the L0pht testimony
lorehackingsecuritygovernance & risk
The 1998 Senate hearing where seven hackers testified they could take down the Internet in thirty minutes.
In May 1998 the members of the Boston hacker collective L0pht appeared before a US Senate committee under their handles, Mudge, Weld Pond, Space Rogue and the rest, and told the senators the Internet's core protocols were so fragile the group could disable it in about half an hour. It was the moment hacker expertise entered the policy room as testimony rather than threat. Several of them, notably Mudge, went on to senior roles in government and industry security.