ActivityPub Viewer

A small tool to view real-world ActivityPub objects as JSON! Enter a URL or username from Mastodon or a similar service below, and we'll send a request with the right Accept header to the server to view the underlying object.

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{ "@context": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams", { "Hashtag": "as:Hashtag", "sensitive": "as:sensitive" } ], "id": "https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/", "type": "Note", "attachment": [ { "type": "Image", "url": "https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-3110770297-e1695992024415.png?w=789", "mediaType": "image/png" }, { "type": "Image", "url": "https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=1024", "mediaType": "image/png" }, { "type": "Image", "url": "https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg?w=640", "mediaType": "image/jpeg" } ], "attributedTo": "https://realhackhistory.org/@realhackhistory.org", "content": "<h2>1983: The Year Pop Culture Caught Up With&nbsp;Hackers</h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"593\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_135855/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png\" data-orig-size=\"1301,901\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_135855\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=1024\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"709\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-593\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=1024 1024w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=300 300w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=768 768w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png 1301w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">New Years Eve at Times Square &#8211; 1982-1983, CBS</figcaption></figure><p>1983 was the year that popular culture in the US caught on to the existence of hackers, hacker culture and first set foot on the path to total hacker hysteria. When I say &#8220;hackers&#8221; here I mean the &#8220;computer underground&#8221;, &#8220;blackhats&#8221; or the &#8220;dark side&#8221; of computing enthusiasts, not model railroad builders or programming hobbyists.</p><p>The year 1983 started with journalists using awkward phrases like &#8220;data diddlers&#8221; to describe hackers and ended with demands in newspaper opinion pieces for federal laws to criminalise and exact punishment for people caught hacking.</p><p>There are five or six books I would write about the history of hacking if I had the time and energy, the story of how 1983 forever changed how hackers are viewed is one of them. </p><p>The word &#8220;hacker&#8221; in relation to computer crimes had been used before 1983 in the US but it was not commonplace, it had not entered into every day usage, by the end of 1983 it was well and truly lodged in the American public&#8217;s lexicon.</p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Then it happened, the movie War Games was released and mass numbers of sixth grade to all ages flocked to see it. The problem wasn&#8217;t that the movie was bad, it was that now EVERYONE wanted to be a hacker/phreak. Novices came out in such mass numbers, that bulletin boards started to be busy 24 hours a day. To this day, they still have not recovered. Other problems started to occur, novices guessed easy passwords on large government computers and started to play around… Well it wasn&#8217;t long before they were caught, I think that many people remember the 414-hackers.</p><p><cite>&#8220;A Short History of Phreaking courtesy of the Jolly Roger&#8221;</cite></p></blockquote><p>There are four events that took place during 1983 that brought American hackers out of their computer cubbyholes, emerging blinking into a harsh media spotlight. Two of these events were pop culture related, the release of WarGames in cinemas and Whiz Kids on TV, and two were related to the arrests of actual hacker groups in the United States and the headlines those arrests generated. </p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"595\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/superzapping5-2/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,463\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"superzapping5\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg?w=640\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"463\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-595\" style=\"width:622px;height:450px\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg 640w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg?w=300 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Illustration from TIME article on Dalton Gang hackers, January 12th, 1981</figcaption></figure></p><p>There had been hacker groups busted before 1983, there was the so called &#8220;Dalton Gang&#8221;, four 13 year old high-schoolers who were apprehended, but not charged, by the FBI in 1980. There was also the group of &#8220;computer phreaks&#8221; (as the few reporters in California who were paying attention labelled them at the time) that Kevin Mitnick belonged to who also fell afoul of the law in 1981 and may have been called the &#8220;System Crashers&#8221; back then.</p><p>Below are excerpts from coverage of Kevin Mitnick and Lewis DePayne&#8217;s antics, &#8220;Computer Crime Spreads in U.S.&#8221; from the Daily News on the 14th December 1981 which goes into some details around dumpster diving, login and password guessing, social engineering, BBS culture and the fact that hacking and phreaking is &#8220;very addictive. Sometimes it&#8217;s better than sex.&#8221;</p></p><div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":214587392,\"permalink\":\"https:\\/\\/realhackhistory.org\\/2023\\/09\\/29\\/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers\\/\"}' class=\"wp-block-jetpack-tiled-gallery aligncenter is-style-rectangular\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__gallery\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__row\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:73.66436%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"597\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/daily-news-14-dec-1981/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png\" data-orig-size=\"569,515\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"daily-news-14-dec-1981\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?w=569\" data-attachment-id=\"597\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/daily-news-14-dec-1981/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png\" data-orig-size=\"569,515\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"daily-news-14-dec-1981\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?w=569\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?strip=info&#038;w=569 569w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"515\" data-id=\"597\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=597\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?w=569\" data-width=\"569\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png\" /></figure></div><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:26.33564%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"598\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/daily-news-15-dec-1981/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png\" data-orig-size=\"267,678\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"daily-news-15-dec-1981\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?w=118\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?w=267\" data-attachment-id=\"598\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/daily-news-15-dec-1981/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png\" data-orig-size=\"267,678\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"daily-news-15-dec-1981\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?w=118\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?w=267\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?strip=info&#038;w=267 267w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"678\" data-id=\"598\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=598\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?w=267\" data-width=\"267\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png\" /></figure></div></div></div></div><p>Those previous cases just did not capture the public imagination though and I think that is in large part because a movie like WarGames hadn&#8217;t created a space for hackers to occupy in people&#8217;s imagination yet. Estimates are that in 1983 there were two million personal computers in the US, if computers themselves were a curiosity most people had little contact with then hackers were not even on the radar of the average person.</p></p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" /><p><strong>WarGames &#8211; May 1983</strong></p><p>WarGames premiers in American cinemas on May 7th of 1983. The word &#8220;hacker&#8221; is never uttered by any of the characters, but the movie is essentially about a teenage hacker named David Lightman who uses a war-dialler to hunt for modem numbers to connect to and alters his high-school grades after gaining access to his school&#8217;s computers. </p><p>Things escalate rapidly when Lightman stumbles upon a system while war-dialling that he believes belongs to a video game company and discovers a listing of games that include &#8220;Theaterwide Biotoxic and Chemical Warfare&#8221; and &#8220;Global Thermonuclear War&#8221;. Little does David suspect that he has in fact connected to a US military NORAD supercomputer known as WOPR (War Operation Plan Response), setting in motion a potentially catastrophic sequence of events.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"660\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230915_102417/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png\" data-orig-size=\"511,719\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230915_102417\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png?w=213\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png?w=511\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"511\" height=\"719\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png?w=511\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-660\" style=\"width:511px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png 511w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png?w=107 107w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png?w=213 213w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">WarGames, UK poster, 1983</figcaption></figure></p><p>David initiates a game of &#8216;Global Thermonuclear War&#8217;, playing as the Soviet Union and targeting American cities. WOPR then initiates a simulation that briefly convinces NORAD military personnel that actual Soviet nuclear missiles are inbound. The computer continuously feeds simulated data about Soviet bomber incursions and submarine deployments to NORAD, pushing them to increase the DEFCON level toward a potential real world retaliation that would trigger World War III.</p><p>Based on this we could expect a backlash against hackers in newspaper columns after the movie is released, right?