In this special documentary episode, Patrick Gray and Amberleigh Jack take a look back at hacking throughout the 1990s, from the feel-good vibes of the early hacking communities to the antics of young hackers who wound up on the run from the FBI.

Part one features recollections from:

Jeff Moss (The Dark Tangent), DefCon and Black Hat founder
Chris Wysopal (Weld Pond), L0pht member, co-founder, @Stake
Kevin Poulsen (Dark Dante), 1990s hacker turned journalist
Elias Levy (Aleph One), author of Smashing the Stack for Fun and Profit, Phrack, 1996

How the World Got Owned is produced in partnership with SentinelOne.

Show notes

Elias Levy (Aleph1), Former Principle Engineer, Google
Kevin Poulsen, Journalist
Jeff Moss, DefCon founder
Chris Wysopal, @Stake founder, L0pht member
Hackers testifying at the United States Senate, May 19, 1998
Hackers May ‘Net’ Good PR for Studio
DefCon Archives | DefCon 1
A Not So Terribly Brief History of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Innocent Hackers Want Their Computers Back
Breakdowns in Computer Security
Unsolved Mysteries, Season 3, Episode 4
The Last Hacker: He Called Himself Dark Dante. His Compulsion Led Him to Secret Files and, Eventually, The Bar of Justice
Justia appeal summary, Kevin Poulsen, 1994
Smashing the Stack for Fun and Profit, Phrack Magazine, November 1996
From subversives to CEOs: How radical hackers built today’s cybersecurity industry