Podcast Summary
YTCracker - A Nerdcore Rapper's Journey from Hacking to Music: YTCracker's interest and skills in technology and hacking from his childhood led him to become a proficient musician and led him to establish a unique style of music called 'nerdcore.'
YTCracker, a nerdcore rapper, was introduced to the world of tech by his father who worked with Martin Marietta and Lockheed Martin during the Cold War era. YTCracker grew up in California and Colorado and got fascinated with computers since his father had computers at home when they weren't as ubiquitous. He started with learning more about computers and the internet in the 90s through bulletin boards and text files. He learned hacking and learned how to make music on his computer in his high school days. YTCracker's interest in music and technology led him to the demo scene, and he became part of it. YTCracker's music reflects his interest and skills in technology and hacking.
The Evolution of the Demo Scene into the Hacker Scene: The blending of the demo scene and the hacker scene in the 90s made it easy for hackers to access personal information and led to the exchange of information between hackers and their victims, highlighting the importance of internet safety.
In the 90s, the demo scene, focused on showcasing audiovisual creations made by independent artists, blended into the hacker scene, as apps used for pirated games, often created by hacker groups, included cool graphics and music. YTCracker made music and uploaded it to demo scene and also found ways to hack into AOL servers to access users’ personal information. In high school, YTC hacked into the school database and changed grades of other students and defaced web pages to gain street cred as a hacker. The easy accessibility of internet in AOL attracted a lot of newbies to the internet and made them easy targets, which led to the exchange of personal information between hackers and victims.
Making Money Through Spamming: YTCracker's Entrepreneurial Journey: YTCracker's spamming journey taught him to identify profitable websites and referral programs that welcome spamming for more traffic, highlighting the entrepreneurial potential of spamming in the internet age.
YTCracker realized spamming could earn him money, by getting e-mail addresses from AOL's member directory and public chatrooms. He sent millions of e-mails to urge people to visit porn sites and sign up, earning $1000 per week as a teenager. While hacking and defacing websites were his hobbies, he didn't aim to disrupt the inner workings of the US government. His initial motivation was only making graffiti. While he wasn't keeping logs as a hacker, he wasn't worried about getting caught, as his handle, YTCracker, was already known for his music. His spamming journey taught him to find profitable websites with referral programs that don't mind spamming to get more traffic.
YTCracker's Journey from Cyber-Crime to Spamming: YTCracker learned that cyber-crime can have serious consequences and turned to spamming for profit, highlighting the lucrative nature of criminal activities on the internet.
YTCracker dropped out of high school but with his proficiency in computer, started indulging in cyber-crime which led to him compromising and defacing over forty websites including servers maintained by NASA. He confessed to one count of computer crime under Colorado law and was placed on two years probation and fined $24,000. He learned that the government will roll over you if they have an infinite budget and infinite time if you humiliate them. While he had a truce with government websites, he continued with his spamming career as it was much more profitable than defacing things. He found out that online pharmacies and fake diplomas referral sites were also paying very well for referrals which led him to sending spam through text messages.
YTCracker and the Power of Nerd Culture: Being a nerd is about pursuing knowledge and passion. YTCracker's success comes from inspiring people through music. Nerd communities offer a space for people with similar passions to connect and learn.
Nerds cover a big range of topics and can be passionate about anything to a crazy, large degree. Being a nerd is all about accumulating knowledge and being passionate about something, whether it's computers, sports, literature or anything else. YTCracker has successfully legitimized and incorporated the spamming business while making smart business choices. He has been able to inspire people to code and teach through his music, making his fans relatively smart and passionate. Unlike major companies, who spam us all day long but do it legally, YTCracker's success comes from inspiring people through music. The nerdcore genre has many subgenres, making it possible for nerds to find communities that shares their interests.
The Intersection of Technology and Creativity: YTCracker's Journey from Hacker to Musician to Information Security Professional: YTCracker's journey showcases the power of combining creativity and technical skills to make a significant impact on technology and privacy.