</p></p><div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":214587392,\"permalink\":\"https:\\/\\/realhackhistory.org\\/2023\\/09\\/29\\/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers\\/\"}' class=\"wp-block-jetpack-tiled-gallery aligncenter is-style-rectangular\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__gallery\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__row\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:25.19229%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"580\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230728_203510-1/\" 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data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230728_203510-1/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png\" data-orig-size=\"884,755\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230728_203510-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?w=884\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?strip=info&#038;w=600 600w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?strip=info&#038;w=884 884w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"755\" data-id=\"580\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=580\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?w=884\" data-width=\"884\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png\" /></figure></div><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:26.96517%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"582\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_131431/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png\" data-orig-size=\"992,791\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_131431\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?w=992\" data-attachment-id=\"582\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_131431/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png\" data-orig-size=\"992,791\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_131431\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?w=992\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?strip=info&#038;w=600 600w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?strip=info&#038;w=900 900w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?strip=info&#038;w=992 992w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"791\" data-id=\"582\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=582\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?w=992\" data-width=\"992\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png\" /></figure></div><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:47.84255%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"584\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_132147/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png\" data-orig-size=\"1220,546\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_132147\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?w=1024\" data-attachment-id=\"584\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_132147/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png\" data-orig-size=\"1220,546\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_132147\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?w=1024\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?strip=info&#038;w=600 600w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?strip=info&#038;w=900 900w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?strip=info&#038;w=1200 1200w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?strip=info&#038;w=1220 1220w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"546\" data-id=\"584\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=584\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?w=1024\" data-width=\"1220\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png\" /></figure></div></div></div></div><p>Above we can see an article from the Free Lance-Star published on the 10th of May 1983, &#8220;How real is the horror of &#8216;War Games&#8217;?&#8221;. &#8220;Launching under attack could increase the possibility of war by accident since the president might be certain that an attack had actually taken place.. Can any technology be absolutely reliable when it comes to making close to instantaneous decisions on the survival of the world?&#8221; asks the Free Lance-Star.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"645\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230902_185458/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png\" data-orig-size=\"838,664\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230902_185458\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=838\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"838\" height=\"664\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=838\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-645\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png 838w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=300 300w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=768 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 838px) 100vw, 838px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Anxieties About Nuclear War Make &#8216;WarGames&#8217; Controversial, Richard Halloran, Youngstown Vindicator 10th June, 1983</figcaption></figure></p><p>Looking back at articles written around the release of WarGames the same themes come through over and over again, fear of potential nuclear war with suspicion of computers generally coming a very distant second. The antics of teenage hackers barely enter into the media discourse at all despite how central they were to the plot of the movie, but that was about to change.</p><p>You can watch a very grainy trailer for WarGames from 1983 that specifically touches on computer security below.</p><p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNFqt5JTVAc\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNFqt5JTVAc</a></p></p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" /><p><strong>414s &#8211; August 1983</strong></p><p>In August of 1983 the story of Milwaukee hacker group the 414s breaks in the media. The 414s had been hacking into dozens upon dozens of systems across America via the commercial Telenet network. Members are primarily called &#8220;computer raiders&#8221;, &#8220;home-computer pranksters&#8221;, &#8220;young computer wizards&#8221;, &#8220;computer hobbyists&#8221;, &#8220;electronic invaders&#8221; and &#8220;computer phreaks&#8221; by the press. </p><p>The word &#8220;hacker&#8221; does appear on the cover of Newsweek alongside a photo of 414s member Neal Patrick posing with a computer. Many of the hacking history narratives you&#8217;ll find repeated on the web will pin this as the first time &#8220;hacker&#8221; is &#8220;used by mainstream media&#8221;, I don&#8217;t buy that but it is one of the first times it is used as prominently as the front cover of a popular publication like Newsweek.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"626\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/newsweek/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"198,254\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"newsweek\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg?w=198\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg?w=198\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"198\" height=\"254\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg?w=198\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-626\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg 198w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg?w=117 117w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Computer Capers&#8221;, Newsweek September 5th, 1983</figcaption></figure><p>The story of these hackers is linked to WarGames in article after article, the fact that the 414s had hacked systems at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, described in the reporting from the time as &#8220;a nuclear weapons laboratory&#8221; made this a media sensation. </p><p>&#8220;The movie &#8216;War Games&#8217; glamorized what the 414s were doing, each of them saw the film at least once&#8221; writes Jackie Hyman for the Associated Press, despite also admitting that the 414s had already &#8220;accessed a number of computers in the spring&#8221; of 1983, well before WarGames was in cinemas. In fact as we will see below the 414s were not a group of kids who met in a Scout troop and became hackers after watching a movie, they were hackers who met on hacker BBSes and joined a Scout troop to spend more time hanging out in real life.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"612\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221222_124212/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png\" data-orig-size=\"663,749\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221222_124212\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png?w=266\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png?w=663\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"663\" height=\"749\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png?w=663\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-612\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png 663w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png?w=133 133w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png?w=266 266w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;The 414s: A group of computer whizzes from Milwaukee shows how easy it is to break in on any system&#8221;, Jackie Hyman, Associated Press</figcaption></figure><p>A lot of the coverage of the 414s from around the time of the FBI raids was very similar, written by journalists who didn&#8217;t really seem to understand the tech angle or the hacker subculture and were essentially writing very similar, shallow articles. One that stands out though in terms of depth of coverage and quality of prose is by Timothy Harper, writing for the Associated Press, I quote some of the article below.</p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The seven young Milwaukeeans first met &#8220;on the boards,&#8221; corresponding by electronic messages. Their keyboards struck responsive chords in each other as they shared tips on hardware, software, what movies to see and what magazines to read. Mostly, though, they shared an unspoken dedication to this technology that allowed them, without leaving their bedrooms or dens, intercourse with a challenging new world.</p><p>A few months ago, the seven agreed to meet face to face. They began gathering every couple weeks or so at homes or in pizza joints where they could exchange unlisted corporate telephone numbers and secret passwords over sausage and mushrooms.</p><p>They began calling themselves &#8220;the 414s&#8221; after Milwaukee&#8217;s area code, a joking reference to the Milwaukee youth gangs that take their names from the streets in their neighborhoods. The gang on 27th Street, for instance, is known as the &#8220;Two-Sevens.&#8221;</p><p>Neal, president of an Explorer Scout post sponsored by IBM and specializing in computers, asked the other 414s to join the scouts. They all did. Their Explorer meetings became another place to ex- a change information, although they emphasize that neither the adult leader, an IBM manager, nor any of the dozen other scouts knew about the accessing.</p><p><cite>&#8220;Computer Raiders I: Was It Really a Game?&#8221;, Timothy Harper (AP), The Lewiston Daily, Sunday 29th August, 1983</cite></p></blockquote><p>So there you have it, the myth of the 414s as Explorer Scouts who somehow became corrupted by hackers as shown in the media or were left unsupervised around computers too long and somehow spontaneously became hackers can be put to bed. </p><p>The quote in the introduction to this blog from Jolly Roger about the post-WarGames explosion in novice hackers getting in trouble that he included the 414s in? The 414s were already hacking before the movie came out, though the movie may also have fired up their youthful imaginations.