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Phrack Inc. Volume 03 Issue 31 File 05
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Three, Issue Thirty-one, Phile #5 of 10
The History of The Legion Of Doom
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During the summer of 1984 an idea was formulated that would ultimately
change the face of the computer underground forever. This particular
summer, a huge surge of interest in computer telecommunications placed
an incredibly large number of new enthusiasts on the national computer scene.
This crowd of people all seeking to learn as much as possible
began to put a strain on the nation's bulletin board scene, as the novices
stormed the phonelines in search of knowledge. From out of this chaos
came a need for learned instructors to help pass on their store of
information to the new throngs.
One of the most popular bulletin boards of the day was a system in New York
state called Plovernet, which was run by a person who called himself
Quasi-Moto. This BBS was so heavily trafficked, that a major long
distance company began blocking all calls to its number (516-935-2481).
The co-sysop of Plovernet was a person known as Lex Luthor. At the time
there were a few hacking groups in existence, such as Fargo-4A and Knights of
Shadow. Lex was admitted into KOS in early 1984, but after making a few
suggestions about new members, and having them rejected, Lex decided to
put up an invitation only BBS and to start forming a new group.
Starting around May of 1984, Lex began to contact those people who he had
seen on BBSes such as Plovernet and the people that he knew personally
who possessed the kind of superior knowledge that the group he envisioned
should have. Many phone calls and Alliance Teleconferences later, the
group of individuals who made up the original Legion of Doom were compiled.
They were:
Lex Luthor
Karl Marx
Mark Tabas
Agrajag the Prolonged
King Blotto
Blue Archer
EBA
The Dragyn
Unknown Soldier
The group originally consisted of two parts: Legion of Doom, and Legion
of Hackers. The latter was a sub-group of the first, comprised
of people who were more advanced in computer related subjects. Later on,
as members began to all become more computer-based, the Legion of Hackers
was absolved. (The name "Legion of Doom" came from the cartoon series
"Superfriends," in which Lex Luthor, Superman's arch rival, led a group
by the same name)
The actual Legion of Doom bulletin board was quite ahead of its time.
It was one of the first "Invitation-only" hacking based BBSes; it was the
first BBS with security that caused the system to remain idle until
a primary password was entered; and it was the first hacking BBS to deal
with many subjects in close detail, such as trashing and social
engineering. The BBS underwent three number changes and three different
login procedures during its life. At its height, the BBS had over
150 users and averaged about 15 posts per day. This may seem
high when compared to contemporary BBSes, but this was a private system,
with only very-competent users, so the quality of messages content was always
high.
There was always some confusion that falsely assumed since someone
was on the LOD BBS, that they were a member of the group. In fact,
only a handful of the total LOD membership were ever on the actual
LOD BBS.
The Legion of Doom also had special subboards created for its members on
other BBSes after the home base BBS went offline. The first was on
Blottoland, the next on Catch-22, followed by one on the Phoenix Project,
and the last on Black Ice Private. The group's members have usually tried to
keep a low profile publicly, and usually limited their trade of information
to select private BBSes and personal telephone conversations. This adherence
to privacy has always added to the LOD mistique. Since most people didn't
know exactly what the group was involved in, or experimenting with, people
always assumed that it was something far too detailed or sensitive to be
discussed. For the most part, this was not true, but it did not help to
diminish the paranoia of security personnel that LOD was after their
company's systems.
The group has undergone three distinct phases, each a result of membership
changes. The first phase ended with the busts of Marx, Tabas, Steve Dahl,
Randy Smith, X-man, and the abandonment by Agrajag and King Blotto.
The group lay semi-dormant for several months, until a resurgence
in the summer of 1986, in which several new members were admitted, and a new
surge of would-be hackers appeared, ready to be tutored. This phase again
ended in a series of busts and paranoia. The third phase basically revolved
around Summercon of 1988, where several new members were admitted by those
LOD members attending the festivites. The third phase is now at an end
brought on by busts and related paranoia, again, two years after its onset.
There is no indication that points to any resurgence in the future, but
nothing is certain until summer.
Since its creation, LOD has tried to put out informative files on a wide
variety of topics of interest to its contemporaries. These files ranged from
the first actual scanned directory of Telenet, to files on various operating
systems. The LOD Technical Journal was to be a semi-regular electronic
magazine comprised of such files, and other items of interest to the hacking
community. Only three issues of the Technical Journal were produced. As
the fourth issue was being pieced together, several members were raided, and
work on it was abandoned.
