Space Rogue on L0pht Heavy Industries, 90s infosec lessons and “gray hat” hacking

Hacker Cris Thomas – better known by his old bulletin board system handle Space Rogue – has witnessed the infosec community grow from a hodgepodge network of hacking collectives to a multibillion dollar industry. 

Space Rogue was a member of the L0pht Heavy Industries hacker group that made its name poking holes in premier products from burgeoning tech giants like Microsoft and Oracle. Now Global Lead of Policy and Special Initiatives at IBM, he is also author of a new memoir recounting his experiences from the “magical hacker scene” of the 1990s, Space Rogue: How the Hackers Known As L0pht Changed the World. 

In the latest episode of WE’RE IN!, Space Rogue shares his side of the story from L0pht’s influential May 1998 testimony before Congress, in which the hackers warned of glaring security vulnerabilities that remain relevant to this day. 

Tune in to hear more from Space Rogue on: 

• Tales from early meetings of the famous hacker quarterly 2600 
• The value of college versus certifications for anyone seeking to launch an infosec career
• The fragility of the modern internet