1980s Hacker Manifesto

Forty years ago, The Mentor—Loyd Blankenship—published “The Conscience of a Hacker” in Phrack.

You bet your ass we’re all alike… we’ve been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak… the bits of meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We’ve been dominated by sadists, or ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

This is our world now… the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn’t run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore… and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge… and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias… and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it’s for our own good, yet we’re the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.

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Posted on January 13, 2026 at 7:09 AM • 9 Comments

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Oh Whatever • January 13, 2026 8:17 AM

https://limewire.com/decrypt?downloadUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fsp1.strg.com%2Flimewire%2Flmwrntwrk%2Fbuckets%2F0f3e3903-0b79-492f-8e11-f48287b34385%2Fc4d3ca3a-23f5-4925-ba5d-1a9946a4678a%3FX-Amz-Algorithm%3DAWS4-HMAC-SHA256%26X-Amz-Date%3D20260113T131645Z%26X-Amz-SignedHeaders%3Dhost%26X-Amz-Credential%3D3HMkFzXmKJPnacuYeHAg%2F20260113%2Flmwrntwrk%2Fs3%2Faws4_request%26X-Amz-Expires%3D3600%26X-Amz-Signature%3Dce531bac10e2a3709dfee6ecb0581a0254c8dda798660bcdf47d1f6adb4afba4%26x-lmwrntwrk-request-id%3D01KEVR0TQW23G2AHKA5ABR1ETG%26x-lmwrntwrk-signature%3DIBFcAlVINpcUnaFrWtjT%25252FHcJ%25252BF7NEOvStP4dwA3rjC9mdL9%25252FPWEnZaXidtekkDFcrYr6A4CDFGe97uKtU0IVzII%25253D%26x-max-request-count%3D10000&mediaType=image%2Fjpeg&decryptionKeys=eyJhZXNHY21Kd2siOnsiYWVzS2V5VHlwZSI6IlNZTU1FVFJJQ19BRVMtR0NNX0tFWSIsImp3ayI6eyJhbGciOiJBMjU2R0NNIiwiZXh0Ijp0cnVlLCJrIjoiLW45cG1kWW14Z2YwZW9UcFNtWHBsSUJJZDJvdE5KTDJLUlpiam9IQWlUayIsImtleV9vcHMiOlsiZW5jcnlwdCIsImRlY3J5cHQiXSwia3R5Ijoib2N0In19LCJhZXNDdHJKd2siOnsiYWVzS2V5VHlwZSI6IlNZTU1FVFJJQ19BRVMtQ1RSX0tFWSIsImp3ayI6eyJhbGciOiJBMjU2Q1RSIiwiZXh0Ijp0cnVlLCJrIjoiLW45cG1kWW14Z2YwZW9UcFNtWHBsSUJJZDJvdE5KTDJLUlpiam9IQWlUayIsImtleV9vcHMiOlsiZW5jcnlwdCIsImRlY3J5cHQiXSwia3R5Ijoib2N0In19fQ

So SOOO Sorry Professor Schneier • January 13, 2026 8:25 AM

Bruce, my dearest brother.
I am so sorry to do this but I have to get a message across since they
will not publish anything about my arrest or conviction here in this shthle where I live. No news outlet or a local website has the bawlz to stand up to the corrupt government. I know this is not a place for it. I know it dear Bruce.
They even BRIBED MY OWN PRIVATE LOYA so he wouldn’t defend me.

So sorry everyone, but this is hacking too, to bypass all the required checks.
I know it’s preschool/kindergarten hacking but it’s a start.

Sorry everyone. Keep up the good work Mr. Clive Robinson.
Sorry everyone. I AM NOT A FCK1N FELON!

mrex • January 13, 2026 8:43 AM

The beauty of the baud. Thanks Bruce for reminding me of one of the seminal bits of cultural literacy that shaped my future and probably many others’, too.

Rontea • January 13, 2026 9:13 AM

This piece reflects a tension I’ve observed for decades: society often fears what it doesn’t understand, and hackers live squarely in that space. True hackers are motivated by curiosity, the pursuit of knowledge, and a desire to explore systems—not to cause harm. Yet, the legal and cultural frameworks we’ve built treat that curiosity as inherently criminal. It’s ironic when you consider the far more damaging behaviors routinely tolerated in corporate and governmental spheres. In the end, our security—and our progress—depend on embracing the inquisitive minds willing to challenge the status quo.

bw • January 13, 2026 9:24 AM

Thanks for posting this, I was deep in the scene and remember when this came out. I suspect I’ll be doing down a rabbit hole catching up, somewhere along the line I was absorbed by the corporate world.

Time to remember where I came from.

Steve • January 13, 2026 9:57 AM

It is very easy to see why someone would express the above, after all it looks like a clear picture. Corporations are evil and so on.

However one very important datum must be recognized, the correct target.

If mom does not want to give you that cookie, beating up your brother is the wrong target. And yet many do.

A messed up society that does not understand itself is, well messed up. What would be the best goal in pursuing a solution? One which helps as many as possible and hurt the fewest.

Don’t get me wrong, corporations are this legal entity under which many crimes are being justified – all for the investors. Allow people to hide behind something and they will sell their souls even for just a piece of chocolate.

Many, understandably, feel OK if society fails because they think it could not get any worse. Thing is a crash of society will offer even less to the individual and demand more to just stay alive. The attack angle should be what can I do which would be an effective blow that will help as much as possible for as many as possible with the least hurt.

When you set out to correct wrongs it is important to keep this in mind. Think win – win. Win – loose has a solid history of becoming loose – loose.

Fight the good fight with integrity and full knowledge of the outcome of your actions. Education of all parties is a secret weapon to accomplish many a goal. When understanding is achieved solutions become obvious. When a person actually realize the effects of their actions they want to make up for the damage they caused. This is true for all but the most lost.

Let's Boogie • January 13, 2026 10:41 AM

I have videos, pictures, identities, addresses, of people in Idaho
who were spying on an american family 24/7.
They bugged our home, cars, intercepted our comms,
placed a stingray in front of our house in an orange
port-a-potty on the street (“daisy” removed it).
Don was circling/stalking around our home every day,
for years. These people/FIXERS were assigned by the State
of Idaho to intercept our comms and to contact every
LOYA we attempted to retain and threatened them with
grave consequences if they represented me in a case where
I sued the government for MANUFACTURING THE CHARGES AGAINST ME,
in a case where the government in idaho covered up the
attempt on my life by a muslim husein kurcic.

The employees of the government in Idaho have
deliberately DEPRIVED ME OF ANY LEGAL REPRESENTATION,
BY WAY OF DEPLOYING THEIR FIXERS thus STEALING MY TIME.

The guilty parties are:
STATE OF IDAHO
CITY OF BOISE
CITY OF MERIDIAN
ADA COUNTY

Is there a lawyer out there, with a pair
of testis to sue them all for me INTO BANKRUPTCY?
I can prove everything, I have evidence.
They can’t prove shyte, they are also running
IP THEFT websites while being on the payroll of
we duh sheeple. I never worked against my country.
I am an American. GOD BLESS AMERICA – MY HOME.

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Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.