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"586\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_132923/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png\" data-orig-size=\"1194,374\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_132923\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=1024\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"320\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-586\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=1022 1022w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=300 300w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=768 768w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png 1194w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;<em>FBI May Take Action Against Computer Raiders</em>&#8221; &#8211; The Dispatch 12th August, 1983</figcaption></figure></p><p>You can watch a short, free documentary on the 414s below, it shows the level of media and public interest in their case.</p><p><a href=\"https://vimeo.com/502242358\">https://vimeo.com/502242358</a></p></p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" /><p><strong>Whiz Kids &#8211; October 1983</strong></p><p>Whiz Kids premiered on CBS on October 5th of 1983. The show revolved around teenage computing genius Richie Adler, who calls himself a &#8220;hacker&#8221;, and his friends who solve crimes and thwart evil schemes with the help of what was essentially hacktivism. Richie hacks computers to reveal corrupt corporations, the machinations of mafia gangsters and plots by Soviet spies, this show really did have it all.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"606\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230731_115110/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png\" data-orig-size=\"479,372\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230731_115110\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png?w=479\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"479\" height=\"372\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png?w=479\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-606\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png 479w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png?w=300 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 479px) 100vw, 479px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Whiz Kids episode one, &#8220;Programmed For Murder&#8221;, October 5th, 1983, CBS</figcaption></figure><p>Whiz Kids marketing explicitly made an appeal to 80&#8217;s nerd culture, D&amp;D, video games, this show made connections between different strands of nerd culture in the U.S. at the time that I don&#8217;t see anywhere else at that time. I am planning a blog about the fact that, in my mind, Whiz Kids is the best 80&#8217;s hacker media, I&#8217;ve also made<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKLbWIS8Yo0&amp;ab_channel=realhackhistory\"> a YouTube video about the show</a>.</p></p><div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"577\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"270,400\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg?w=203\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg?w=270\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"270\" height=\"400\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg?w=270\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-577\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.6741573033707865;object-fit:cover;width:250px\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg 270w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg?w=101 101w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" /></figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"578\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/doylzktuuaaouej-2/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"809,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"doylzktuuaaouej\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=202\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=690\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"690\" height=\"1023\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=690\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-578\" style=\"width:250px\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=690 690w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=101 101w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=202 202w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=768 768w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg 809w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" /></figure></div><p>Backlash against the show began before it was ever released, and only got worse once it actually aired on TV.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"616\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/thepittsburghpress15jun1983/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png\" data-orig-size=\"1267,510\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"thepittsburghpress15jun1983\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=1024\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"412\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-616\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=1024 1024w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=300 300w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=768 768w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png 1267w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;CBS&#8217;s &#8216;Whiz Kids&#8217; Could Get Straight A&#8217;s In Crime&#8221;. Barbara Holsopple, Pittsburgh Press, June 15th, 1983</figcaption></figure><p>In June, four months, before the first episode hit TV screens, TV critics like Barbara Holsopple above were deeply concerned about the themes within Whiz Kids and that was before the 414s were revealed in the media. Whiz Kids producer Philip DeGuere described the show as &#8220;intelligent human beings using their resources to to bring about the triumph of good over evil&#8221; but TV critics were not convinced.</p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>On the books, snooping in other people&#8217;s computers is illegal. DeGuere isn&#8217;t so sure it ought to be.</p><p>&#8220;We are going through tremendous technological changes in our society, the impact of which we do not know,&#8221; the producer says. &#8220;I do not know the computer laws. I do not know if what these kids do is illegal. These questions have not yet come up in court. But I&#8217;m not sure anybody has the right to establish databases and keep information away from anybody else.&#8221;</p><p>This show, DeGuere says, will be a factor in developing how people deal with these issues.</p><p><cite>&#8220;CBS&#8217;s &#8216;Whiz Kids&#8217; Could Get Straight A&#8217;s In Crime&#8221;. Barbara Holsopple, Pittsburgh Press, June 15th, 1983</cite></p></blockquote><p>You can watch one of the first videos I ever made on the history of hacking below, all about Whiz Kids.</p></p><p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKLbWIS8Yo0\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKLbWIS8Yo0</a></p></p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" /><p><strong>Inner Circle &amp; the Phalsers &#8211; October 1983</strong></p><p>On October 11th the FBI raids against the Inner Circle, the Phalsers and other hackers begin. Telenet had been a playground for hackers since at least the Dalton Gang back in 1980, but the publicity around the 414s, I think, had increased security oversight of the network. When a member of the Inner Circle began wiping systems and locking out user accounts as part of an internal feud the FBI were notified by Telenet and began &#8216;Operation Mainframe&#8217; to apprehend the hackers involved. Journalists actually use the words &#8220;hacker&#8221; and &#8220;hackers&#8221; from the outset of coverage of these arrests.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"629\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png\" data-orig-size=\"588,630\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png?w=280\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png?w=588\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"588\" height=\"630\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png?w=588\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-629\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png 588w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png?w=140 140w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png?w=280 280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 588px) 100vw, 588px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Teenagers Face Prosecution If Found To Have Entered Defense Computer Systems&#8221;, Ludington Daily News 15 Oct 1983.png</figcaption></figure></p><p>Looking at the articles written about the Inner Circle raids it is pretty obvious that, for the most part, the novelty of WarGames and hackers as a curiosity was already wearing off, there seems to be a lot less sympathy or curiosity and a lot more unease. I imagine that parents were becoming concerned that their quiet, studious teenage computer addicts could become embroiled in a national security nightmare or nationwide FBI investigation and journalists had a harder time finding a Neal Patrick to put a friendly face on this new hacker case.</p><p>The four kids that initially made the news in relation to the Inner Circle were not members of the hacking group itself and appear to have been kids who were in the friends circle, possibly in real life, of one of the actual Inner Circle members. From what I can gather from the way media coverage developed one or more of their parents hit on what has become a tried and true method of insulating young hackers from criminal prosecution, getting out in front of any potential charges and throwing themselves at the mercy of the press.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"590\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/the-day-14-oct-1983/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png\" data-orig-size=\"517,642\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"the-day-14-oct-1983\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png?w=242\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png?w=517\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"517\" height=\"642\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png?w=517\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-590\" style=\"width:620px;height:642px\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png 517w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png?w=121 121w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png?w=242 242w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 517px) 100vw, 517px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;<em>FBI raids teen computer &#8216;hackers&#8217;</em>&#8221; &#8211; The Day 14th October, 1983</figcaption></figure><p>Lots of photos of the kids looking sad and, eventually, an attempt to portray an Inner Circle member the Cracker as a ringleader who had entrapped the kids into breaking the law inadvertently. The Cracker was the original Kevin Mitnick, demonized in the newspapers of the time as the archetypal sinister hacker.