I don’t have sources, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that the OGs aged out or got caught, and the new gen that replaced them weren’t as ideologically driven or competent or something. I think they still technically exist but aren’t nearly as influential as they once were
It’s also not as easy to hack electronic systems anymore. It’s not that they are invulnerable, but the vulnerabilities are generally more complicated and difficult to exploit. Setting aside people still running Windows XP or something, vulnerabilities get patched pretty quickly today. State actors have the time and resources to still do straight up electronic hacking, but opportunities for individuals are sparse.
Of course there is still the human element. Most data breaches done by individuals nowadays rely, at least in part, on social engineering.
Another thought this just popped into my head is that the next generation may not have been brought up with the same fundamental hacking skills that were somewhat inherent in being technical in the late 70s-mid 90s. Could you still learn them?…Of course, but having grown up with BBSs and LoD (Legion of Doom, and the like) and pre-WWW, some things were just more prevalent when it came to learning about the guts of systems and “cybersecurity” (that word didn’t really exist back then).
What actually happened to them? Did key members get tracked down or something?
I don’t have sources, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that the OGs aged out or got caught, and the new gen that replaced them weren’t as ideologically driven or competent or something. I think they still technically exist but aren’t nearly as influential as they once were
It’s also not as easy to hack electronic systems anymore. It’s not that they are invulnerable, but the vulnerabilities are generally more complicated and difficult to exploit. Setting aside people still running Windows XP or something, vulnerabilities get patched pretty quickly today. State actors have the time and resources to still do straight up electronic hacking, but opportunities for individuals are sparse.
Of course there is still the human element. Most data breaches done by individuals nowadays rely, at least in part, on social engineering.
Another thought this just popped into my head is that the next generation may not have been brought up with the same fundamental hacking skills that were somewhat inherent in being technical in the late 70s-mid 90s. Could you still learn them?…Of course, but having grown up with BBSs and LoD (Legion of Doom, and the like) and pre-WWW, some things were just more prevalent when it came to learning about the guts of systems and “cybersecurity” (that word didn’t really exist back then).
On the other hand, learning hacking itself is easier than ever. It’s turned legitimate under the guise of penetration testing.
I think they all just got jobs, honestly.
In this economy?!?! /s…kinda
Actually that makes sense, and saddens me a bit there wasn’t a contingent to pass the torch to.