Phrack
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 The introduction to Phrack, issue 1 |
|
| Editor | Circle of the Lost Hackers |
|---|---|
| Former editors | Taran King Knight Lightning Crimson Death Dispater Erik Bloodaxe route Phrackstaff |
| Categories | Hacking |
| Frequency | No set frequency |
| First issue | November 17, 1985 |
| Language | English |
| Website | phrack.org |
Phrack is an ezine written by and for hackers first published November 17, 1985.[1] Described by Fyodor as "the best, and by far the longest running hacker zine,"[2] the magazine is open for contributions by anyone who desires to publish remarkable works or express original ideas on the topics of interest. It has a wide circulation which includes both hackers and computer security professionals.[3]
Originally covering subjects related to phreaking and telephone system hacking, anarchy and cracking,[1] the articles also cover a wide range of topics including computer and physical security, hacking, cryptography and international news.
Phrack "has had its finger on the pulse of hacker culture",[4] and is considered both a handbook and a manifesto for hackers.[5]
Contents |
[edit] History
Phrack, first released on November 17, 1985, takes its name from the words "phreak" and "hack".[6]. The founding editors of the magazine, known by the pseudonyms "Taran King" and "Knight Lightning", edited most of the first 30 editions.[7] Editions were originally released onto the Metal Shop bulletin board system, where Taran King was a sysop,[1] and widely mirrored by other boards.[6]
[edit] Arrest of Knight Lightning
The 24th issue of Phrack, released February 1989, included a document relating to the workings of Enhanced 911 emergency response systems.[8] This document, copied from a BellSouth computer, played a major part in a series of Secret Service raids called Operation Sundevil and featured in Bruce Sterling's book The Hacker Crackdown. Phrack's editor, Knight Lightning, was arrested and charged with access device fraud and transportation of stolen property.[9]
The E911 document was an administrative document describing which parts of the organization are responsible for what parts of the E911 system.[9]
The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed an amicus brief supporting Knight Lightning, and helped to get the case dropped[10] by introducing a witness who showed that Bellcore was selling more detailed documentation to the E911 system for as little as $13 to anyone who asked. The E911 document had been valued by the prosecution at over $80,000. As the case was dropped, Knight Lightning was not found guilty or innocent.[9]
Phrack also showed up in the two part Operation Moon Witch storyline, published in 1992's The Hacker Files by DC Comics, a story based on Operation Sundevil.
[edit] The 1990s
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (December 2008) |
Other editors had occasionally edited the magazine during the 1980s, but after the arrest of Knight Lightning Phrack continued under a number of editors including Crimson Death, Dispater, Erik Bloodaxe and route.
[edit] Continuation after the "last issue"
In 2005, it was announced that Phrack was to come to an end, with the 63rd issue as its last. To commemorate Phrack's final appearance, this issue was to be a hardback edition, released simultaneously at the DEF CON and What the Hack conventions on July 29. An e-zine version of the release followed on August 1. The European printer for the hardcopies of Phrack to be distributed at DEF CON refused to fulfill the order once they realized that they were printing a Hacking book. Two University of Arizona students filled the gap and printed 200 copies of Phrack in time for the convention.
Issue 63 told readers to "expect a new release,"[11] and on May 27, 2007, issue 64 was released by a new board of editors referring to themselves as "The Circle of Lost Hackers." (TCLH).[12]. TCLH eventually released issue #65 of Phrack on April 11, 2008. On June 11, 2009, TCLH released another issue of Phrack, bringing the count up to 66.
[edit] Content
Phrack issues are released irregularly, and like academic publications issues are grouped into volumes. Each issue comprises a number of Philes: stand-alone text files of very technical or counter-cultural content. Philes are submitted by members of the hacker underground community, and are reviewed by the editors.
Having an article published in Phrack is seen as prestigious by hackers, and often allowed access to more sources of information.
In addition to technical articles, Phrack also provided a focus for news and gossip among the hacker community.[4]
In the 1990 National Computer Security Conference, Sheldon Zenner and Dorothy Denning suggested that Phrack articles contained the same factual content in computer and security magazines, but differed in tone.[13]
[edit] Notable articles
Phrack is especially popular due to the general high standard of the releases compared to other underground zines, but has made its reputation from a number of high-quality articles.
- Hacker Manifesto by The Mentor has been an inspiration to young hackers since the 1980s, was published in the 7th issue of Phrack.
- Smashing The Stack For Fun And Profit by Aleph One, published in issue 49, is the "classic paper"[14] on stack buffer overflows, partly responsible for popularizing the vulnerability.[15]
[edit] Regular features
Several regular columns are present in most issues of Phrack, such as:
- Prophile - the presentation of a very influential character from the hacking underground.
- Loopback - answers to the most original (or stupid) emails received by the phrack staff.
- Phrack World News - a compilation of reports on the latest counter-culture events.
- International Scene - a compilation of testimonies from hackers all around the world focusing on national and international activities.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Taran King (1985-11-17), "Introduction", Phrack (1): 1, http://phrack.org/issues.html?issue=1&id=1#article
- ^ Fyodor. "Fyodor's Select Links". http://insecure.org/links.html.
- ^ Sturgeon, Will (2005-07-11). "Long-lived hacker mag shuts down". CNet. http://www.news.com/Long-lived-hacker-mag-shuts-down/2100-7349_3-5783383.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ a b Thomas, Douglas (2003). Hacker Culture. University of Minnesota Press. p. 121. ISBN 9780816633463.
- ^ Ward, Mark (2005-07-09). "Key hacker magazine faces closure". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4657265.stm. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ a b Sterling, Bruce (1993-11-01). "Part 2". The Hacker Crackdown. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-56370-X. http://www.mit.edu:8001/hacker/part2.html.
- ^ Phrack Staff (2002-12-28), "Introduction", Phrack (60): 1, http://phrack.org/issues.html?issue=60&id=1#article
- ^ The Eavesdropper (1989-02-25), "Control Office Administration Of Enhanced 911 Services For Special Services And Major Account Centers", Phrack (24): 5, http://phrack.org/issues.html?issue=24&id=5#article
- ^ a b c Sterling, Bruce (1993-11-01). "Part 4". The Hacker Crackdown. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-56370-X. http://www.mit.edu:8001/hacker/part4.html.
- ^ Barlow, John Perry (November 8, 1990). "A Not Terribly Brief History of the Electronic Frontier Foundation". http://w2.eff.org/Misc/Publications/John_Perry_Barlow/HTML/not_too_brief_history.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-06.
- ^ Phrack Staff (2005-08-01), "Introduction", Phrack (63): 1, http://phrack.org/issues.html?issue=63&id=1#article
- ^ The Circle of Lost Hackers (2007-05-27), "Introduction", Phrack (64): 1, http://phrack.org/issues.html?issue=64&id=1#article
- ^ Phrack 32 Phile 7
- ^ Conry-Murray, Andrew (2005-07-04). "Busted Buffer: How To Prevent It". InformationWeek. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=165600196. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ Barrett, Neil (2003-11-05). "Worms: many unhappy returns". IT Week. http://www.vnunet.com/itweek/comment/2086023/worms-unhappy-returns. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
