NSA in the 1980s: Initial Attitudes

In this special documentary episode, Patrick Gray and Amberleigh Jack take a historical dive into hacking in the 1980s. Through the words of those that were there, they discuss life on the ARPANET, the 414s hacking group, the Morris Worm, the vibe inside the NSA and a parallel hunt for German hackers happening at a similar time to Cliff Stoll’s famous Cuckoo’s Egg story.

This podcast features the memories of:

• Jon Callas, former principal software engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation
• Mark Rasch, Morris Worm prosecutor
• Timothy Winslow, former 414 hacker
• Greg Chartrand, author of Cracking the Cuckoos Egg and
• Tony Sager, former NSA

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

Show notes

• 1988 Federal sentencing guidelines manual
• Computer Intruder is put on probation and fined $10,000 | The New York Times
• Computer Intruder is found guilty | The New York Times
• United States of America, Appellee, v. Robert Tappan Morris, Defendant-appellant, 928 F.2d 504 (2d Cir. 1991)
• The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage | Clifford Stoll
• Cracking the Cuckoo’s Egg: The Untold Story of tracking and finding Karl Koch aka Hagbard of the Chaos Computer Club | Greg Chartrand
• Computer Buffs Tapped NASA Files | The New York Times
• Young Computer Bandits Byte off More than They Could Chew | The Washington Post
• ‘Hacker’ is used by Mainstream Media, September 5, 1983 | EDN
• Neal Patrick to testify before congressional committee
• Wargames official trailer, 1983
• CBS News Segment on Robert Morris Computer Hacker
• The Fall of the Berlin Wall | Sky News
• I Hacked a Nuclear Facility in the 1980’s. You’re Welcome | CNN