==Phrack Inc.== Volume Three, Issue Thirty-one, Phile #5 of 10 The History of The Legion Of Doom --- ------- -- --- ------ -- ---- During the summer of 1984 an idea was formulated that would ultimately change the face of the computer underground forever. This particular summer, a huge surge of interest in computer telecommunications placed an incredibly large number of new enthusiasts on the national computer scene. This crowd of people all seeking to learn as much as possible began to put a strain on the nation's bulletin board scene, as the novices stormed the phonelines in search of knowledge. From out of this chaos came a need for learned instructors to help pass on their store of information to the new throngs. One of the most popular bulletin boards of the day was a system in New York state called Plovernet, which was run by a person who called himself Quasi-Moto. This BBS was so heavily trafficked, that a major long distance company began blocking all calls to its number (516-935-2481). The co-sysop of Plovernet was a person known as Lex Luthor. At the time there were a few hacking groups in existence, such as Fargo-4A and Knights of Shadow. Lex was admitted into KOS in early 1984, but after making a few suggestions about new members, and having them rejected, Lex decided to put up an invitation only BBS and to start forming a new group. Starting around May of 1984, Lex began to contact those people who he had seen on BBSes such as Plovernet and the people that he knew personally who possessed the kind of superior knowledge that the group he envisioned should have. Many phone calls and Alliance Teleconferences later, the group of individuals who made up the original Legion of Doom were compiled. They were: Lex Luthor Karl Marx Mark Tabas Agrajag the Prolonged King Blotto Blue Archer EBA The Dragyn Unknown Soldier The group originally consisted of two parts: Legion of Doom, and Legion of Hackers. The latter was a sub-group of the first, comprised of people who were more advanced in computer related subjects. Later on, as members began to all become more computer-based, the Legion of Hackers was absolved. (The name "Legion of Doom" came from the cartoon series "Superfriends," in which Lex Luthor, Superman's arch rival, led a group by the same name) The actual Legion of Doom bulletin board was quite ahead of its time. It was one of the first "Invitation-only" hacking based BBSes; it was the first BBS with security that caused the system to remain idle until a primary password was entered; and it was the first hacking BBS to deal with many subjects in close detail, such as trashing and social engineering. The BBS underwent three number changes and three different login procedures during its life. At its height, the BBS had over 150 users and averaged about 15 posts per day. This may seem high when compared to contemporary BBSes, but this was a private system, with only very-competent users, so the quality of messages content was always high. There was always some confusion that falsely assumed since someone was on the LOD BBS, that they were a member of the group. In fact, only a handful of the total LOD membership were ever on the actual LOD BBS. The Legion of Doom also had special subboards created for its members on other BBSes after the home base BBS went offline. The first was on Blottoland, the next on Catch-22, followed by one on the Phoenix Project, and the last on Black Ice Private. The group's members have usually tried to keep a low profile publicly, and usually limited their trade of information to select private BBSes and personal telephone conversations. This adherence to privacy has always added to the LOD mistique. Since most people didn't know exactly what the group was involved in, or experimenting with, people always assumed that it was something far too detailed or sensitive to be discussed. For the most part, this was not true, but it did not help to diminish the paranoia of security personnel that LOD was after their company's systems. The group has undergone three distinct phases, each a result of membership changes. The first phase ended with the busts of Marx, Tabas, Steve Dahl, Randy Smith, X-man, and the abandonment by Agrajag and King Blotto. The group lay semi-dormant for several months, until a resurgence in the summer of 1986, in which several new members were admitted, and a new surge of would-be hackers appeared, ready to be tutored. This phase again ended in a series of busts and paranoia. The third phase basically revolved around Summercon of 1988, where several new members were admitted by those LOD members attending the festivites. The third phase is now at an end brought on by busts and related