Mark Abene
Mark Abene | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 23, 1972 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, information security specialist |
| Known for | Hacker alias Phiber Optik; member of Legion of Doom and Masters of Deception |
Mark Abene (born February 23, 1972) is a New York City-based American entrepreneur and specialist in information security. He is widely recognized by his alias Phiber Optik and was affiliated with the hacker collectives Legion of Doom and Masters of Deception.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Phiber Optik gained significant prominence as a hacker, receiving coverage in publications such as The New York Times, Harper's, and Esquire, as well as participating in televised discussions and debates. He is prominently featured in the 1995 nonfiction work Masters of Deception: The Gang That Ruled Cyberspace ().
Early life
Abene’s initial interaction with computers occurred around the age of nine at a nearby store. His first personal computer was a TRS-80 MC-10, equipped with 4 KB of RAM, a 32-column display, no protective casing, and utilized a cassette tape recorder for loading software, with a television serving as its monitor.
Following an upgrade to 20 KB of RAM and the addition of a 300 baud modem, he connected to CompuServe and explored dial-up BBS networks through CompuServe's "CB simulator", which was the first nationwide online chat platform. On certain BBSs, he located dial-up access points and guest accounts for DEC minicomputer systems running RSTS/E and TOPS-10 operating systems via the BOCES educational initiative in Long Island. Access to these minicomputers provided him with more advanced programming capabilities than his home setup. He began learning programming languages through library resources and utilized remote storage to preserve his programs, broadening his perspective on computing as a gateway to expansive opportunities.
Legal tribulations
On January 24, 1990, Abene and fellow members of MOD experienced home searches and seizure of property by the U.S. Secret Service, following suspicions that they were responsible for the January 15 crash of AT&T Corporation's network—a charge specifically directed at Abene. However, weeks later AT&T acknowledged that the outage was caused by a faulty software update to their long-distance switching infrastructure, attributing it to human error. In February 1991, Abene faced arrest on charges of computer tampering and trespassing in New York; although he pleaded "not guilty" as a minor, he ultimately accepted a plea bargain for a lesser misdemeanor offense, resulting in 35 hours of community service.
In December 1991, Abene along with four other Masters of Deception members were apprehended and subsequently indicted on July 8, 1992, facing an 11-count indictment. The case heavily depended on court-sanctioned wiretaps capturing conversations among MOD members. U.S. Attorney Otto Obermaier highlighted this as the "first investigative use of court-authorized wiretaps to obtain conversations and data transmissions of computer hackers" within the United States.
After completing a one-year term at the Federal Prison Camp in Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, Abene was released in November 1994. His return was commemorated at Manhattan's Irving Plaza during "Phiberphest '95" in January 1995. Time magazine described him as "the first underground hero of the Information Age, the Robin Hood of cyberspace." Following his release, Phiber Optik became a regular visitor at the @Cafe, which served as a popular social gathering spot.
Social protests
With the indictment, U.S. Attorney Obermeier declared that such behavior "will not be tolerated, regardless of the accused's age or supposed intent," a stance that supporters interpreted as using MOD to set a precedent in combating the perceived "hacker threat." During sentencing, Judge Stanton highlighted that "the defendant represents a symbol," cautioning that hacking constituted a genuine danger to the growing information highway, reinforcing the perspective that Abene was judged as an emblem for the entire hacking community rather than solely for his individual offenses.
Professional life
Abene has authored articles on security issues for prominent outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Time. He has delivered presentations at international hacker and cybersecurity conferences and regularly collaborates with academic institutions to address topics related to information security.
He ventured into acting with his role as "The Inside Man" in the 2006 movie Urchin, which premiered in the United States in 2007 and featured other well-known hackers including Dave Buchwald and Emmanuel Goldstein.
Bibliography
- "The Rise and Fall of Information Security in the Western World". Presentation by Mark Abene at the Hack in the Box security conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2007.
- "Mark Abene, from 'Phiber Optik' to security guru". CNET interview.
- event. New York Software Industry Association.
- Goldstein, Emmanuel (2001). Freedom Downtime, opening sequence.
- Savage, Annaliza (September 1995). Notes from the underground — Phiber Optik goes directly to jail. .net Issue 10.
- Quittner, Joshua (January 23, 1995). Hacker Homecoming. Time.
- Dibbell, Julian (January 12, 1994). Prisoner: Phiber Optik Goes Directly to Jail. The Village Voice
- Sterling, Bruce (January 1994). The Hacker Crackdown — Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier.
- Goldstein, Emmanuel (November 10, 1993). "Interview with Phiber Optik". Off the Hook radio show.
- Electronic Frontier Foundation (July 9, 1992). Federal hacking indictments issued against five in New York City.
- Newsbytes (July 9, 1992). New York Computer Crime Indictments.
- Grand jury, United States District Court Southern District of New York (1992). Indictment of Julio Fernandez, John Lee, Mark Abene, Elias Ladopoulos, Paul Stira.
- "All Circuits are Busy Now: The 1990 AT&T Long Distance Network Collapse".
External links
- The History of MOD
- modbook1.txt — The History of MOD: Book One: The Originals
- modbook2.txt — The History of MOD: Book Two: Creative Mindz
- modbook3.txt — The Book of MOD: Part Three: A Kick in the Groin
- modbook4.txt — The Book of MOD: Part Four: End of '90-'1991
- modbook5.txt — The Book of MOD: Part 5: Who Are They and Where Did They Come From? (Summer 1991)
- Phiber Optik Goes to Prison — Article in Wired by Julian Dibbell
- Off the Hook episodes (available as MP3 files)