Episode 10: Cris Thomas aka Space Rogue
From Where Warlocks Stay Up Late by wwsul
March 3, 2026 · 2h 31m
About this episode
Cris Thomas, known as Space Rogue, shares his journey from childhood to becoming a key figure in the hacking community and the founding of L0pht Heavy Industries.
Cris Thomas, also known as Space Rogue, was a founding member of the legendary L0pht Heavy Industries — the hacker collective that famously told the U.S. Senate they could take down the internet in 30 minutes. He would go on to found the Hacker News Network, giving the underground a voice and warning the world how vulnerable it was. He told the full story in his award-winning book, Space Rogue.Chapters0:00 Intro0:40 Who is Space Rogue?2:58 Growing up in rural Maine4:20 Parents' divorce and its lasting impact5:44 Building flashlights from trash — early curiosity7:33 Childhood trauma and turning to computers11:38 Joining the Army and buying his first Mac14:47 Discovering BBSs and the modem world21:10 Origin of the "Space Rogue" handle23:19 Working as a security guard at Lotus24:34 Dialing into BBSs from the Lotus overnight shift32:27 The Works, 2600 meetings, and meeting the crew36:13 What hacker meetups were actually like40:28 Working at CompUSA with future L0pht members42:59 CDC vs L0pht — setting the record straight46:26 How the L0pht actually formed53:37 The MIT flea market57:10 Paranoia about law enforcement and the hacker crackdowns1:01:54 Finding vulnerabilities and…
People in this episode
Guest: Cris Thomas
Topics covered
- hacking
- cybersecurity
- history of technology
- personal stories
- underground culture
- vulnerabilities
- internet history
Keywords
- Cris Thomas
- Space Rogue
- L0pht Heavy Industries
- Hacker News Network
- hacking
- BBS
- cybersecurity
- vulnerabilities
- internet
- history
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: L0pht Heavy Industries, Hacker News Network, CompUSA, CDC, MIT, Lotus
Books & works: Space Rogue
Places: Maine
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- Episode 6: Jason Snitker aka Parmaster · August 3, 2025 · 1h 50m
- Episode 5: Terry Rankhorn Part 2 · July 16, 2025 · 2h 1m
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