How the World Got Owned Episode 1: The 1980s

From Risky Business Stories by Risky Business Media

January 6, 2026 · 1h 4m

About this episode

This episode explores the history of hacking in the 1980s through interviews with key figures from that era.

In this special documentary episode, Patrick Gray and Amberleigh Jack take a historical dive into hacking in the 1980s. Through the words of those that were there, they discuss life on the ARPANET, the 414s hacking group, the Morris Worm, the vibe inside the NSA and a parallel hunt for German hackers happening at a similar time to Cliff Stoll’s famous Cuckoo’s Egg story. This podcast features the memories of: Jon Callas, former principal software engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation Mark Rasch, Morris Worm prosecutor Timothy Winslow, former 414 hacker Greg Chartrand, author of Cracking the Cuckoos Egg and Tony Sager, former NSA How the World Got Owned is produced in partnership with SentinelOne.

People in this episode

Hosts: Patrick Gray, Amberleigh Jack

Topics covered

hacking
1980s
ARPANET
Morris Worm
NSA
German hackers
Cuckoo's Egg

Keywords

hacking
1980s
ARPANET
Morris Worm
NSA
Cuckoo's Egg
414s hacking group

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Digital Equipment Corporation, NSA, ARPANET, 414s hacking group