Darknet Diaries 169: MoD
196 snips
Jan 20, 2026 
Eli, known as Acid Freak, co-founded the Masters of Deception, a notorious hacker group that outshined the Legion of Doom. He shares captivating insights into MoD's gritty exploits, including their origins and playful hacks on pay phones. The group’s infamous intrusion claims, including a purported White House breach, highlight their notoriety. Eli recounts dramatic rivalries, surveillance by the Secret Service, and the legal challenges that ensued, culminating in the gradual demise of the hacker golden age.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Teen Genius Dominates Phone Hacking
- Mark (FiberOptic) rose from a Bronx teenager to being hailed as possibly the best phone-system hacker on the planet.
- He used a TRS-80 and encyclopedic telecom knowledge to navigate and exploit phone networks with ease.
2600 Meetups Built The Crew
- The group met at 2600 meetups in the Citicorp Center to trade hacks, bragging rights, and exploits.
- Those informal meetups incubated Masters of Deception and connected top New York hackers face-to-face.
A Backdoor Into TimeNet Changed Everything
- Jason Snitker (Paramaster) traded an enormous TimeNet backdoor that exposed supervisory access to an international network.
- That single backdoor let Mark and MOD traverse administrative machines, read security plans, and access many sensitive systems.