</p><p>The raids of the Inner Circle also helped increase the media profile of one of the most infamous and hated characters in 80&#8217;s US hacker lore, John Maxfield, aka Cable Pair, who was to become an FBI asset, anti-hacker hacktivist and talking head on the menace of hacking.</p></p><div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":214587392,\"permalink\":\"https:\\/\\/realhackhistory.org\\/2023\\/09\\/29\\/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers\\/\"}' class=\"wp-block-jetpack-tiled-gallery aligncenter is-style-rectangular\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__gallery\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__row\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:28.85332%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"674\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230917_143845/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png\" data-orig-size=\"527,383\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230917_143845\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?w=527\" data-attachment-id=\"674\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230917_143845/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png\" data-orig-size=\"527,383\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230917_143845\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?w=527\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?strip=info&#038;w=527 527w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"383\" data-id=\"674\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=674\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?w=527\" data-width=\"527\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png\" /></figure></div><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:43.71814%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"675\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221220_143453/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png\" data-orig-size=\"1167,558\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221220_143453\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?w=1024\" data-attachment-id=\"675\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221220_143453/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png\" data-orig-size=\"1167,558\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221220_143453\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?w=1024\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?strip=info&#038;w=600 600w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?strip=info&#038;w=900 900w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?strip=info&#038;w=1167 1167w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"558\" data-id=\"675\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=675\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?w=1024\" data-width=\"1167\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png\" /></figure></div><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:27.42855%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"677\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221220_142130/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png\" data-orig-size=\"706,540\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221220_142130\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?w=706\" data-attachment-id=\"677\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221220_142130/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png\" data-orig-size=\"706,540\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221220_142130\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?w=706\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?strip=info&#038;w=600 600w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?strip=info&#038;w=706 706w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"540\" data-id=\"677\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=677\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?w=706\" data-width=\"706\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png\" /></figure></div></div></div></div><p>You can watch part one of a planned two parter video series on the Inner Circle that I created below.</p><p><a href=\"https://youtu.be/ppbx2POxxZU\">https://youtu.be/ppbx2POxxZU</a></p></p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" /><p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p><p>The year 1983 began with journalists discussing &#8220;electronic vandals&#8221;, &#8220;data tappers&#8221; and &#8220;computer raiders&#8221; and ended with a newspaper publishing a &#8220;what is a real hacker anyway&#8221; type think piece.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"604\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png\" data-orig-size=\"677,768\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"thefreelance-star24dec1983-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png?w=264\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png?w=677\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"677\" height=\"768\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png?w=677\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-604\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png 677w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png?w=132 132w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png?w=264 264w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 677px) 100vw, 677px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Are they hackers or criminals?&#8221; &#8211; The Free Lance &#8211; Star 24th December, 1983</figcaption></figure><p>One way to gauge how pivotal a year 1983 was is to look at what happened the year after. In 1984 the Phalsers would get 2600 Magazine up and running and the Legion of Doom and Cult of the Dead Cow would be formed, hacker BBS culture continued to flourish and grow across the US.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"666\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230915_104842/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png\" data-orig-size=\"625,340\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230915_104842\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png?w=625\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"625\" height=\"340\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png?w=625\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-666\" style=\"width:620px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png 625w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png?w=300 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Illustration by Heidi Stetson, The Boston Phoenix, 13th March 1984</figcaption></figure></p><p>In 1984 journalists would go from observing hackers from a safe distance to becoming part of the story themselves. Newsweek writer Richard Sandoza found himself victimized by hackers and subjected to a &#8220;teletrial&#8221; on a hacker BBS, accused of crimes against hackerdom after joining hacker BBSes posing as a hacker called &#8220;Montana Wildhack&#8221; to research an article. </p><p>I plan a future article or video on the phenomenon of &#8220;teletrials&#8221; as I think they are a riveting part of hacker history that continued as a strand of community revenge into the 90s.</p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"683\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221221_122327/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png\" data-orig-size=\"1154,489\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221221_122327\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=1024\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"433\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-683\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=1022 1022w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=300 300w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=768 768w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png 1154w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Writer who snitched feels vengeful byte of hackers&#8221;, The Orlando Sentinel, December 5th, 1984</figcaption></figure></p><p>If you&#8217;ve enjoyed this blog please share it and check out realhackhistory on <a href=\"https://twitter.com/realhackhistory\">Mastodon</a>, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLBx0xIydDmgreeALWNb0bg/\">YouTube</a> and (if you must) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/realhackhistory\">Twitter</a>.</p><p><!-- /wp:post-content --></p><p><a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/1980s/\">#1980s</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/1983/\">#1983</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/2600/\">#2600</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/414s/\">#414s</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/computer/\">#computer</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/crashers/\">#crashers</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/dalton-gang/\">#DaltonGang</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/fbi/\">#FBI</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/hacker/\">#hacker</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/hackers/\">#hackers</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/hacking/\">#hacking</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/history/\">#history</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/inner-circle/\">#InnerCircle</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/kevin-mitnick/\">#KevinMitnick</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/mitnick/\">#Mitnick</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/movie/\">#movie</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/newspaper/\">#newspaper</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/phalse/\">#Phalse</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/phalsers/\">#Phalsers</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/police/\">#police</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/roscoe-gang/\">#RoscoeGang</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/war-games/\">#WarGames</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/wargames/\">#WarGames</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/whiz-kids/\">#WhizKids</a></p>", "context": "https://public-api.wordpress.com/wpcom/activitypub-1.0/sites/214587392/posts/573/context", "contentMap": { "en": "<h2>1983: The Year Pop Culture Caught Up With&nbsp;Hackers</h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"593\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_135855/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png\" data-orig-size=\"1301,901\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_135855\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=1024\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"709\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-593\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=1024 1024w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=300 300w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png?w=768 768w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_135855.png 1301w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">New Years Eve at Times Square &#8211; 1982-1983, CBS</figcaption></figure><p>1983 was the year that popular culture in the US caught on to the existence of hackers, hacker culture and first set foot on the path to total hacker hysteria. When I say &#8220;hackers&#8221; here I mean the &#8220;computer underground&#8221;, &#8220;blackhats&#8221; or the &#8220;dark side&#8221; of computing enthusiasts, not model railroad builders or programming hobbyists.