Claims

Qualified triples from the transcripts. Origin, speaker, and evidence stay attached. These are not independently verified facts.

SHA-256 DEVELOPED_BY National Security Agency

Jack states that SHA-256 was made by the NSA; Jeff does not confirm the claim and says he would not disclose the answer if he knew it.

Uncertain Confidence 65% · Jack Rhysider EP 83 Details

“SHA-256 was made by the NSA.”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 74313–74341

“I don’t know how you would do that with a hashing algorithm.”

Jeff Man · offsets 74768–74828

Threatcare DEVELOPED_BY Marcus J. Carey

Jack says Marcus started Threatcare to create threat scenarios and conduct cyber-range and tabletop exercises.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 83 Details

“Marcus took what he learned at this place and started his own company creating threat scenarios and doing more cyber range and tabletop exercises. He called it Threatcare.”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 28213–28385

Operation Eligible Receiver INVOLVES DDoS attack

The exercise involved actively conducting DDoS attacks.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 83 Details

“They were actively conducting DDoS attacks”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 69711–69753

Operation Eligible Receiver INVOLVES Open-source intelligence

The exercise used open-source intelligence to identify ways to infiltrate military bases and networks.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 83 Details

“using open-source intelligence to figure out ways to infiltrate different military bases and networks”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 69758–69859

Department of Justice website defacement (1996) INVOLVES Janet Reno

The defacement replaced the picture of Attorney General Janet Reno with a picture of Adolf Hitler.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 83 Details

“replaced the picture of Janet Reno who was the attorney general with a picture of Adolf Hitler”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 63613–63707

Department of Justice website defacement (1996) INVOLVES Department of Justice

The 1996 defacement was an attack against a Department of Justice website.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 83 Details

“a hacker broke into one of the DOJ’s websites”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 63563–63608

Operation Eligible Receiver INVOLVES MILNET

Captain1 says the exercise required reconnaissance of MILNET.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Captain1 EP 83 Details

“we were required to do reconnaissance of both the MILNET and the SIPRNet”

Captain1 · offsets 71566–71638

Operation Eligible Receiver INVOLVES NIPRNet

Captain2 identifies NIPRNet as one of the military network domains examined during reconnaissance.

Explicit Confidence 95% · Captain2 EP 83 Details

“better known as [01:20:00] MILNET or NIPRNet”

Captain2 · offsets 72252–72296

Operation Eligible Receiver INVOLVES SIPRNet

Captain1 says the exercise required reconnaissance of SIPRNet.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Captain1 EP 83 Details

“we were required to do reconnaissance of both the MILNET and the SIPRNet”

Captain1 · offsets 71566–71638

Jeff Man MEMBER_OF System and Network Attack Center

Jeff describes being part of the group swept into the reorganization that created SNAC.

Explicit Confidence 95% · Jeff Man EP 83 Details

“we got swept into this reorganization and moved to a different building”

Jeff Man · offsets 52275–52346

“they set up what became known as the System and Network Attack Center.”

Jeff Man · offsets 51299–51369

Jeff Man MEMBER_OF National Security Agency

Jeff says he began working at the NSA in the fall of 1986 and spent about twelve years there.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 83 Details

“Jeff started working at the NSA in the fall of 1986.”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 35923–35975

“Jeff was with the NSA for twelve years”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 68547–68585

Marcus J. Carey MEMBER_OF Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center

Marcus says that after working at the NSA he went to work for the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center.

Explicit Confidence 98% · Jack Rhysider EP 83 Details

“he got out of the Navy and went to work for the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center.”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 21023–21112

Marcus J. Carey MEMBER_OF United States Navy

Marcus says he joined and served in the Navy, including three years on a ship.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Marcus J. Carey EP 83 Details

“I joined the Navy”

Marcus J. Carey · offsets 7240–7260

“I did three years on a ship.”

Marcus J. Carey · offsets 7567–7595

Operation Eligible Receiver OPERATED_BY National Security Agency

Jack says the NSA launched Operation Eligible Receiver as a no-notice training attack against US government and military networks.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 83 Details

“in 1997, the NSA launched Operation Eligible Receiver.”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 69554–69608

National Security Agency PART_OF Department of Defense

Marcus states that the NSA is a Department of Defense asset.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Marcus J. Carey EP 83 Details

“NSA is the Department of Defense asset.”

Marcus J. Carey · offsets 8372–8411

Defense Cyber Forensics Laboratory PART_OF Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center

Marcus says that DC3 has an entity called DCFL, its forensic laboratory.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Marcus J. Carey EP 83 Details

“The DC3 still exists. It has this thing called DCFL.”

Marcus J. Carey · offsets 21378–21431

The Pit PART_OF System and Network Attack Center

Jack states that The Pit was part of the System and Network Attack Center.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 83 Details

“This Pit as they called it was part of SNAC, the System Network and Attack Center”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 54119–54200

The Pit USES Crack

Jeff says password hashes could be copied and processed with Crack programs.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jeff Man EP 83 Details

“you could just copy them and run crack programs like Crack or John the Ripper.”

Jeff Man · offsets 56353–56431

The Pit USES Open-source intelligence

The Pit gathered publicly available information about targets, people, naming conventions, and likely passwords before seeking approval for an attack.

Explicit Confidence 98% · Jeff Man EP 83 Details

“We’d try to learn as much as we could about the target from a benign perspective”

Jeff Man · offsets 58349–58429

“We would do that sort of open-reconnaissance”

Jeff Man · offsets 58850–58894

The Pit USES John the Ripper

Jeff says password hashes could be processed with John the Ripper.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jeff Man EP 83 Details

“run crack programs like Crack or John the Ripper.”

Jeff Man · offsets 56382–56431

The Pit USES password guessing

Jeff describes the team using password guessing to access idle accounts and identify passwords.

Explicit Confidence 98% · Jeff Man EP 83 Details

“what was commonly done back then to break into UNIX systems and UNIX networks was – there was password-guessing”

Jeff Man · offsets 55321–55432

The Pit USES Red Team

The Pit conducted internal penetration testing and red teaming, although the terminology was not yet common.

Explicit Confidence 98% · Jack Rhysider EP 83 Details

“Jeff and the team in The Pit were doing internal penetration testing, red teaming.”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 56438–56520

Alex ASSOCIATED_WITH Australia

Jack states that Alex lives in Australia.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 84 Details

“Alex lives in Australia.”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 2564–2588

Award.Cat DEVELOPED_BY TProphet

TProphet started Award.Cat as a company or paid service that helps people book flights using travel points.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 84 Details

“TProphet actually started a company which helps people do this and his website is called Award.Cat”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 58461–58559

Darknet Diaries DEVELOPED_BY Jack Rhysider

Jack identifies himself as the person who makes the Darknet Diaries show.

Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 84 Details

“This show is made by me, the low-flier, Jack Rhysider.”

Jack Rhysider · offsets 74144–74198