Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (mcdn.podbean.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Cris Thomas, also known as Space Rogue, was a founding member of the legendary L0pht Heavy Industries — the hacker collective that famously told the U.S. Senate they could take down the internet in 30 minutes. He would go on to found the Hacker News Network, giving the underground a voice and warning the world how vulnerable it was. He told the full story in his award-winning book, Space Rogue.
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:40 Who is Space Rogue?
2:58 Growing up in rural Maine
4:20 Parents' divorce and its lasting impact
5:44 Building flashlights from trash — early curiosity
7:33 Childhood trauma and turning to computers
11:38 Joining the Army and buying his first Mac
14:47 Discovering BBSs and the modem world
21:10 Origin of the "Space Rogue" handle
23:19 Working as a security guard at Lotus
24:34 Dialing into BBSs from the Lotus overnight shift
32:27 The Works, 2600 meetings, and meeting the crew
36:13 What hacker meetups were actually like
40:28 Working at CompUSA with future L0pht members
42:59 CDC vs L0pht — setting the record straight
46:26 How the L0pht actually formed
53:37 The MIT flea market
57:10 Paranoia about law enforcement and the hacker crackdowns
1:01:54 Finding vulnerabilities and responsible disclosure struggles
1:06:16 L0pht v1 to v2 — moving to Watertown and membership changes
1:13:47 Fondest L0pht memories
1:16:25 Realizing L0pht was famous at Beyond Hope
1:19:02 L0phtCrack, t-shirts, and turning the hobby into a business
1:23:06 The birth of Hacker News Network
1:28:36 Breaking stories and becoming the "Voice of Reason"
1:31:01 Legion of Underground declares cyber war
1:41:59 The Senate testimony — how it came about
1:44:42 Suits, a rented van, and the road trip to DC
1:49:46 Reflecting on the testimony's real impact
1:53:55 "Security is here, it's just unevenly distributed"
1:54:27 The security boom and the road to At Stake
2:00:12 The At Stake deal — "garage band or mega band?"
2:05:24 Getting fired from At Stake — losing his identity
2:13:13 The lost decade — depression and rebuilding
2:15:24 Tan's call that changed everything — HNN goes video
2:22:11 Writing the book — motivation, self-publishing, and healing
2:27:40 Legacy and impact
2:29:42 Closing