Legion of Doom (hacker group)
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Template:Infobox computer underground
The Legion of Doom (LOD) was a hacker group that active from the 1980s to the late 1990s and early 2000. Their name appears to be a reference to the antagonists of Challenge of the Superfriends.
LOD was founded by the hacker Lex Luthor, after a rift with his previous group the Knights of Shadow (much as the Masters of Deception would later be founded after Phiber Optik had a rift with Chris Goggans and LOD, eventually leading to the Great Hacker War and disbanding of both groups).
At different points in the group's history, LOD was split into LOD and LOD/LOH (Legion of Doom/Legion of Hackers) for the members that were more skilled at hacking than pure phone phreaking.
Unlike Masters of Deception there were different opinions regarding what the Legion of Doom was. LOD published the Legion of Doom Technical Journals and regularly contributed to the overall pool of hacking knowledge and information, while causing no direct harm to the phone systems and computer networks they took over. On the other hand, many LOD members were raided, charged and in some cases successfully prosecuted for causing damage to systems and reprogramming phone company computers (Grant, Darden and Riggs, etc). While the "Bellsouth" case could be construed as exploration of the phone system, with claims that no real damage was done, there are other former LOD members such as Corey A. Lindsly (a.k.a. Mark Tabas) who were clearly interested in for-profit computer crime, with no goal except personal gain.[1][2]
Although the overall expressed beliefs and behavior of LOD and MOD were different, it can be difficult to untangle the individual actions of any given member. In many cases there seems to be cross-over between the two groups or collaboration between LOD and MOD members, even in the midst of The Great Hacker War.
Members of LOD
As of 2009 what has happened to each individual member of the Legion of Doom is unknown. A small handful of the higher-profile LOD members who are accounted for includes: Chris Goggans "Erik Bloodaxe", Dave Buchwald "Bill From RNOC", Patrick K. Kroupa "Lord Digital", Loyd Blankenship "The Mentor", Bruce Fancher "Dead Lord" and Mark Abene "Phiber Optik", who was a member of both LOD and Masters of Deception (MOD).
Other members included: Leonard Rose "Terminus"[3] Steven Nygard "The Dragyn", Steven G. Steinberg "Frank Drake", Corey A. Lindsly "Mark Tabas", Peter Jay Salzman "Thomas Covenant", Kenton Clark "Monster X", Adam Grant "The Urvile", Frank Darden "The Leftist", Robert Riggs "The Prophet", Todd Lawrence "The Marauder", Scott Chasin "Doc Holiday", Dan Karon "Control-C" aka "Phase Jitter", Chuck Poole "Compu-Phreak", and Robert Keyes "Dr. Who" aka "Skinny Puppy".
Former LOD people whose legal names are unknown include: Dr. Dos, Agrajag The Prolonged, King Blotto, Blue Archer, Unknown Soldier, Sharp Razor, Paul Muad'Dib (deceased), Phucked Agent 04, Randy Smith, Steve Dahl, The Warlock, Terminal Man, Silver Spy, The Videosmith, Kerrang Khan, Gary Seven, Carrier Culprit, Phantom Phreaker, Doom Prophet, Prime Suspect, and Professor Falken.
References
- ^ "Phone Masters" Ringleaders Sentenced to Prison: 41 Months U.S. Department of Justice, Press Release, 1999.
- ^ Crime and Justice, Sneakin' Around Crime & Justice, Willamette Week, January 12, 1999.
- ^ Henry Weinstein (23 Mar 1991). "Hacker Enters Guilty Plea in Theft of Computer Data". Business; PART-D; Financial Desk: Los Angeles Times. p. 2. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
Public access legal records and transcripts
- US Government's Sentencing Memorandum, US v. Grant, Darden and Riggs, Criminal Action Number 1:90-CR-31, December, 1990. (US Government v. "Legion of Doom")
- LOD Technical Manuals and source notices
- The Legion of Doom/Hackers Technical Journal