paranoia, again, two years after its onset. There is no indication that points to any resurgence in the future, but nothing is certain until summer. Since its creation, LOD has tried to put out informative files on a wide variety of topics of interest to its contemporaries. These files ranged from the first actual scanned directory of Telenet, to files on various operating systems. The LOD Technical Journal was to be a semi-regular electronic magazine comprised of such files, and other items of interest to the hacking community. Only three issues of the Technical Journal were produced. As the fourth issue was being pieced together, several members were raided, and work on it was abandoned. >From the time it was formed continuing up to the present, the Legion of Doom has been quite a topic of controversy in the computer underground and with computer security professionals. The Legion of Doom has been called everything from "Organized Crime" to "a Communist threat to national security" to "an international conspiracy of computer terrorists bent on destroying the nation's 911 service." Nothing comes closer to the actual truth than "bored adolescents with too much spare time." LOD members may have entered into systems numbering in the tens of thousands, they may have peeped into credit histories, they may have monitored telephone calls, they may have snooped into files and buffered interesting text, they may still have total control over entire computer networks; but, what damage have they done? None, with the exception of unpaid use of CPU time and network access charges. What personal gains have any members made? None, with the exception of three instances of credit fraud that were instigated by three separate greedy individuals, without group knowledge. The Legion of Doom will long be remembered in the computer underground as an innovative and pioneering force, that consistently raised the collective level of knowledge, and provided many answers to questions ranging from the workings of the telephone system to the structure of computer operating systems. No other group dedicated to the persuit of computer and telecommunications knowledge has survived longer, and none probably will. The Legion of Doom 1984--1990 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alumni of the Fraternal Order of the Legion of Doom (Lambda Omega Delta) Handle Entered Exited Location Reasons for leaving ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lex Luthor Early 84-- Florida Karl Marx Early 84--Late 85 Colorado Bust w/Tabas..College Mark Tabas Early 84--Late 85 Colorado Too numerous to list Agrajag the Prolonged Early-84--Late 85 California Loss of Interest King Blotto Early 84--Late 85 Ohio College Blue Archer Early 84--Late 87 Texas College EBA Early 84-- Texas The Dragyn Early 84--Late 86 Minnesota Loss of Interest Unknown Soldier Early 84--Early 85 Florida Bust-Toll Fraud Sharp Razor Late 84--Early 86 New Jersey Bust-Compuserve Abuse Sir Francis Drake Late 84--Early 86 California Loss of Interest Paul Muad'dib Late 84--Early 86 New York Modem Broke Phucked Agent 04 Late 84--Late 87 California College X-Man Late 84--Mid 85 New York Bust-Blue Boxing Randy Smith Late 84--Mid 85 Missouri Bust-Credit Fraud Steve Dahl Early 85--Early 86 Illinois Bust-Credit Fraud The Warlock Early 85--Early 86 Florida Loss of Interest Terminal Man Early 85--Late 85 Massachusetts Expelled from Group Dr. Who Early 85--Late 89 Massachusetts Several Reasons The Videosmith Early 86--Late 87 Pennsylvania Paranoia Kerrang Kahn Early 86--Mid 89 London, UK Loss of Interest Gary Seven Early 86--Mid 88 Florida Loss of Interest The Marauder Early 86--Mid 89 Connecticut Loss of Interest Silver Spy Late 86--Late 87 Massachusettts College Bill from RNOC Early 87--Late 87 New York Bust-Hacking The Leftist Mid 87--Late 89 Georgia Bust-Hacking Phantom Phreaker Mid 87-- Illinois Doom Prophet Mid 87-- Illinois Jester Sluggo Mid 87-- North Dakota Carrier Culprit Mid 87--Mid 88 Pennsylvania Loss of Interest Master of Impact Mid 87--Mid 88 California Loss of Interest Thomas Covenant Early 88--Early 90 New York Bust-Hacking The Mentor Mid 88--Early 90 Texas Retired Necron 99 Mid 88--Late 89 Georgia Bust-Hacking Control C Mid 88--Early 90 Michigan Prime Suspect Mid 88-- New York The Prophet Mid 88--Late 89 Georgia Bust-Hacking Phiber Optik Early 89--Early 90 New York Bust-Hacking ** AKA ** Randy Smith Poof! Dr. Who Skinny Puppy Kerrang Kahn Red Eye Phantom Phreaker ANI Failure / Psychedelic Ranger Doom Prophet Trouble Verify Thomas Covenant Sigmund Fraud / Pumpkin Pete Necron 99 The Urvile Control C Phase Jitter _______________________________________________________________________________