Hacker Perspective: Derneval Cunha
The first thing that enters my mind when an unknown guy introduces himself as a hacker is "he must be nuts." The second thought is "even crazy people might have some good information." The third thought is "it might be a setup." Because most of the time, there are no hackers in front of me. There are people trying to save money, people who want to unblock their smartphones, people who want to find out about their girlfriends. And people who want to sneak into places they don't belong.
I might as well tell my story.
I started as a nerd and didn't play soccer (which in Brazil was pretty rare). In 1982, I went to Europe. In London, there was this Tron movie in the theaters, and the Osborne computer was available for sale - a dream for a sci-fi fan like me, but out of reach. In France, I did some phreaking (check the YouTube "Gardel's Ghost" video). Once I almost got arrested. In all, I traveled and lived in an "alternative lifestyle" for about nine months.
Back in Brazil, I visited a relative of mine in Brasilia (Brazil's capital) and he introduced me to the "computer scene" there. Or, should I say, "kids addicted to Spectrum computers and the video games scene." He taught me a lot about that strange new world, all centered around computer shops, BASIC language programs, and video game arcades. As close to the WarGames movie as it could be in those days.
Long story cut short, years later I passed the entrance exam for German literature at the University of São Paulo. No tuition fees and free student housing. It was not computer science, but resources there were not scarce. There were lots of computer labs throughout the campus, mostly PCs with 512k memory. (In those days, that hardware was worth about US $2000.) There were even computer labs open 24/7 like in the Polytechnic School of Engineering. I went there and it took me about ten minutes to team up with the "computer gang." We were all "computer pirates." They called themselves "rataiada" (bunch of rats).
Time passed and I achieved the dream of an internship - just to research the Internet. My job was to keep doing Telnet, FTP, etc. for 20 hours a week for those days in 1993 and 1994 when there was no Google.
In October 1994, there was a "hacker and virus conference" in Buenos Aires, Argentina and that was another life changer. Argentina had a strong computer virus and hacking scene, but most people were BBS-oriented. The study of computer viruses was a really popular theme everywhere in the world at the time. There were about five virus ezines and a paper publication, Virus Report, that organized the whole thing.
My Internet research (at my internship) was about computers and education. But I also got to be a guest speaker. As such, I gave interviews and did some networking with an MIT virus researcher who gave me a CD packed with lots and lots of docs, info it would have taken months and months to find and even download in those days. I also learned how to write articles in magazines.
Back in Brazil, I started to be known as a "hacker." Great powers and great responsibilities. The hacker ethic was still new for me, but I had gotten so much knowledge... it seemed a shame not to share. It got into my head that I could be the first Brazilian guy to write and publish something on the subject and inform people about that hacker universe. I first tried the paper press. But no journalist was interested in computers and hackers, something which changed after The Net. (By the way, TV people interviewed me about that movie and a review from 2600 helped me.)
So to spread the word about hackers, I started a "hackers" list and a magazine for fans - known as a "fanzine." I called this electronic fanzine an "ezine." Paper fanzines were nothing new, but my idea was a jackpot. Both the (not USENET) list and the Barata Eletrica ezine were a hit. They went viral. Journalists started to look for me for interviews and to help with articles (many times an "interview" turned out to be nothing more than a quest for help with an article). The Mitnick arrest made headlines and created more of this.
Being a one man show, it was tough. I had to write most of the articles. I had to think them. I had to edit the zine. And I had to distribute it on the Internet. People wanted more articles teaching "dark subjects," but the Internet there in Brazil was still such a baby. I even used my real name. My signature had my name, a paper mail address, and the phrase "I login, therefore I am." (My efforts paid off - a few years ago, a top brass from the cybernetic section of the Brazilian army introduced himself and shook my hand at a security conference in São Paulo.)
In 1995, I went to London again, this time for the Access All Areas conference. It wasn't the same as HOPE or HEU, but I ended up being the first guy to write in Portuguese about a lot of subjects like ECHELON (check the documentary ECHELON: The Secret Power on YouTube). I met friends from Argentina, later went to Amsterdam, and hitchhiked to Berlin to visit the Chaos Computer Club.
Back in Brazil, I helped start a once-a-month hacker meeting in bars and restaurants. Sometimes there were huge gatherings. I would always talk of the wonders of Linux.
I basically hacked together a hacker scene in my country: hacker ethics, government surveillance, digital citizenship, hacker meetings, electronic publications, you name it. My Barata Eletrica ("electric cockroach") ezine was read everywhere, on BBSes and the Internet. First it spread by email, then USENET, then the EFF hacker library. When the first Brazilian websites started to appear, there would be links to mine. And I paid attention to tags. For a time, my ezine would always come first in Google searches.
