The Masters of Deception (MOD) was a group of hackers in New York that grew out of meetings on telephone network test lines in the 1980s. Founding members included Acid Phreak, Scorpion, and HAC. MOD engaged in exploits of telephone infrastructure and gained notoriety in the book "Masters of Deception." MOD and the Legion of Doom engaged in a "Great Hacker War" from 1990-1992. As a result of an FBI/Secret Service investigation, five MOD members were indicted in 1992 and all five pleaded guilty, receiving probation or prison sentences.

1. Master of Deception
(MOD)
One of the legendary hacking
cases of the 20th century

2. WHAT IS THIS CASE ABOUT?
A New York-based group of hackers, most
widely known in media for their exploits of
telephone company infrastructure and later
prosecution, as well as being the subject of the
book Masters of Deception: The Gang That Ruled
Cyberspace. MOD's initial membership grew from
meetings on Loop-Around Test Lines that led to
legendary collaborations to hack RBOC phone
switches and the various minicomputers and
mainframes used to administer the telephone
network. They successfully remained underground
using alternative handles to hide even their true
hacker identities.
Master of Deception

3. Acid Phreak founded the Masters of
Deception with Scorpion and HAC. The name
itself was, among other things, a mockery of
LoD, as 'M' is one letter up in the alphabet from
'L', although the name originally was a flexible
acronym that could be used to identify
membership in situations where anonymity
would be the best course of action. It could
stand for "Millions of Dollars" just as easily as
"Masters of Deception."
Master of Deception

4. It is claimed that the mockery of the LOD name
was a statement to the underground that LOD had
lost its direction. Several LOD members were close
friends of MOD who had been raided and indicted by
the government, causing the majority of those who
remained to drop out of the underground for safety
reasons. In their absence, LOD largely fell into disarray
causing the disagreement and disillusionment that
led Phiber Optik to align himself with MOD in an
effort to restore the direction of the spirit of
underground hacking.
The conflict between the (MOD), Masters of
Deception and (LOD), and Legion of Doom was
marked as the Great Hacker War during the year
1990-1992.
Master of Deception

5. WHO ARE THE PARTIES INVOLVED?
Original Masters of Deception:
Mark Abene ("Phiber Optik")
Paul Stira ("Scorpion")
Eli Ladopoulos ("Acid Phreak"), HAC
John Lee("Corrupt" a.k.a. "Netw1z")
Julio Fernandez ("Outlaw")
Additional members whose real names are
unknown include: Supernigger (also of
DPAK), Wing, Nynex Phreak, Billy_The_Kid, Crazy
Eddie, The Plague, ZOD, Seeker, Red Knight (who
was also a member of Cult of the Dead Cow), Lord
Micro, n00gie and peaboy (aka, MCI Sprinter).
Master of Deception

6. DID ANY PROSECUTION RESULT?
Yes, it did.
IF SO, WHAT WERE THE OUTCOME?
As a result of a major nationwide
investigation by a joint FBI/Secret Service task
force, five of MOD’s members were indicted in
1992 in federal court. Within the next six
months (in 1993), all five pleaded guilty and
were sentenced to either probation or prison.
Master of Deception

7. WHAT ETHICAL ISSUES ARE RAISED BY THIS
CASE?
The ethical issues in this case involves
every issue in hacking. You cannot deny that you
are the hacker. And you cannot avoid the war
between the two groups of hacker. Although The
Hacker Manifesto states that, “The only crime a
hacker commits is the crime of curiosity.”
Hacking is a serious crime, It is more the
“unauthorized access and modification of the
data there in” which is regulated by laws rather
than the act of ‘hacking’ which in short , means
“writing the code in an unauthorized way”.
Master of Deception

8. Master of Deception