Computer Underground Digest
Encyclopedia
The Computer Underground Digest (CuD) was a weekly online newsletter on early Internet
cultural, social, and legal issues published by Gordon Meyer and Jim Thomas from
March, 1990 to March, 2000.
professors at Northern Illinois University
, and intended the newsletter to cover topical social and legal issues generated during the rise of the telecommunications and the Internet
. It existed primarily as an email mailing list
and on USENET
, though its archives were later provided on a website
. The newsletter came to prominence when it published legal commentary and updates concerning the "hacker
crackdowns" and federal indictments of Leonard Rose
and Craig Neidorf
of Phrack
.
The CuD published commentary from its membership on subjects including the legal and social implications of the growing Internet (and later the web
), book reviews of topical publications, and many off-topic postings by its readership. Overtaken by the growth of online forums on the web, it ceased publication in March, 2000.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
cultural, social, and legal issues published by Gordon Meyer and Jim Thomas from
March, 1990 to March, 2000.
History
Meyer and Thomas were Criminal JusticeCriminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
professors at Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
, and intended the newsletter to cover topical social and legal issues generated during the rise of the telecommunications and the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. It existed primarily as an email mailing list
Mailing list
A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as "the mailing list", or simply "the...
and on USENET
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
, though its archives were later provided on a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
. The newsletter came to prominence when it published legal commentary and updates concerning the "hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
crackdowns" and federal indictments of Leonard Rose
Leonard Rose (Hacker)
Leonard Rose was in 1991 convicted of illicit use of proprietary software owned by AT&T. More specifically the U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore stated that he stole Unix source code from AT&T and distributed two Trojan Horse programs designed to allow for unauthorized access to computer systems...
and Craig Neidorf
Craig Neidorf
Craig Neidorf , aka Knight Lightning, was one of the two founding editors of Phrack Magazine, an online, text-based ezine that defined the hacker mentality of the mid 1980s....
of Phrack
Phrack
Phrack is an ezine written by and for hackers first published November 17, 1985. Described by Fyodor as "the best, and by far the longest running hacker zine," the magazine is open for contributions by anyone who desires to publish remarkable works or express original ideas on the topics of interest...
.
The CuD published commentary from its membership on subjects including the legal and social implications of the growing Internet (and later the web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
), book reviews of topical publications, and many off-topic postings by its readership. Overtaken by the growth of online forums on the web, it ceased publication in March, 2000.
External links
- Computer Underground Digest
- CuD on textfiles.comTextfiles.comtextfiles.com is a web site run by Jason Scott dedicated to preserving the digital documents that contain the history of the BBS world and various subcultures. The site categorises and stores thousands of ASCII files. It focuses on text files from the 1980s, but also contains some older files and...