Darknet Diaries 168: LoD
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Jan 6, 2026 Explore the origins of the Legion of Doom, a legendary hacker group from the 80s and 90s. Discover the underground world of phone phreaking, blue boxes, and the thrill of BBS culture. Hear about the fallout from the infamous Ramparts article and how it ignited police crackdowns. Learn about Paul Stira's audacious access to a telco switch and the role of Frack magazine in shaping hacker ethics. Delve into the implications of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the notorious AT&T outage, revealing the intersection of hacking and government response.
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The Hacker Manifesto's Origin Story
- Lloyd Blankenship wrote the Hacker Manifesto days after being arrested and it became iconic in hacker culture.
- Jack Rhysider plays the manifesto and notes its enduring influence on public perception of hackers.
Media Ignited Phone Hacking Culture
- Ramparts' 1972 article on phone hacking popularized 'freaking' and inspired wide DIY interest like Wozniak and Jobs building blue boxes.
- Jack notes the piece spurred thousands to experiment and created an early hacker culture.
Hacks Revealed Telephony's Hidden Signals
- Early phone hacks like the mute box exploited signaling to avoid billing and taught a generation how telephony worked.
- Jack emphasizes how scarce documentation made manuals and trashing extremely valuable to curious hackers.