</p><p>The year 1983 started with journalists using awkward phrases like &#8220;data diddlers&#8221; to describe hackers and ended with demands in newspaper opinion pieces for federal laws to criminalise and exact punishment for people caught hacking.</p><p>There are five or six books I would write about the history of hacking if I had the time and energy, the story of how 1983 forever changed how hackers are viewed is one of them. </p><p>The word &#8220;hacker&#8221; in relation to computer crimes had been used before 1983 in the US but it was not commonplace, it had not entered into every day usage, by the end of 1983 it was well and truly lodged in the American public&#8217;s lexicon.</p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Then it happened, the movie War Games was released and mass numbers of sixth grade to all ages flocked to see it. The problem wasn&#8217;t that the movie was bad, it was that now EVERYONE wanted to be a hacker/phreak. Novices came out in such mass numbers, that bulletin boards started to be busy 24 hours a day. To this day, they still have not recovered. Other problems started to occur, novices guessed easy passwords on large government computers and started to play around… Well it wasn&#8217;t long before they were caught, I think that many people remember the 414-hackers.</p><p><cite>&#8220;A Short History of Phreaking courtesy of the Jolly Roger&#8221;</cite></p></blockquote><p>There are four events that took place during 1983 that brought American hackers out of their computer cubbyholes, emerging blinking into a harsh media spotlight. Two of these events were pop culture related, the release of WarGames in cinemas and Whiz Kids on TV, and two were related to the arrests of actual hacker groups in the United States and the headlines those arrests generated. </p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"595\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/superzapping5-2/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,463\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"superzapping5\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg?w=640\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"463\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-595\" style=\"width:622px;height:450px\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg 640w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/superzapping5.jpg?w=300 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Illustration from TIME article on Dalton Gang hackers, January 12th, 1981</figcaption></figure></p><p>There had been hacker groups busted before 1983, there was the so called &#8220;Dalton Gang&#8221;, four 13 year old high-schoolers who were apprehended, but not charged, by the FBI in 1980. There was also the group of &#8220;computer phreaks&#8221; (as the few reporters in California who were paying attention labelled them at the time) that Kevin Mitnick belonged to who also fell afoul of the law in 1981 and may have been called the &#8220;System Crashers&#8221; back then.</p><p>Below are excerpts from coverage of Kevin Mitnick and Lewis DePayne&#8217;s antics, &#8220;Computer Crime Spreads in U.S.&#8221; from the Daily News on the 14th December 1981 which goes into some details around dumpster diving, login and password guessing, social engineering, BBS culture and the fact that hacking and phreaking is &#8220;very addictive. Sometimes it&#8217;s better than sex.&#8221;</p></p><div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":214587392,\"permalink\":\"https:\\/\\/realhackhistory.org\\/2023\\/09\\/29\\/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers\\/\"}' class=\"wp-block-jetpack-tiled-gallery aligncenter is-style-rectangular\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__gallery\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__row\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:73.66436%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"597\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/daily-news-14-dec-1981/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png\" data-orig-size=\"569,515\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"daily-news-14-dec-1981\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?w=569\" data-attachment-id=\"597\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/daily-news-14-dec-1981/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png\" data-orig-size=\"569,515\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"daily-news-14-dec-1981\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?w=569\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?strip=info&#038;w=569 569w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"515\" data-id=\"597\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=597\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png?w=569\" data-width=\"569\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-14-dec-1981.png\" /></figure></div><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:26.33564%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"598\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/daily-news-15-dec-1981/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png\" data-orig-size=\"267,678\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"daily-news-15-dec-1981\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?w=118\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?w=267\" data-attachment-id=\"598\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/daily-news-15-dec-1981/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png\" data-orig-size=\"267,678\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"daily-news-15-dec-1981\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?w=118\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?w=267\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?strip=info&#038;w=267 267w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"678\" data-id=\"598\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=598\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png?w=267\" data-width=\"267\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/daily-news-15-dec-1981.png\" /></figure></div></div></div></div><p>Those previous cases just did not capture the public imagination though and I think that is in large part because a movie like WarGames hadn&#8217;t created a space for hackers to occupy in people&#8217;s imagination yet. Estimates are that in 1983 there were two million personal computers in the US, if computers themselves were a curiosity most people had little contact with then hackers were not even on the radar of the average person.</p></p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" /><p><strong>WarGames &#8211; May 1983</strong></p><p>WarGames premiers in American cinemas on May 7th of 1983. The word &#8220;hacker&#8221; is never uttered by any of the characters, but the movie is essentially about a teenage hacker named David Lightman who uses a war-dialler to hunt for modem numbers to connect to and alters his high-school grades after gaining access to his school&#8217;s computers. </p><p>Things escalate rapidly when Lightman stumbles upon a system while war-dialling that he believes belongs to a video game company and discovers a listing of games that include &#8220;Theaterwide Biotoxic and Chemical Warfare&#8221; and &#8220;Global Thermonuclear War&#8221;. Little does David suspect that he has in fact connected to a US military NORAD supercomputer known as WOPR (War Operation Plan Response), setting in motion a potentially catastrophic sequence of events.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"660\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230915_102417/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png\" data-orig-size=\"511,719\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230915_102417\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png?w=213\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png?w=511\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"511\" height=\"719\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png?w=511\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-660\" style=\"width:511px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png 511w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png?w=107 107w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_102417.png?w=213 213w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">WarGames, UK poster, 1983</figcaption></figure></p><p>David initiates a game of &#8216;Global Thermonuclear War&#8217;, playing as the Soviet Union and targeting American cities. WOPR then initiates a simulation that briefly convinces NORAD military personnel that actual Soviet nuclear missiles are inbound. The computer continuously feeds simulated data about Soviet bomber incursions and submarine deployments to NORAD, pushing them to increase the DEFCON level toward a potential real world retaliation that would trigger World War III.</p><p>Based on this we could expect a backlash against hackers in newspaper columns after the movie is released, right?</p></p><div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":214587392,\"permalink\":\"https:\\/\\/realhackhistory.org\\/2023\\/09\\/29\\/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers\\/\"}' class=\"wp-block-jetpack-tiled-gallery aligncenter is-style-rectangular\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__gallery\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__row\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:25.19229%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"580\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230728_203510-1/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png\" data-orig-size=\"884,755\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230728_203510-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?w=884\" data-attachment-id=\"580\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230728_203510-1/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png\" data-orig-size=\"884,755\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230728_203510-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?w=884\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?strip=info&#038;w=600 600w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?strip=info&#038;w=884 884w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"755\" data-id=\"580\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=580\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png?w=884\" data-width=\"884\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-1.png\" /></figure></div><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:26.96517%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"582\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_131431/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png\" data-orig-size=\"992,791\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_131431\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?w=992\" data-attachment-id=\"582\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_131431/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png\" data-orig-size=\"992,791\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_131431\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?w=992\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?strip=info&#038;w=600 600w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?strip=info&#038;w=900 