>From the time it was formed continuing up to the present, the Legion of
Doom has been quite a topic of controversy in the computer underground and
with computer security professionals. The Legion of Doom has been
called everything from "Organized Crime" to "a Communist threat to national
security" to "an international conspiracy of computer terrorists bent
on destroying the nation's 911 service." Nothing comes closer to the
actual truth than "bored adolescents with too much spare time."
LOD members may have entered into systems numbering in the tens of
thousands, they may have peeped into credit histories, they may
have monitored telephone calls, they may have snooped into files and
buffered interesting text, they may still have total control over
entire computer networks; but, what damage have they done? None, with
the exception of unpaid use of CPU time and network access charges. What
personal gains have any members made? None, with the exception of three
instances of credit fraud that were instigated by three separate greedy
individuals, without group knowledge.
The Legion of Doom will long be remembered in the computer underground as
an innovative and pioneering force, that consistently raised the collective
level of knowledge, and provided many answers to questions ranging from the
workings of the telephone system to the structure of computer operating
systems. No other group dedicated to the persuit of computer and
telecommunications knowledge has survived longer, and none probably will.
The Legion of Doom 1984--1990
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni of the Fraternal Order of the Legion of Doom (Lambda Omega Delta)
Handle Entered Exited Location Reasons for leaving
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lex Luthor Early 84-- Florida
Karl Marx Early 84--Late 85 Colorado Bust w/Tabas..College
Mark Tabas Early 84--Late 85 Colorado Too numerous to list
Agrajag the Prolonged Early-84--Late 85 California Loss of Interest
King Blotto Early 84--Late 85 Ohio College
Blue Archer Early 84--Late 87 Texas College
EBA Early 84-- Texas
The Dragyn Early 84--Late 86 Minnesota Loss of Interest
Unknown Soldier Early 84--Early 85 Florida Bust-Toll Fraud
Sharp Razor Late 84--Early 86 New Jersey Bust-Compuserve Abuse
Sir Francis Drake Late 84--Early 86 California Loss of Interest
Paul Muad'dib Late 84--Early 86 New York Modem Broke
Phucked Agent 04 Late 84--Late 87 California College
X-Man Late 84--Mid 85 New York Bust-Blue Boxing
Randy Smith Late 84--Mid 85 Missouri Bust-Credit Fraud
Steve Dahl Early 85--Early 86 Illinois Bust-Credit Fraud
The Warlock Early 85--Early 86 Florida Loss of Interest
Terminal Man Early 85--Late 85 Massachusetts Expelled from Group
Dr. Who Early 85--Late 89 Massachusetts Several Reasons
The Videosmith Early 86--Late 87 Pennsylvania Paranoia
Kerrang Kahn Early 86--Mid 89 London, UK Loss of Interest
Gary Seven Early 86--Mid 88 Florida Loss of Interest
The Marauder Early 86--Mid 89 Connecticut Loss of Interest
Silver Spy Late 86--Late 87 Massachusettts College
Bill from RNOC Early 87--Late 87 New York Bust-Hacking
The Leftist Mid 87--Late 89 Georgia Bust-Hacking
Phantom Phreaker Mid 87-- Illinois
Doom Prophet Mid 87-- Illinois
Jester Sluggo Mid 87-- North Dakota
Carrier Culprit Mid 87--Mid 88 Pennsylvania Loss of Interest
Master of Impact Mid 87--Mid 88 California Loss of Interest
Thomas Covenant Early 88--Early 90 New York Bust-Hacking
The Mentor Mid 88--Early 90 Texas Retired
Necron 99 Mid 88--Late 89 Georgia Bust-Hacking
Control C Mid 88--Early 90 Michigan
Prime Suspect Mid 88-- New York
The Prophet Mid 88--Late 89 Georgia Bust-Hacking
Phiber Optik Early 89--Early 90 New York Bust-Hacking
** AKA **
Randy Smith Poof!
Dr. Who Skinny Puppy
Kerrang Kahn Red Eye
Phantom Phreaker ANI Failure / Psychedelic Ranger
Doom Prophet Trouble Verify
Thomas Covenant Sigmund Fraud / Pumpkin Pete
Necron 99 The Urvile
Control C Phase Jitter
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