this doesnt really reflect the vibe old school hackers give. "solder a wifi module to a calculator" sounds like a cartoon-inspired project.

Why not reference call spoofing (i forgot the name) where they were able to call for no charge because they were able to spoof a real call. that's the kind of hacker vibe i want continued.

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inigyou 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The word "hacker" comes from MIT students who would cut up circuit boards with a hacksaw and connect the pieces together in different ways. Soldering a WiFi module to a calculator is very oldschool hacker.

The word you're looking for is phreaking. I must admit, since the title of TFA's website is only two letters away, it's funny you forgot it.

	▲	vunderba 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		For me, I still tend to use the older definition of “hacker” (not necessarily someone exploiting systems which feels more like a “cracker” to me), but someone who has an innate curiosity about the world around them, and finds interesting ways to solve problems or create new things.
	▲	theodric 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Ironically, the guy who soldered a Wi-Fi module to a calculator did so to gain access to AI slop with it https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/09/secre...

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AuthAuth 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That is not something that should be encouraged. Hacking together projects like a wifi calculator is fun, harmless and builds knowledge. Hacking a phoneline can land a kid in jail. Attacking public infra is not something that should be treated lightly.

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ajam1507 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

This is exactly the kind of sanitized hacking this article is talking about.

	▲	tptacek 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Many of the most prolific and successful offensive hackers, the people that actually made their way into switches and onto hardened SunOS servers, were the least capable technologists. The archetype is Kevin Mitnick, who wasn't a coder and barely understood the cookbook tools he used. The field benefited enormously from its sanitization, and the 80's and 90's reputation could use some scuffing up.

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2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

[deleted]

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Retr0id 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Because phreaking in the traditional sense hasn't worked for decades?

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detourdog 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Blue box and phreaking.

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onoesworkacct 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It was written by ChatGPT which would avoid examples that are explicitly illegal, and would stop short of advocating things that contravene ToS agreements.

Sad.

Who is in charge of this shit now?