Phrack

Phrack is an e-zine written by and for hackers, first published November 17, 1985. Described by Fyodor as "the best, and by far the longest running hacker zine," the magazine is open for contributions by anyone who desires to publish remarkable works or express original ideas on the topics of interest. It has a wide circulation which includes both hackers and computer security professionals. Originally covering subjects related to phreaking, anarchy and cracking, the articles also cover a wide range of topics including computer and physical security, hacking, cryptography, counter culture and international news. Phrack "has had its finger on the pulse of hacker culture", and is considered both a handbook and manifesto for hackers. Issues of Phrack are divided in volumes, covering 1 or more years of publication. There were 3 hardcover releases. Each hardcover release contained most (but not all) articles of the E-Zine release. Both the hardcover and E-Zine were released simultaneously. The PDF of the Phrack #63 Hardcover was made public in 2019. Phrack, first released on November 17, 1985, takes its name from the words "phreak" and "hack". The founding editors of the magazine, known by the pseudonyms "Taran King" and "Knight Lightning", edited most of the first 30 editions. Editions were originally released onto the Metal Shop bulletin board system, where Taran King was a sysop, and widely mirrored by other boards. The headquarters was in Austin, Texas. During its first 10 years of publication, Phrack was largely associated with telecommunications fraud, providing material for phreakers and informing about arrests in this community through its Phrack World News feature articles. Along with the release of articles such as "Smashing The Stack For Fun And Profit" and the editorship of daemon9/route in 1996, Phrack's orientation shifted toward computer security and its focus drew closer to the current definition of hacking. Operation Sundevil The 24th issue of Phrack, released February 1989, included a document relating to the workings of Enhanced 911 emergency response systems.