900w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?strip=info&#038;w=992 992w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"791\" data-id=\"582\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=582\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png?w=992\" data-width=\"992\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_131431.png\" /></figure></div><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:47.84255%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"584\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_132147/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png\" data-orig-size=\"1220,546\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_132147\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?w=1024\" data-attachment-id=\"584\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_132147/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png\" data-orig-size=\"1220,546\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_132147\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?w=1024\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?strip=info&#038;w=600 600w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?strip=info&#038;w=900 900w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?strip=info&#038;w=1200 1200w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?strip=info&#038;w=1220 1220w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"546\" data-id=\"584\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=584\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png?w=1024\" data-width=\"1220\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132147.png\" /></figure></div></div></div></div><p>Above we can see an article from the Free Lance-Star published on the 10th of May 1983, &#8220;How real is the horror of &#8216;War Games&#8217;?&#8221;. &#8220;Launching under attack could increase the possibility of war by accident since the president might be certain that an attack had actually taken place.. Can any technology be absolutely reliable when it comes to making close to instantaneous decisions on the survival of the world?&#8221; asks the Free Lance-Star.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"645\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230902_185458/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png\" data-orig-size=\"838,664\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230902_185458\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=838\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"838\" height=\"664\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=838\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-645\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png 838w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=300 300w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230902_185458.png?w=768 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 838px) 100vw, 838px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Anxieties About Nuclear War Make &#8216;WarGames&#8217; Controversial, Richard Halloran, Youngstown Vindicator 10th June, 1983</figcaption></figure></p><p>Looking back at articles written around the release of WarGames the same themes come through over and over again, fear of potential nuclear war with suspicion of computers generally coming a very distant second. The antics of teenage hackers barely enter into the media discourse at all despite how central they were to the plot of the movie, but that was about to change.</p><p>You can watch a very grainy trailer for WarGames from 1983 that specifically touches on computer security below.</p><p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNFqt5JTVAc\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNFqt5JTVAc</a></p></p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" /><p><strong>414s &#8211; August 1983</strong></p><p>In August of 1983 the story of Milwaukee hacker group the 414s breaks in the media. The 414s had been hacking into dozens upon dozens of systems across America via the commercial Telenet network. Members are primarily called &#8220;computer raiders&#8221;, &#8220;home-computer pranksters&#8221;, &#8220;young computer wizards&#8221;, &#8220;computer hobbyists&#8221;, &#8220;electronic invaders&#8221; and &#8220;computer phreaks&#8221; by the press. </p><p>The word &#8220;hacker&#8221; does appear on the cover of Newsweek alongside a photo of 414s member Neal Patrick posing with a computer. Many of the hacking history narratives you&#8217;ll find repeated on the web will pin this as the first time &#8220;hacker&#8221; is &#8220;used by mainstream media&#8221;, I don&#8217;t buy that but it is one of the first times it is used as prominently as the front cover of a popular publication like Newsweek.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"626\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/newsweek/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"198,254\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"newsweek\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg?w=198\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg?w=198\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"198\" height=\"254\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg?w=198\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-626\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg 198w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newsweek.jpeg?w=117 117w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Computer Capers&#8221;, Newsweek September 5th, 1983</figcaption></figure><p>The story of these hackers is linked to WarGames in article after article, the fact that the 414s had hacked systems at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, described in the reporting from the time as &#8220;a nuclear weapons laboratory&#8221; made this a media sensation. </p><p>&#8220;The movie &#8216;War Games&#8217; glamorized what the 414s were doing, each of them saw the film at least once&#8221; writes Jackie Hyman for the Associated Press, despite also admitting that the 414s had already &#8220;accessed a number of computers in the spring&#8221; of 1983, well before WarGames was in cinemas. In fact as we will see below the 414s were not a group of kids who met in a Scout troop and became hackers after watching a movie, they were hackers who met on hacker BBSes and joined a Scout troop to spend more time hanging out in real life.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"612\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221222_124212/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png\" data-orig-size=\"663,749\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221222_124212\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png?w=266\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png?w=663\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"663\" height=\"749\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png?w=663\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-612\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png 663w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png?w=133 133w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20221222_124212.png?w=266 266w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;The 414s: A group of computer whizzes from Milwaukee shows how easy it is to break in on any system&#8221;, Jackie Hyman, Associated Press</figcaption></figure><p>A lot of the coverage of the 414s from around the time of the FBI raids was very similar, written by journalists who didn&#8217;t really seem to understand the tech angle or the hacker subculture and were essentially writing very similar, shallow articles. One that stands out though in terms of depth of coverage and quality of prose is by Timothy Harper, writing for the Associated Press, I quote some of the article below.</p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The seven young Milwaukeeans first met &#8220;on the boards,&#8221; corresponding by electronic messages. Their keyboards struck responsive chords in each other as they shared tips on hardware, software, what movies to see and what magazines to read. Mostly, though, they shared an unspoken dedication to this technology that allowed them, without leaving their bedrooms or dens, intercourse with a challenging new world.</p><p>A few months ago, the seven agreed to meet face to face. They began gathering every couple weeks or so at homes or in pizza joints where they could exchange unlisted corporate telephone numbers and secret passwords over sausage and mushrooms.</p><p>They began calling themselves &#8220;the 414s&#8221; after Milwaukee&#8217;s area code, a joking reference to the Milwaukee youth gangs that take their names from the streets in their neighborhoods. The gang on 27th Street, for instance, is known as the &#8220;Two-Sevens.&#8221;</p><p>Neal, president of an Explorer Scout post sponsored by IBM and specializing in computers, asked the other 414s to join the scouts. They all did. Their Explorer meetings became another place to ex- a change information, although they emphasize that neither the adult leader, an IBM manager, nor any of the dozen other scouts knew about the accessing.</p><p><cite>&#8220;Computer Raiders I: Was It Really a Game?&#8221;, Timothy Harper (AP), The Lewiston Daily, Sunday 29th August, 1983</cite></p></blockquote><p>So there you have it, the myth of the 414s as Explorer Scouts who somehow became corrupted by hackers as shown in the media or were left unsupervised around computers too long and somehow spontaneously became hackers can be put to bed. </p><p>The quote in the introduction to this blog from Jolly Roger about the post-WarGames explosion in novice hackers getting in trouble that he included the 414s in? The 414s were already hacking before the movie came out, though the movie may also have fired up their youthful imaginations.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"586\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230730_132923/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png\" data-orig-size=\"1194,374\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230730_132923\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=1024\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"320\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-586\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=1022 1022w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=300 300w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png?w=768 768w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230730_132923.png 1194w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;<em>FBI May Take Action Against Computer Raiders</em>&#8221; &#8211; The Dispatch 12th August, 1983</figcaption></figure></p><p>You can watch a short, free documentary on the 414s below, it shows the level of media and public interest in their case.</p><p><a href=\"https://vimeo.com/502242358\">https://vimeo.com/502242358</a></p></p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" /><p><strong>Whiz Kids &#8211; October 1983</strong></p><p>Whiz Kids premiered on CBS on October 5th of 1983. The show revolved around teenage computing genius Richie Adler, who calls himself a &#8220;hacker&#8221;, and his friends who solve crimes and thwart evil schemes with the help of what was essentially hacktivism. Richie hacks computers to reveal corrupt corporations, the machinations of mafia gangsters and plots by Soviet spies, this show really did have it all.