How the World Got Owned Episode 2: The 1990s, Part One

In this special documentary episode, Patrick Gray and Amberleigh Jack take a look back at hacking throughout the 1990s, from the feel-good vibes of the early hacking communities to the antics of young hackers who wound up on the run from the FBI. Part one features recollections from: Jeff Moss (The Dark Tangent), DefCon and Black Hat founder Chris Wysopal (Weld Pond), L0pht member, co-founder, @Stake Kevin Poulsen (Dark Dante), 1990s hacker turned journalist Elias Levy (Aleph One), author of Smashing the Stack for Fun and Profit, Phrack, 1996 How the World Got Owned is produced in partnership with SentinelOne. Show notes Elias Levy (Aleph1), Former Principle Engineer, Google Kevin Poulsen, Journalist Jeff Moss, DefCon founder Chris Wysopal, @Stake founder, L0pht member Hackers testifying at the United States Senate, May 19, 1998 Hackers May ‘Net’ Good PR for Studio DefCon Archives | DefCon 1 A Not So Terribly Brief History of the Electronic Frontier Foundation Innocent Hackers Want Their Computers Back Breakdowns in Computer Security Unsolved Mysteries, Season 3, Episode 4 The Last Hacker: He Called Himself Dark Dante. His Compulsion Led Him to Secret Files and, Eventually, The Bar of Justice Justia appeal summary, Kevin Poulsen, 1994 Smashing the Stack for Fun and Profit, Phrack Magazine, November 1996 From subversives to CEOs: How radical hackers built today’s cybersecurity industry

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How the World Got Owned Episode 2: The 1990s, Part One is an episode from Risky Business by Risky.biz.

This episode is 46:46 long.

This episode was published on Apr 3, 2026.

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