Seven Legendary Criminal Geeks

For the past thirty years, computer savvy geeks have transformed the crime underworld from violent snatches and grabs to clandestine feats of code-crunching and con artistry leading to rampant worldwide identity theft and anarchy in the military-industrial complex. Here are some prime examples of the most notorious geek criminals.

1) Mark Abene (hacker name: Phiber Optik)

In 1991, using simple "home brew" Radio Shack computer equipment, Abene hacked into A.T.&T.'s computers, causing a telephone system crash that left 60,000 customers without phone service for nine hours. At that moment when the Secret Service entered the 19-year-old's bedroom with guns drawn, Phiber Optik made his official mark on hacker history. In 1994, he became the first person to serve a federal prison sentence (one year) for hacking. Like many former criminal geeks, Abene now has his own computer security and system administration consulting business.

2) John Draper (better known as Cap'n Crunch)

Draper is the granddaddy of criminal geeks, pioneering the art of "phone phreaking." This first happened back in the early seventies, after a blind friend of his revealed that a plastic whistle toy found in boxes of Cap'n Crunch cereal could be modified to produce a sound that mimics the same tone frequency used by A.T.&T. long distance lines. This tone frequency indicated that a line was available and ready to route a new long distance call. This revelation spurred Draper to build a series of "blue boxes" that mimicked additional phone company tones, enabling users to make free calls. Among the more famous "blue box" users were Apple founders Steve Wozniak and Steven Jobs.

As for Draper, he was arrested in 1972 for phone fraud and sentenced to five years probation.

3) Robert Tappan Morris Jr.