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"606\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230731_115110/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png\" data-orig-size=\"479,372\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230731_115110\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png?w=479\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"479\" height=\"372\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png?w=479\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-606\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png 479w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230731_115110.png?w=300 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 479px) 100vw, 479px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Whiz Kids episode one, &#8220;Programmed For Murder&#8221;, October 5th, 1983, CBS</figcaption></figure><p>Whiz Kids marketing explicitly made an appeal to 80&#8217;s nerd culture, D&amp;D, video games, this show made connections between different strands of nerd culture in the U.S. at the time that I don&#8217;t see anywhere else at that time. I am planning a blog about the fact that, in my mind, Whiz Kids is the best 80&#8217;s hacker media, I&#8217;ve also made<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKLbWIS8Yo0&amp;ab_channel=realhackhistory\"> a YouTube video about the show</a>.</p></p><div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"577\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"270,400\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg?w=203\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg?w=270\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"270\" height=\"400\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg?w=270\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-577\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.6741573033707865;object-fit:cover;width:250px\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg 270w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1983-cbs-tv-ad-whiz-kids-fire-breathing-dragon.jpg?w=101 101w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" /></figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"578\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/doylzktuuaaouej-2/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"809,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"doylzktuuaaouej\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=202\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=690\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"690\" height=\"1023\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=690\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-578\" style=\"width:250px\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=690 690w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=101 101w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=202 202w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg?w=768 768w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doylzktuuaaouej.jpg 809w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" /></figure></div><p>Backlash against the show began before it was ever released, and only got worse once it actually aired on TV.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"616\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/thepittsburghpress15jun1983/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png\" data-orig-size=\"1267,510\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"thepittsburghpress15jun1983\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=1024\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"412\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-616\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=1024 1024w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=300 300w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png?w=768 768w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thepittsburghpress15jun1983.png 1267w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;CBS&#8217;s &#8216;Whiz Kids&#8217; Could Get Straight A&#8217;s In Crime&#8221;. Barbara Holsopple, Pittsburgh Press, June 15th, 1983</figcaption></figure><p>In June, four months, before the first episode hit TV screens, TV critics like Barbara Holsopple above were deeply concerned about the themes within Whiz Kids and that was before the 414s were revealed in the media. Whiz Kids producer Philip DeGuere described the show as &#8220;intelligent human beings using their resources to to bring about the triumph of good over evil&#8221; but TV critics were not convinced.</p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>On the books, snooping in other people&#8217;s computers is illegal. DeGuere isn&#8217;t so sure it ought to be.</p><p>&#8220;We are going through tremendous technological changes in our society, the impact of which we do not know,&#8221; the producer says. &#8220;I do not know the computer laws. I do not know if what these kids do is illegal. These questions have not yet come up in court. But I&#8217;m not sure anybody has the right to establish databases and keep information away from anybody else.&#8221;</p><p>This show, DeGuere says, will be a factor in developing how people deal with these issues.</p><p><cite>&#8220;CBS&#8217;s &#8216;Whiz Kids&#8217; Could Get Straight A&#8217;s In Crime&#8221;. Barbara Holsopple, Pittsburgh Press, June 15th, 1983</cite></p></blockquote><p>You can watch one of the first videos I ever made on the history of hacking below, all about Whiz Kids.</p></p><p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKLbWIS8Yo0\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKLbWIS8Yo0</a></p></p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" /><p><strong>Inner Circle &amp; the Phalsers &#8211; October 1983</strong></p><p>On October 11th the FBI raids against the Inner Circle, the Phalsers and other hackers begin. Telenet had been a playground for hackers since at least the Dalton Gang back in 1980, but the publicity around the 414s, I think, had increased security oversight of the network. When a member of the Inner Circle began wiping systems and locking out user accounts as part of an internal feud the FBI were notified by Telenet and began &#8216;Operation Mainframe&#8217; to apprehend the hackers involved. Journalists actually use the words &#8220;hacker&#8221; and &#8220;hackers&#8221; from the outset of coverage of these arrests.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"629\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png\" data-orig-size=\"588,630\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png?w=280\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png?w=588\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"588\" height=\"630\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png?w=588\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-629\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png 588w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png?w=140 140w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ludington-daily-news-15-oct-1983.png?w=280 280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 588px) 100vw, 588px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Teenagers Face Prosecution If Found To Have Entered Defense Computer Systems&#8221;, Ludington Daily News 15 Oct 1983.png</figcaption></figure></p><p>Looking at the articles written about the Inner Circle raids it is pretty obvious that, for the most part, the novelty of WarGames and hackers as a curiosity was already wearing off, there seems to be a lot less sympathy or curiosity and a lot more unease. I imagine that parents were becoming concerned that their quiet, studious teenage computer addicts could become embroiled in a national security nightmare or nationwide FBI investigation and journalists had a harder time finding a Neal Patrick to put a friendly face on this new hacker case.</p><p>The four kids that initially made the news in relation to the Inner Circle were not members of the hacking group itself and appear to have been kids who were in the friends circle, possibly in real life, of one of the actual Inner Circle members. From what I can gather from the way media coverage developed one or more of their parents hit on what has become a tried and true method of insulating young hackers from criminal prosecution, getting out in front of any potential charges and throwing themselves at the mercy of the press.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"590\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/the-day-14-oct-1983/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png\" data-orig-size=\"517,642\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"the-day-14-oct-1983\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png?w=242\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png?w=517\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"517\" height=\"642\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png?w=517\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-590\" style=\"width:620px;height:642px\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png 517w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png?w=121 121w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-day-14-oct-1983.png?w=242 242w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 517px) 100vw, 517px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;<em>FBI raids teen computer &#8216;hackers&#8217;</em>&#8221; &#8211; The Day 14th October, 1983</figcaption></figure><p>Lots of photos of the kids looking sad and, eventually, an attempt to portray an Inner Circle member the Cracker as a ringleader who had entrapped the kids into breaking the law inadvertently. The Cracker was the original Kevin Mitnick, demonized in the newspapers of the time as the archetypal sinister hacker.</p><p>The raids of the Inner Circle also helped increase the media profile of one of the most infamous and hated characters in 80&#8217;s US hacker lore, John Maxfield, aka Cable Pair, who was to become an FBI asset, anti-hacker hacktivist and talking head on the menace of hacking.