Underground: Hacking, madness and obsession on the electronic frontierDreyfus, Suelette
Science
Underground: Hacking, madness and obsession on the electronic frontier
Dreyfus, Suelette
Computer crimes -- Australia; Computer hackers -- Australia -- Biography; Computer security -- Australia
After a public confrontation in 1993 with Victorian Premier Jeff
Kennett, Mendax and two others formed a civil rights organisation to
fight corruption and lack of accountability in a Victorian government
department. As part of this ongoing effort, Mendax acted as a conduit
for leaked documents and became involved in a number of court cases
against the department during 1993-94. Eventually, he gave evidence in
camera to a state parliamentary committee examining the issues, and
his organisation later facilitated the appearance of more than 40
witnesses at an investigation by the Auditor-General.
Mendax volunteers his time and computer expertise for several other
non-profit community organisations. He believes strongly in the
importance of the non-profit sector, and spends much of his free time
as an activist on different community projects. Mendax has provided
information or assistance to law-enforcement bodies, but not against
hackers. He said, `I couldn't ethically justify that. But as for
others, such as people who prey on children or corporate spies, I am
not concerned about using my skills there.'
Still passionate about coding, Mendax donates his time to various
international programming efforts and releases some of his programs
for free on the Internet. His philosophy is that most of the lasting
social advances in the history of man have been a direct result of new
technology.
NorTel and a number of other organisations he was accused of hacking
use his cryptography software--a fact he finds rather ironic.
ANTHRAX
Anthrax moved to Melbourne, where he is completing a university course
and working on freelance assignments in the computer networking area
of a major corporation.
His father and mother are divorcing. Anthrax doesn't talk to his
father at all these days.
Anthrax's mother's health has stabilised somewhat since the completion
of the court case, though her condition still gives her chronic pain.
Despite some skin discolouration caused by the disease, she looks
well. As a result of her years of work in the local community, she has
a loyal group of friends who support her through bad bouts of the
illness. She tries to live without bitterness and continues to have a
good relationship with both her sons.
Anthrax is no longer involved in the Nation of Islam, but he is still
a devout Muslim. An acquaintance of his, an Albanian who ran a local
fish and chips shop, introduced him to a different kind of Islam. Not
long after, Anthrax became a Sunni Muslim. He doesn't drink alcohol or
gamble, and he attends a local mosque for Friday evening prayers. He
tries to read from the Qu'raan every day and to practise the tenets of
his religion faithfully.
With his computer and business skills now sought after by industry, he
is exploring the possibility of moving to a Muslim country in Asia or
the Middle East. He tries to promote the interests of Islam worldwide.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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