Cult of the Dead Cow, also known as cDc or cDc Communications, is a computer hacker and DIY media organization founded in 1984 in Lubbock, Texas. The group maintains a weblog on its site, also titled "[Cult of the Dead Cow]". New media are released first through the blog, which also features thoughts and opinions of the group's members.
Timeline _ _ ((___)) [ x x ] \ / (' ') (U) cDc's ASCII art cowskull logo
The group was formed in June 1984 at the Farm Pac slaughterhouse by Grandmaster Ratte' (aka Swamp Ratte'), Franken Gibe, Sid Vicious, and three BBS SysOps.
In the 1980s the Cult of the Dead Cow organized and maintained a loose collective of affiliated BBSs across the US and Canada. It was during this time that the cDc is credited with coining the term "31337" as an alternative spelling of "Eleet" or "Elite",Mello, John P.(2015) "Google Expands Bug Bounty Program". . February 2, 2015. E-Commerce Times an expression denoting skill or greatness in a person, place, or thing.
In December 1990, cDc member Jesse Dryden (aka Drunkfux), the son of Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden and grand nephew of Charlie Chaplin, created HoHoCon. It was the first modern hacker conference, which invites the participation of both journalists and law enforcement. It is usually held in Houston, Texas. In all, dFx hosted five annual HoHoCons.
In 1991, cDc was named "Sassiest Underground Computer Group" by Sassy magazine.Chiesa, Raoul et al(2008). Profiling Hackers: The Science of Criminal Profiling as Applied to the World of Hacking, p. 223. CRC Press. Also in 1991, the group began distributing music in the form of cassette tape albums sold through its post office box. Many of these albums are now available online in their entirety.
October 1994 saw the creation of the cDc's Usenet newsgroup, alt.fan.cult-dead-cow. It was thus the first hacking group to have its own Usenet newsgroup. In November of that year, the group claimed responsibility for giving Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's disease, claiming to have done so in 1986 with a blowgun.
The cDc declared war on the Church of Scientology in 1995 during the alt.religion.scientology controversy,Leyden, John. "Critics split over DDoS attacks on Scientology". . The Register, January 25, 2008. Retrieved January 29, 2008. stating
In 1997, the cDc began distributing original MP3-format music on its website.
In August 1998, they presented their popular Back Orifice tool at DEF CON 6.
In February 2000, the cDc was the subject of an 11-minute documentary short titled "Disinformation". Also in February 2000, cDc member Mudge briefed President Bill Clinton on Internet security.Young, Steve, Major Garrett, and the Associated Press (15 February 2000). "Clinton fights hackers with a Hacker". . CNN. Retrieved 20 April 2006.
In 2019, journalist Joseph Menn published a book about the history of the group, Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World.
cDc communications cDc communications is the parent organisation of Cult of the Dead Cow, one of three groups that fall under cDc communications. The other two are the Ninja Strike Force and Hacktivismo.
Ninja Strike Force In 1996, the cDc announced the birth of its Ninja Strike Force, a group of "ninja" dedicated to achieving the goals of the cDc, an intervention task force both online and offline. The cDc opened the NSF Dojo in 2004. An "NSF Dojo" Member also operates a streaming radio station, which features recordings of hacker con presentations and other educational programming in addition to a wide range of musical styles and artists.
Membership in the NSF is granted by the cDc to those individuals who stand out in their support of the cDc and its ideals. Members are recognized for their abilities, capabilities, and being the best of the best in their skills.
In 2006 the Ninja Strike Force launched its own microsite.
Hacktivismo
In late 1999, the cDc created Hacktivismo, an independent group under the cDc communications umbrella dedicated to the creation of anti-censorship technology in furtherance of human rights on the Internet. The group's beliefs are described fully in The Hacktivismo Declaration, which seeks to apply the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to the Internet. Among Hacktivismo's beliefs include access to information as a basic human right. The organization partially shares Critical Art Ensemble's (CAE) belief in the value of secrecy, but challenges both with CAE and many hacktivists on the subject of civil disobedience. The cDc model is, instead, one of disruptive compliance.Wardrip-Fruin, Noah and Nick Montfort, ed (2003). The New Media Reader. pp.782. The MIT Press. . Disruptive, in this case, refers to disruptive technology; compliance refers back to the Internet and its original intent of constructive free-flow and openness.Ruffin, Oxblood. "Waging Peace on the Internet". . Hacktivismo has also authored its own software license agreement, the Hacktivismo Enhanced-Source Software License Agreement, which is source available (but not open source).Ruffin, Oxblood and Grimm, Eric. "Hacktivismo Enhanced-Source Software License Agreement". . November 26, 2002. Retrieved July 19, 2006. Their work focuses on the development of software that empowers conduct forbidden by repression, rather than enabling (private or public) attacks on repressors. In general cDc hopes that open code can become the lingua franca of a hacktivism that seeks to wage peace, not war. While the term isn't used, the software described in cDc's "Waging of Peace on the Internet" would create a set of connections between dissidents that sound in technoliberationist terms, rhizomatic.