</p></p><div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":214587392,\"permalink\":\"https:\\/\\/realhackhistory.org\\/2023\\/09\\/29\\/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers\\/\"}' class=\"wp-block-jetpack-tiled-gallery aligncenter is-style-rectangular\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__gallery\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__row\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:28.85332%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"674\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230917_143845/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png\" data-orig-size=\"527,383\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230917_143845\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?w=527\" data-attachment-id=\"674\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230917_143845/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png\" data-orig-size=\"527,383\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230917_143845\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?w=527\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?strip=info&#038;w=527 527w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"383\" data-id=\"674\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=674\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png?w=527\" data-width=\"527\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230917_143845.png\" /></figure></div><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:43.71814%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"675\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221220_143453/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png\" data-orig-size=\"1167,558\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221220_143453\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?w=1024\" data-attachment-id=\"675\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221220_143453/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png\" data-orig-size=\"1167,558\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221220_143453\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?w=1024\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?strip=info&#038;w=600 600w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?strip=info&#038;w=900 900w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?strip=info&#038;w=1167 1167w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"558\" data-id=\"675\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=675\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png?w=1024\" data-width=\"1167\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_143453.png\" /></figure></div><div class=\"tiled-gallery__col\" style=\"flex-basis:27.42855%\"><figure class=\"tiled-gallery__item\"><img data-attachment-id=\"677\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221220_142130/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png\" data-orig-size=\"706,540\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221220_142130\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?w=706\" data-attachment-id=\"677\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221220_142130/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png\" data-orig-size=\"706,540\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221220_142130\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?w=706\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?strip=info&#038;w=600 600w,https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?strip=info&#038;w=706 706w\" alt=\"\" data-height=\"540\" data-id=\"677\" data-link=\"https://realhackhistory.org/?attachment_id=677\" data-url=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png?w=706\" data-width=\"706\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221220_142130.png\" /></figure></div></div></div></div><p>You can watch part one of a planned two parter video series on the Inner Circle that I created below.</p><p><a href=\"https://youtu.be/ppbx2POxxZU\">https://youtu.be/ppbx2POxxZU</a></p></p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" /><p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p><p>The year 1983 began with journalists discussing &#8220;electronic vandals&#8221;, &#8220;data tappers&#8221; and &#8220;computer raiders&#8221; and ended with a newspaper publishing a &#8220;what is a real hacker anyway&#8221; type think piece.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"604\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png\" data-orig-size=\"677,768\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"thefreelance-star24dec1983-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png?w=264\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png?w=677\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"677\" height=\"768\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png?w=677\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-604\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png 677w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png?w=132 132w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thefreelance-star24dec1983-1.png?w=264 264w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 677px) 100vw, 677px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Are they hackers or criminals?&#8221; &#8211; The Free Lance &#8211; Star 24th December, 1983</figcaption></figure><p>One way to gauge how pivotal a year 1983 was is to look at what happened the year after. In 1984 the Phalsers would get 2600 Magazine up and running and the Legion of Doom and Cult of the Dead Cow would be formed, hacker BBS culture continued to flourish and grow across the US.</p></p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"666\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20230915_104842/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png\" data-orig-size=\"625,340\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20230915_104842\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png?w=625\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"625\" height=\"340\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png?w=625\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-666\" style=\"width:620px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png 625w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20230915_104842.png?w=300 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Illustration by Heidi Stetson, The Boston Phoenix, 13th March 1984</figcaption></figure></p><p>In 1984 journalists would go from observing hackers from a safe distance to becoming part of the story themselves. Newsweek writer Richard Sandoza found himself victimized by hackers and subjected to a &#8220;teletrial&#8221; on a hacker BBS, accused of crimes against hackerdom after joining hacker BBSes posing as a hacker called &#8220;Montana Wildhack&#8221; to research an article. </p><p>I plan a future article or video on the phenomenon of &#8220;teletrials&#8221; as I think they are a riveting part of hacker history that continued as a strand of community revenge into the 90s.</p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-attachment-id=\"683\" data-permalink=\"https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/screenshot_20221221_122327/\" data-orig-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png\" data-orig-size=\"1154,489\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"screenshot_20221221_122327\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=1024\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"433\" src=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-683\" srcset=\"https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=1022 1022w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=150 150w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=300 300w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png?w=768 768w, https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot_20221221_122327.png 1154w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Writer who snitched feels vengeful byte of hackers&#8221;, The Orlando Sentinel, December 5th, 1984</figcaption></figure></p><p>If you&#8217;ve enjoyed this blog please share it and check out realhackhistory on <a href=\"https://twitter.com/realhackhistory\">Mastodon</a>, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLBx0xIydDmgreeALWNb0bg/\">YouTube</a> and (if you must) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/realhackhistory\">Twitter</a>.</p><p><!-- /wp:post-content --></p><p><a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/1980s/\">#1980s</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/1983/\">#1983</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/2600/\">#2600</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/414s/\">#414s</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/computer/\">#computer</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/crashers/\">#crashers</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/dalton-gang/\">#DaltonGang</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/fbi/\">#FBI</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/hacker/\">#hacker</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/hackers/\">#hackers</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/hacking/\">#hacking</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/history/\">#history</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/inner-circle/\">#InnerCircle</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/kevin-mitnick/\">#KevinMitnick</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/mitnick/\">#Mitnick</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/movie/\">#movie</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/newspaper/\">#newspaper</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/phalse/\">#Phalse</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/phalsers/\">#Phalsers</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/police/\">#police</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/roscoe-gang/\">#RoscoeGang</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/war-games/\">#WarGames</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/wargames/\">#WarGames</a> <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://realhackhistory.org/tag/whiz-kids/\">#WhizKids</a></p>" }, "icon": { "type": "Image", "url": "https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-3110770297-e1695992024415.png?w=150", "mediaType": "image/png" }, "image": { "type": "Image", "url": "https://realhackhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot_20230728_203510-3110770297-e1695992024415.png?w=789", "mediaType": "image/png" }, "published": "2023-09-29T15:05:17Z", "tag": [ { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/1980s/", "name": "#1980s" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/1983/", "name": "#1983" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/2600/", "name": "#2600" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/414s/", "name": "#414s" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/computer/", "name": "#computer" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/crashers/", "name": "#crashers" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/dalton-gang/", "name": "#DaltonGang" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/fbi/", "name": "#FBI" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/hacker/", "name": "#hacker" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/hackers/", "name": "#hackers" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/hacking/", "name": "#hacking" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/history/", "name": "#history" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/inner-circle/", "name": "#InnerCircle" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/kevin-mitnick/", "name": "#KevinMitnick" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/mitnick/", "name": "#Mitnick" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/movie/", "name": "#movie" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/newspaper/", "name": "#newspaper" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/phalse/", "name": "#Phalse" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/phalsers/", "name": "#Phalsers" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/police/", "name": "#police" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/roscoe-gang/", "name": "#RoscoeGang" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/war-games/", "name": "#WarGames" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/wargames/", "name": "#WarGames" }, { "type": "Hashtag", "href": "https://realhackhistory.org/tag/whiz-kids/", "name": "#WhizKids" } ], "updated": "2024-07-27T09:11:39Z", "url": "https://realhackhistory.org/2023/09/29/1983-the-year-pop-culture-caught-up-with-hackers/", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ 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