
Crackas With Attitude | These Guys Hacked the CIA
From Things I Learned Last Night by Jaron Myers and Tim Stone
June 9, 2026 · 1h 7m · Episode 329
About this episode
This episode explores the audacious hacking story of two teenagers who infiltrated the CIA, FBI, and NSA through social engineering.
Two teenagers managed to pull off the ultimate cybercrime: hacking the CIA, FBI, and NSA using nothing but clever social engineering. Discover the wild true story of the infamous 'Crackers with Attitude' and how they played the system. In this episode of Things I Learned Last Night, we dive into the unbelievable true story of how two hackers, known as 'Justin' and 'Kane' (aka 'Crackers with Attitude'), managed to infiltrate the most secure government agencies in the world. Rather than using complex code, these two used social engineering to outsmart Verizon and AOL, gaining access to the personal accounts of high-level intelligence directors like John Brennan and James Clapper. We explore their motivations, the infamous 'CIA hack,' the role of vigilante hacktivism, and the eventual downfall that led to prison sentences and a mandatory internet ban. This video is perfect for anyone interested in cybersecurity history, true crime, and the evolution of the dark web. You will learn how easily sensitive data can be compromised through human error and how the landscape of digital security has changed since the mid-2010s. Join us as we break down the technical, psychological, and…
People in this episode
Hosts: Jaron Myers, Tim Stone
Topics covered
- cybercrime
- hacking
- social engineering
- true crime
- cybersecurity history
- vigilante hacktivism
Keywords
- hacking
- CIA
- FBI
- NSA
- social engineering
- cybersecurity
- true crime
- dark web
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: CIA, FBI, NSA, Verizon, AOL
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