YTCracker, a prominent hacker and musician, was involved in both the anonymous hacking movement and Bitcoin during their early stages. They wrote songs about their experiences, including AntiSec about LulzSec's hacking campaign and Bitcoin Baron. YTCracker now works in information security at Ring, a subsidiary of Amazon, where they can make a tangible impact on privacy and security in technology. YTCracker's interest in computers started in junior high in Brooklyn, where they were introduced to technical-heavy programs like computer science. Their passion for music began in junior high when they were in band. YTCracker's experiences show the intersection of technology and creativity.
Overcoming Societal Stereotypes to Pursue One's Passion: It's important to stay true to oneself and pursue one's passion despite societal pressure. Innovation and perseverance can lead to success in unconventional ways.
Ohm-I's journey showcases the struggle of fitting in and the societal pressure faced due to cultural stereotypes. His passion for music and video games drove him, but the pressure of fitting in pushed him to become an electronic expert. After retiring from the Navy, Ohm-I found his calling in the cyber field by using his expertise in Python. His innovative way of attracting recruiters by creating a song for his resume portrays the unique approach in job search that might not work for everyone, but it did make him stand out. His story is a reminder of how societal pressure can steer us away from our true calling, but with perseverance and passion, we can create our path towards success.
The intersection of tech and art in Information Security explained through rap.: Python's versatility in InfoSec has led to creative expressions such as nerdcore rap that illustrate how tech and art can intersect and be used to enhance security.
Python is a versatile language that can be used for a variety of purposes in InfoSec, thanks to the constant development of new libraries and tools. Ohm-I, a nerdcore rapper and security professional, works on hacking Microsoft's own development teams as part of securing their Azure products. Dual Core, another rap group, boasts members who have been skilled programmers and hackers since high school. Both illustrate the intersection of tech and art, and how these forms of creativity can be used to express emotions and connections between people, even in seemingly disparate fields.
From Punt Strings to Dual Core: My Journey in Hacking and Programming: Intentionally putting bad values in HTML markup can cause bugs and crashes in software. Pursuing a career in hacking and programming can lead to unexpected adventures and opportunities, even for those with non-technical backgrounds.
Intentionally putting bad values in HTML markup and sending it to someone can cause bugs in the AOL client, leading to crashes or being kicked offline. This drove the speaker to learn Visual Basic and the Windows API to weaponize these "punt strings" and kick people offline. Despite initially wanting to be a lawyer and having a stereotype of a drab career in computers, the speaker found hacking computers and programming fun and pursued it for a career. They started with website development, attended security meetups, and eventually got an application security job where they assessed software for bugs. Dual Core, the group the speaker is a part of, gained popularity after Penny Arcade published a blog post about their album.
INT80's Journey from Music to Cloud Engineering and Tackling Cyber Threats: INT80's diverse background from music to cyber threats helped him become an effective cloud engineer, capable of taking down malware and working with teams to protect critical data.
INT80 has worked in various positions, from music to cracking copy protection and building threat systems, and is currently in cloud engineering. He conducted a takedown of malware that was mining Litecoin by coordinating with the mining pool, Dropbox, and the hosting provider, resulting in the malware's elimination. At Salesforce, he worked as a red team operator, attempting to breach critical parts of the company, such as customer data and source code. The job ended after a mishap at Defcon, leading him to his current role in cloud engineering. The song All the Things was inspired by a friend's phrase, which they played at parties during Defcon.
Dual Core, The Successful Nerdcore Rapper and Hacker: Embracing different passions can lead to unique and successful outcomes. Dual Core's music and hacking combined earned him respect and recognition. Collaboration opportunities can arise from showcasing talents in unexpected places.
Dual Core is a successful nerdcore rapper who idealized a week with hacking on weekdays and rap shows on weekends and has performed all around the world. He allowed collaborations by creating a file-sharing system on a server that he set up, using secure file-transfer methods like SCP. Although most nerdcore rappers are not hackers, Dual Core and his producer do security themselves, which gives a newfound respect to musicians behind nerdcore music. All The Things song of Dual Core was included in Watchdogs 2 game after the game developer saw him perform at Defcon and reached out to him. Freestyle performance of Drink all the booze and 'hack all the things' at the Dual Core show created an amazing experience for people.