Crossover associations with other groups
In addition to the obvious associations between Cult of the Dead Cow, Hacktivismo, and the Ninja Strike Force, the cDc also has crossover associations with several other organizations. These include the L0pht; founding members White Knight and Count Zero and final members Dildog and Mudge are all members of cDc. Additionally, The Nightstalker was a member of Youth International Party Line/Technology Assistance Program. Lord Digital, one of the founders of Mindvox, is a former member of LOD/H and a current member of the Sacrament of Transition. Red Knight was a member of the Masters of Deception. Also, RaD Man, a member of the Ninja Strike Force, is one of the founders of ACiD Productions. Another NSF member, Mark Hinge, is a founding member of the British hacker group The Syndicate Of London. Flack, another Ninja Strike Force member, was a co-founder of the horror "lit group" Soulz at Zero. Mudge later went on to program manage the CINDER program at DARPA, which aimed to detect 'insider threats' like the WikiLeaks sources.Darpa’s Star Hacker Looks to WikiLeak-Proof Pentagon , Spencer Ackerman, Wired, August 31, 2010, retr 2011 12 5
Electronic publication
During the 1980s, the cDc was well known throughout the BBS scene for their underground ezine, also called Cult of the Dead Cow. The group claims to have invented the ezine.
The Cult of the Dead Cow has been credited with coining the term "elite" as used in the hacker scene/computer underground in cDc textfiles of the 1980s.
The ezine has led to some criticism of the group over the years; in a 1994 episode of Geraldo entitled "Computer Vice", Geraldo Rivera referred to the group as "a bunch of sickos" for having published an article called "Sex with Satan", originally published in 1988."Computer Vice". Geraldo episode, April 17, 1994. Referenced here (archived version) and here (archived version), both retrieved July 24, 2006.
Hacktivism
In 1996, cDc member Omega coined the term "hacktivism" in an email to other group members.Mills, Elinor. "Old-time hacktivists: Anonymous, you've crossed the line". . CNet News, March 30, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012. The group has been active in hacktivist causes since that time.
Hong Kong Blondes Hoax In 1997, the cDc claimed to have worked with a group of Chinese dissidents called "The Hong Kong Blondes", and through a series of public statements and media coverage created a narrative about an activist group operating within the People's Republic of China that could disrupt computer networks within that country in order to allow citizens to access censored content online. In time, it emerged that the group was, in fact, fictitious, though the story about its capabilities and aims briefly took on a life of its own.
The cDc first spoke about the Hong Kong Blondes publicly in a presentation at the 1997 Beyond HOPE Conference held at The Puck Building in New York City. Members claimed to have advised the group on strong encryption techniques. In remarks and an interview with Wired, the cDc claimed that the Hong Kong Blondes had 20 members, including "three highly placed technicians" as well as some government bureaucrats in Beijing, and was led by a dissident physicist living in Toronto. They further claimed, without offering evidence, that the Blondes had temporarily disabled a Chinese communications satellite as a way of "introducing itself" to authorities. The claims were all sourced to the cDc's Foreign Minister, Oxblood Ruffin.
In 1998, Ruffin published a transcript of a purported interview with Blondie Wong claiming that the Blondes were forming an affiliate group of hackers and activists based in North America and Europe, aiming to support the cause of human rights in China. The contents of the interview were covered by Wired and by Naomi Klein, then a journalist for The Toronto Star. Later in 1998, the cDc issued a statement in which it claimed to have formally severed ties with the Hong Kong Blondes.
Despite having offered no verifiable evidence of any hacking activity within China, or even the existence of any members of the Hong Kong Blondes, the claims garnered media attention from outlets including Wired, The Los Angeles Times, U.S. News & World Report, and The Toronto Star. The coverage caught the attention of National Security Advisor Richard A. Clarke. In a private White House meeting with Clarke and President Bill Clinton in 2000, Clarke asked about the group. Mudge admitted, "We made them up." In social media post in 2015, Oxblood conceded that the Hong Kong Blondes amounted to publicity campaign the point of which was to create cover for the extraction of seven Chinese pro-democracy activists, though he offered no evidence that such an operation occurred.
Cyberwar On January 7, 1999, the cDc joined with an international coalition of hackers to denounce a call to cyberwar against the governments of China and Iraq.
Milošević trial When questioning Patrick Ball during his International War Crimes Tribunal in 2002, Slobodan Milošević asked Ball about his relationship with the cDc.Macki. "milosevic and the cDc". . Politech listserv, March 17, 2002. Retrieved April 20, 2006. Ball had given a talk and been a member of a cDc-sponsored panel on hacktivism at DEF CON 9 in 2001.
Goolag campaign