At the age of just 10, Kubecka’s school had just gotten a grant and installed some brand-new computers that fed her curiosity. In her own words, Kubecka explained: "I explored so much, I found my way into the Department of Justice and the FBI, and I thought, this can’t really be real.
“It must be a game, because their passcode was only zero, zero, zero, zero. So I didn’t think it was real, because it was too easy.”
Unfortunately for the young hacker, she really had found her way into the DoJ and the FBI, accidentally stumbling across files on undercover FBI agents.
Explaining a little more about how she hacked the FBI, Kubecka said she used a dial-up modem and simply saw whether the computer on the other end was connected. If it were, she could communicate with it, possible to even play games on someone else’s computer back in the day.
What is this? The introduction to the movie Hackers?
On August 10, 1988, 11-year-old Dade “Zero Cool” Murphy is banned from owning or operating computers and touch-tone telephones, until his 18th birthday, after his family is fined US$45,000 (equivalent to $120,000 in 2024) for his crashing of 1,507 computer systems, causing a seven-point drop in the New York Stock Exchange.
I started just to point out that the 7 point drop was big in 1988, but then wondered if this was a real event. (When the movie came out, I remember thinking that really happened.)
Looking at it again, I don’t know if I am finding real information , or movie publicity
Delaying the sell-off slightly the mayhem appeared to stem from a computer virus rendering key exchange systems inaccessible with NYSE registering a 7-point drop. Initial reports put the number of systems impacted at 1,507. This would make the havoc one of the biggest computer crashes in history.
A ‘‘hacker’’ believed to have instigated the turmoil from beyond state-lines in Seattle is a prime suspect. Known only by an alias or ‘‘handle’’ on computer bulletin boards as ‘‘Zero Cool’’, Federal prosecutors hope to have them arraigned quickly sending a message to other potential electronic trespassers.
Looking up “Zero Cool”, only locates a 1960’s book about a Doctor.
Unfortunately, the responses to these kinds of incidents have often been assinine. If a 10 year old manages to “hack into” your system, either they are really smart or your organization is incredibly incompetent.
Its amazing how many hacks, even high profile ones do involve the computer skills of a 10 year old. There was one a few years ago where 3 teenagers broke into DoD servers but all they really did was social engineer one low level gaming company employee to get their login to try see a games files early, once that was done it turned out all the info neccesary to escalate permissions was already available via that employees credentials completely unsecured, then it turned out the company was contracting for the army and had access to some of their servers and subsiquently the DoD, again, completely unsecured.
Once you’re inside the house none of the doors are locked and sprawling organisations get awfully careless about who they give a key to the front door.
https://www.uniladtech.com/news/tech-news/fbi-woman-hack-10-years-old-reveal-punishment-450281-20251208
What is this? The introduction to the movie Hackers?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_(film)
More like WarGames, except with the FBI instead of NORAD.
I started just to point out that the 7 point drop was big in 1988, but then wondered if this was a real event. (When the movie came out, I remember thinking that really happened.)
Looking at it again, I don’t know if I am finding real information , or movie publicity
https://www.cyberdelianyc.com/www.nytimes.com/1988/08/10/business/wall-street-plunges-computer-crash-hackers.html, which in part says:
Looking up “Zero Cool”, only locates a 1960’s book about a Doctor.
Here is the real headline from that day.
https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/10/world/36-said-to-die-in-burmese-protests-as-troops-battle-with-thousands.html
Thank you. Not a funny headline day.
If anyone wants to know how that turned out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8888_Uprising
In Summary: Not good.
Ah, good times. Thanks for this
The event is mentioned in the imdb trivia for the movie. Hackers (1995) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113243/trivia?item=tr6109617
I want to claim it was me, but I am only a copy
Unfortunately, the responses to these kinds of incidents have often been assinine. If a 10 year old manages to “hack into” your system, either they are really smart or your organization is incredibly incompetent.
Its amazing how many hacks, even high profile ones do involve the computer skills of a 10 year old. There was one a few years ago where 3 teenagers broke into DoD servers but all they really did was social engineer one low level gaming company employee to get their login to try see a games files early, once that was done it turned out all the info neccesary to escalate permissions was already available via that employees credentials completely unsecured, then it turned out the company was contracting for the army and had access to some of their servers and subsiquently the DoD, again, completely unsecured.
Once you’re inside the house none of the doors are locked and sprawling organisations get awfully careless about who they give a key to the front door.