That was the "honeymoon." By 1996 and onwards, it was like a "marriage." With the commercial Internet, more people started logging in and some of them confused nuking, defacing websites, taking control of computers, and phishing scams with hacking. Out of fear, I did not write a book. I didn't want to be confused with "copycats." To top it off, I was jobless. I suspect I was "blacklisted" too, as people would not hire me.
The tide had changed and I can't say I didn't see it coming. And then I felt some stabs in the back. Magazines were publishing articles pretty close to "how to be a hacker." And people were publishing fake "how to be a hacker" books using my material. I could have sued people. But suing might have given them more publicity. And I could have lost. It's not easy to explain, but thinking about it, if you are famous, things can get a bit out of control.
There is a popular quote here that says "pork snout is not an electrical outlet," but after years of explaining to people what hacking is all about, I am proud of myself. I never had to hire any lawyers and explain things to a judge in court in order to avoid jail. What I did do was change my style, and tell everybody the dangers of writing zines. That took some time, but stopped the flow of copycats.
By the turn of the century, there was so much bad press about online vandalism that people who attended those early hacker meetings asked to be forgotten. There were "hacker conferences," but for me they were just a chance to meet foreign guests. The IT job market is really tough when you're over 40 even if you've got the right certifications. No job offers except maybe selling IT security products.
A few years ago, I went back to the university. I thought maybe learning math would enhance my chances of working with computers again. There was this opening for an internship dealing with Linux administration in the students' computer network for 20 hours a week - the sort of thing one does as a hobby. I even got as far as training for the job. Then they changed their minds and did not hire me. But I didn't care. I knew I would be back at the top. There will be a day for people like me. We are survivors.
Let's be smart enough to see beyond our capacity. We can't even be sure democracy will survive. It's a whole new world. In São Paulo, working at home proved to be such a hit that whole office buildings are now empty for good. Perhaps "hot" office locations like Paulista Avenue in São Paulo, Manhattan Island in New York, or The City (London) all will be replaced by people working in suburbs or apartments. And people might never move from their home towns to live in big towns in search of education or better jobs. Maybe it's better for people in the IT industry. Soon people will invest more and more cash into hardware.
One trend which is quite appealing in my opinion is fixing things instead of buying, as well as developing low-cost wares that replicate apps or hardware that people have to pay exorbitant prices to own. Looking back in the history of the computer industry, IBM only started to develop low-cost PC machines because people were already crafting and selling low-cost computers. Now, with hundreds of thousands of people who are working, studying, and living lives inside their houses (if they are lucky enough to have a roof over their heads), they need to have cheap alternatives to hardware that will allow for that long distance interaction.
My advice to future hackers? I prefer "common sense."
Never ever claim you're a hacker or anything like that. If you're good, people will notice that. Suppose you want to impress family and friends and adopt such a life. People will probably ask you to teach programming, check their computers, or upgrade their software, hardware, etc. And because "information must be free," they won't talk about money. Of course, if something goes wrong, it's on you. The computer was O.K. - you destroyed it.
Even when it was mostly on BBSes, people with very little computer curiosity or experience wanted to copy things they saw in the movies. They bought a computer, a few books, and "tried to hack NASA." Don't do it. If you do get famous, chances are you won't get a big paycheck out of it.
When dealing with and researching "gray area stuff" (like Bitcoin), it's a good idea to encrypt all important data, have a copy of that stuff somewhere safe, and have someone you trust who can go to your place to water the plants, pay the bills, etc., in case you can't. It's best to be prepared.
It seems likely that sooner or later in life, everybody is gonna go to the police for one reason or another. It always helps to know something about how they work and to have the name of a good lawyer in your pocket. An old police investigator gave me this advice: never ever have a selfie with police or pictures of weapons on your smartphone.
Maybe somebody wants you to check someone's computer because that will help with some sort of investigation. Well, with great powers come great responsibilities. Methinks curiosity killed the cat. Think ahead because there are times you "lend a hand" and later on you "just want your life back." It happened to me.
If you want to be known as a hacker and dream about IT security jobs, my advice is to submit articles relating your findings to publications like Phrack, 2600, etc. It worked for me and changed my life. And you can brag to nice girls and friends that you're a writer.
Next, use that Blue Box t-shirt once in a while. It works wonders for networking, like when I was in a famous "underground" nightclub and was spotted by the author of the Brazilian phreaking manual. In that near darkness he recognized the t-shirt.
It is funny, but one can make enemies even by minding his/her own business. Soon or later in life, you'll find out how people you trust are stabbing you in the back. You have to have a Plan B. You're going to have to deal with that.
Never think you're a smart guy. Sometimes it's just beginner's luck.