Cult of the Dead Cow

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cDc Paramedia Logo

CULT OF THE DEAD COW (cDc) is a computer hacker organization founded in 1984 in Lubbock, Texas. CULT OF THE DEAD COW is most famous for its release of Back Orifice in 1998, Back Orifice 2000 in 1999, and being named "Sassiest Underground Computer Group" by Sassy Magazine.

The group was formed in the Farm Pac slaughterhouse by Grandmaster Ratte' (aka Swamp Ratte'), Franken Gibe, and Sid Vicious, three BBS sysops. The slaughterhouse, a hangout of many Lubbock youth, burned in 1996. (The burned out building was used as a haunted house for several Halloweens after that. In 2001, the grounds surrounding it were converted into the "West Texas Canyon Amphitheater," which closed in 2004.)

The group maintains a weblog on its site, also titled "CULT OF THE DEAD COW." New media are released first through the blog, which also features thoughts and opinions of the group's members.

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Timeline

During the 1980s, the cDc was well known throughout the BBS scene for their underground ezine, which they continue to produce to this day. Their motivation for it all: "We're into t-files for the groupies and money." They claim to have invented the ezine, but this claim is difficult to prove or disprove.

In December 1990, cDc member Drunkfux gave birth to the modern hacker con. HoHoCon, usually held in Houston, Texas, was the first hacker conference which invited the participation of both journalists and law enforcement. In all, dFx hosted five annual HoHoCons.

October 1994 saw the creation of the cDc's Usenet newsgroup, alt.fan.cult-dead-cow was created. It was thus the first hacking group to have its own Usenet newsgroup

In 1996, the cDc announced the birth of its Ninja Strike Force, a group of "ninja" dedicated to achieving the goals of the cDc, both online and offline. Also in 1996, cDc member Omega coined the term "hacktivism."

In 1997, before online distribution of audio files was common, the cDc began distributing original MP3-format music on its website.

On January 7, 1999, the cDc joined with an international coalition of hackers to denounce a call to cyberwar against the governments of China and Iraq. Later that year the cDc created Hacktivismo, an independent group dedicated to the creation of anti-censorship technology in furtherance of human rights on the Internet.

To further the cult's stated goal of "Global Domination Through Media Saturation," over the years cDc members have granted interviews to major newspapers, print magazines, online news sites, and international television news programs. In February 2000, the cDc was the subject of an 11-minute documentary short entitled "Disinformation."

The cDc and Hacktivismo further gained notoriety in 2003 by becoming the first hacker groups to receive approval by the United States Department of Commerce to export strong encryption in their "6/4 System" application.

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Members

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High-profile members 

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Crossover associations with other groups

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Ninja Strike Force

Ninja Strike Force (NSF) is the name of the "community outreach" arm of CULT OF THE DEAD COW. It was established in 1996.

The cDc opened the NSF Dojo in 2004. An NSF Member also operates a streaming radio station, which features recordings of hacker con presentations and other educational programming in addition to a wide range of musical styles and artists.

Membership in the NSF is granted by the cDc to those individuals who stand out in their support of the cDc and its ideals. Members are recognized for their abilities, capabilities, and being the best of the best in their skills. This very well may not be in jest considering the overall level of cDc involvment, and their very wise choice in selecting the Dojo Sense, Count Zero, and not just for the obvious reasons, since it's rumored he has the ability to go completely unoticed at any moment, yet noticing everything about every detail..

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Tools

CULT OF THE DEAD COW is perhaps most famous for its release of several computer security applications, many of which are sometimes dubbed "hacker tools." These include:

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See also

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External links