidents. The project is called "Hacking History," and the people behind it are freelance journalists Emma Best, and security researcher (and former NSA hacker) Emily Crose. The two are crowdfunding to raise money to cover the costs of the FOIA requests via the document requesting platform MuckRock.
In the last few years, hackers and the cybersecurity industry have gone mainstream, earning headlines in major newspapers, becoming key plotlines in Hollywood movies, and even getting a hit TV show. But it hasn't always been this way. For decades, infosec and hacking was a niche industry that got very little news coverage and very little public attention. As a result, the ancient and not so ancient history of hacking has a lot of holes. Now, the two women are trying to fill in those gaps in hacker history, like missing pieces of a puzzle, sending FOIA requests to several US government agencies, including the FBI.
In the last few years, hackers and the cybersecurity industry have gone mainstream, earning headlines in major newspapers, becoming key plotlines in Hollywood movies, and even getting a hit TV show. But it hasn't always been this way. For decades, infosec and hacking was a niche industry that got very little news coverage and very little public attention. As a result, the ancient and not so ancient history of hacking has a lot of holes. Now, the two women are trying to fill in those gaps in hacker history, like missing pieces of a puzzle, sending FOIA requests to several US government agencies, including the FBI.
Monetized. (Score:1)
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Well hell, I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good! (1983)
Mr McKittrick, after careful consideration I have to say that your new system sucks! (1893, same guy, same flick)
Good for everyone. (Score:2)
Although I would bet a lot of the early "hacks" were just crap passwords. Still interesting to know.
kids distorting history (Score:2)
The internet existed long before 1989, and even the year before the Morris Worm infected computers in 1988. What bullshit alternate history are kids making these days? The ARPANET existed in the 1970s and expanded ever since. The year 1989 started with over 60,000 nodes already attached.
Go here and click on each decade's tab:
https://www.computerhistory.or... [computerhistory.org]
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It doesn't say the Internet, it says the web. You're being too pedantic.
However (to be just pedantic enough!), even there they're pretty wrong. The web was not a reality in 1989, as the first browsers and servers didn't exist until 1990.
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the "web" also existed before then. I was on it at national laboratory.
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Say what? You were on it before Tim Berners-Lee wrote the first browser and servers?
I was on the internet then too, we had gopher, usenet, all sorts of things, but no web.
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wasn't speaking of html/hyperlink web and servers, but other linked text.
the first" browsers" able to follow linked text to other documents and systems were done in the 1980s, like HyTelnet and Silversmiths.
sure, depends on definitions, but the Internet (and global DECNet and some other networks) and ways to navigate information are older than most realize.
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there were other "webs" than the ones running http servers, and there were "browsers" in the 1980s (not the GUI kind, text and cursor) .
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This is true. We were doing stuff way before you even dreamed of computers, and coupling 110 baud modems to dual hard lines then.
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In the 1980's a computer could connect to another computer and upload/download files.
When it was done it disconnected and allowed another computer to connect and upload download.
The "network" was always one computer connecting to one computer before 1989.
No computer networks existing in any way other than a desktop computer connecting to a desktop computer before 1989
Like in the movies. With one POTS and that acoustic coupler.
Lots of computer networks networking with lots
Hacking films? (Score:2)
In the last few years, hackers and the cybersecurity industry have gone mainstream, earning headlines in major newspapers, becoming key plotlines in Hollywood movies
What are some good hacking films other than Sneakers (which came out in 1992)?
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Hackers was a lot of fun in a dumb way.
But if we're talking key plot lines, obviously The Matrix.
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In the last few years, hackers and the cybersecurity industry have gone mainstream, earning headlines in major newspapers, becoming key plotlines in Hollywood movies
What are some good hacking films other than Sneakers (which came out in 1992)?
It says mainstream, not good.
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What are some good hacking films other than Sneakers (which came out in 1992)?
I don't remember if I ever saw Sneakers, so I don't know what you mean by "good". If you mean realistic, damn few. While not realistic, War Games is a classic.
Re:Hacking films? (Score:4, Interesting)
War dialing
Phone phreaking to avoid long distance charges.
Finding written down (crappy) passwords
Researching people to gain access to their systems
Searching for backdoors.
I grant you that the WOPR being more or less an AI was not accurate. However most people did believe that AI was coming soon, and all it really would take was a powerful enough computer.
I bought a modem because of that movie.
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Wargames depicted the sort of hackers of the day.
Those two goofy older hackers that are sort of mentors to eh Matthew Broderick.. lightman? anyhow they would have probably known at least some of the famous hackers of the day like capt crunch. They might have been friends with paul allen and gates growing up.
Since so little was known about the hacker scene at the time I think it was impressive they had wardialing, hunting for backdoors, looking for scribbled passwords, the pursuit of warez, the old hacker
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23 (1998) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0... [imdb.com]
Underground: The Julian Assange Story (2012) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2... [imdb.com]
I just want to say (Score:1)
that I hope that these "journalists" are ethical enough not to go full bore ratting out the names of the sources who reported the cranky old hackers or provided evidence along the way. Many of those responsible citizens are likely retired by now, and don't deserve the Windows boxes they keep on the net for gaming purposes being DOS'ed by the cranky old scumbags who couldn't complete a successful hack in the past but now would like some self-styled revenge.