Masters of Deception
Encyclopedia
Masters of Deception was a New York
-based hacker
group. MOD reportedly controlled all the major telephone RBOC's and X.25
networks as well as controlling large parts of the backbone of the rapidly emerging Internet
.
MOD's initial membership grew from meetings on Loop-Around
Test Lines that led to legendary collaborations to hack RBOC phone switches and the various minicomputer
s and mainframes
used to administer the telephone network. They successfully remained underground using alternative handles to hide even their true hacker identities.
Acid Phreak founded the Masters of Deception with Scorpion and HAC. The name itself was, among other things, a mockery of LoD
, as 'M' is one letter up in the alphabet from 'L', although the name originally was a flexible acronym that could be used to identify membership in situations where anonymity would be the best course of action. It could stand for "Millions of Dollars" just as easily as "Masters of Deception."
It is claimed that the mockery of the LOD name was a statement to the underground that LOD had lost its direction. Several LOD members were close friends of MOD who had been raided and indicted by the government, causing the majority of those who remained to drop out of the underground for safety reasons. In their absence, LOD largely fell into disarray causing the disagreement and disillusionment that led Phiber Optik
to align himself with MOD in an effort to restore the direction of the spirit of underground hacking.
("Phiber Optik"), Paul Stira ("Scorpion"), Eli Ladopoulos ("Acid Phreak"), HAC, John Lee
("Corrupt" a.k.a. "Netw1z") and Julio Fernandez
("Outlaw").
Additional members whose real names are unknown include: Supernigger (also of DPAK), Wing, Nynex Phreak, Billy_The_Kid, Crazy Eddie, The Plague, ZOD, Seeker, Red Knight (who was also a member of Cult of the Dead Cow
), Lord Micro, n00gie and peaboy (aka, MCI Sprinter).
A demonstration of responsibility on the part of the initiate was required. This informal compartmentalized protection of more sensitive knowledge was a structure originally employed by LOD in the 1980s, rather successfully. According to Lex Luthor, "I realized early on that only certain people can be trusted with certain information, and certain types of information can be trusted to no one. Giving out useful things to irresponsible people would inevitably lead to whatever thing it was being abused and no longer useful. I was very possessive of my information and frequently withheld things from my articles." --Phrack #40 interview, 1/8/1992.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based 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...
group. MOD reportedly controlled all the major telephone RBOC's and X.25
X.25
X.25 is an ITU-T standard protocol suite for packet switched wide area network communication. An X.25 WAN consists of packet-switching exchange nodes as the networking hardware, and leased lines, Plain old telephone service connections or ISDN connections as physical links...
networks as well as controlling large parts of the backbone of the rapidly emerging 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...
.
Origin of Masters of Deception
Loop around
A loop line or loop around is a telephone company test circuit. The circuit has two associated phone numbers. When one side of the loop is called , the caller receives a test tone of approximately 1000 Hz...
Test Lines that led to legendary collaborations to hack RBOC phone switches and the various minicomputer
Minicomputer
A minicomputer is a class of multi-user computers that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the largest multi-user systems and the smallest single-user systems...
s and mainframes
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
used to administer the telephone network. They successfully remained underground using alternative handles to hide even their true hacker identities.
Acid Phreak founded the Masters of Deception with Scorpion and HAC. The name itself was, among other things, a mockery of LoD
Legion of Doom (hacking)
The Legion of Doom was a hacker group active from the 1980s to the late 1990s and early 2000. Their name appears to be a reference to the antagonists of Challenge of the Superfriends...
, as 'M' is one letter up in the alphabet from 'L', although the name originally was a flexible acronym that could be used to identify membership in situations where anonymity would be the best course of action. It could stand for "Millions of Dollars" just as easily as "Masters of Deception."
It is claimed that the mockery of the LOD name was a statement to the underground that LOD had lost its direction. Several LOD members were close friends of MOD who had been raided and indicted by the government, causing the majority of those who remained to drop out of the underground for safety reasons. In their absence, LOD largely fell into disarray causing the disagreement and disillusionment that led Phiber Optik
Mark Abene
Mark Abene , better known by his pseudonym Phiber Optik, is a computer security hacker from New York City. Phiber Optik was once a member of the hacker groups Legion of Doom and Masters of Deception....
to align himself with MOD in an effort to restore the direction of the spirit of underground hacking.
Members of MOD
The original Masters of Deception included: Mark AbeneMark Abene
Mark Abene , better known by his pseudonym Phiber Optik, is a computer security hacker from New York City. Phiber Optik was once a member of the hacker groups Legion of Doom and Masters of Deception....
("Phiber Optik"), Paul Stira ("Scorpion"), Eli Ladopoulos ("Acid Phreak"), HAC, John Lee
John Threat
John Lee, a.k.a. John Threat used the name “Corrupt” as a member of Masters of Deception , a New York based hacker group in the early 90’s....
("Corrupt" a.k.a. "Netw1z") and Julio Fernandez
Julio Fernandez
Julio Fernández may refer to:*Julio Ángel Fernández, Uruguayan astronomer who hypothesised the existence of what became known as the Kuiper belt*Julio M...
("Outlaw").
Additional members whose real names are unknown include: Supernigger (also of DPAK), Wing, Nynex Phreak, Billy_The_Kid, Crazy Eddie, The Plague, ZOD, Seeker, Red Knight (who was also a member of Cult of the Dead Cow
Cult of the Dead Cow
Cult of the Dead Cow, also known as cDc or cDc Communications, is a computer hacker and DIY media organization founded in 1984 in Lubbock, Texas. The group maintains a weblog on its site, also titled "Cult of the Dead Cow"...
), Lord Micro, n00gie and peaboy (aka, MCI Sprinter).
Philosophy
Masters of Deception operated differently in many respects to previous hacking groups. Although they openly shared information with each other, they took a controversial view on sharing information outside the group. It was believed that access to MOD's knowledge should be earned via degrees of initiation and a proven respect for the craft, rather than releasing powerful information into the wild where it could be used for nefarious purposes.A demonstration of responsibility on the part of the initiate was required. This informal compartmentalized protection of more sensitive knowledge was a structure originally employed by LOD in the 1980s, rather successfully. According to Lex Luthor, "I realized early on that only certain people can be trusted with certain information, and certain types of information can be trusted to no one. Giving out useful things to irresponsible people would inevitably lead to whatever thing it was being abused and no longer useful. I was very possessive of my information and frequently withheld things from my articles." --Phrack #40 interview, 1/8/1992.
The Fall of MOD
As a result of a major nationwide investigation by a joint FBI/Secret Service task force, five of MOD's members were indicted in 1992 in federal court. Within the next six months (in 1993), all five pleaded guilty and were sentenced to either probation or prison.Media
Masters of Deception have appeared in many magazine and newspaper articles, and the individual members have appeared on television numerous times.- Village Voice July 24, 1990. Cover Article by Julian Dibbel.
- Singer/songwriter Poe referenced the MOD with the phrase "MOD are you out there?" from her 1995 song "Hello".
- Masters of Deception — The Gang that Ruled Cyberspace (ISBN 0-06-092694-5)
- Gang War in Cyberspace Wired 2.12 http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.12/hacker_pr.html
- This American Life Nov. 24, 1995. Small Scale Sin Act Three profiles Eli Ladopoulos after his release from prison.http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/2/small-scale-sin
- @Large - The Strangest Case of the World's Biggest Internet Invasion (ISBN 0-684-83558-4)