Randy Tischler

Phrack

The introduction to Phrack, issue 1
Editor	The Phrack Staff
Former editors	Taran King Cheap Shades Knight Lightning Shooting Shark Elric of Imrryr Crimson Death Dispater Erik Bloodaxe Voyager daemon9/route Phrackstaff Circle of the Lost Hackers
Categories	Hacking/computer science, phreaking, anarchy
Frequency	No set frequency
First issue	November 17, 1985
Based in	St. Louis
Language	English
Website	phrack.org
ISSN	1068-1035

Phrack is an ezine written by and for hackers first published November 17, 1985. Described by Fyodor as "the best, and by far the longest running hacker zine," the magazine is open for contributions by anyone who desires to publish remarkable works or express original ideas on the topics of interest. It has a wide circulation which includes both hackers and computer security professionals.

Originally covering subjects related to phreaking, anarchy and cracking, the articles also cover a wide range of topics including computer and physical security, hacking, cryptography, counter culture and international news.

Phrack "has had its finger on the pulse of hacker culture", and is considered both a handbook and a manifesto for hackers.

Phrack, first released on November 17, 1985, takes its name from the words "phreak" and "hack". The founding editors of the magazine, known by the pseudonyms "Taran King" and "Knight Lightning", edited most of the first 30 editions. Editions were originally released onto the Metal Shop bulletin board system, where Taran King was a sysop, and widely mirrored by other boards.

During its first 10 years of publication, Phrack has been largely associated with the telecommunications fraud, providing material for phreakers and informing about arrests in this community through the Phrack World News feature articles. Along with the release of articles such as "Smashing The Stack For Fun And Profit" and the editorship of daemon9/route in 1996, Phrack became more computer security oriented and closer to the current definition of hacking.