W00w00

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w00w00 (pronounced whoo-whoo) was a computer security think tank founded in 1996 and still active until the early 2000s. [1] [2] [ unreliable source? ] Although this group was not well known outside Information security circles, its participants have spawned more than a dozen IT companies, including WhatsApp and Napster. [3] [4]

Contents

Participants

The group at one point included over 30 active participants and spanned 12 countries on five continents. [1] [3] [5]

The following is a list of some of w00w00's participants:

Notable companies

A number of well known companies have been established by its participants. [1] [3] [12] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Napster</span> On-line peer-to-peer file sharing software

Napster was a peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing application primarily associated with digital audio file distribution. Founded by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, the platform originally launched on June 1, 1999. Audio shared on the service was typically encoded in the MP3 format. As the software became popular, the company encountered legal difficulties over copyright infringement. Napster ceased operations in 2001 after losing multiple lawsuits and filed for bankruptcy in June 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SQL injection</span> Computer hacking technique

In computing, SQL injection is a code injection technique used to attack data-driven applications, in which malicious SQL statements are inserted into an entry field for execution. SQL injection must exploit a security vulnerability in an application's software, for example, when user input is either incorrectly filtered for string literal escape characters embedded in SQL statements or user input is not strongly typed and unexpectedly executed. SQL injection is mostly known as an attack vector for websites but can be used to attack any type of SQL database.

WordPress is a web content management system. It was originally created as a tool to publish blogs but has evolved to support publishing other web content, including more traditional websites, mailing lists and Internet forum, media galleries, membership sites, learning management systems and online stores. Available as free and open-source software, WordPress is among the most popular content management systems – it was used by 43.1% of the top 10 million websites as of December 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Parker</span> American entrepreneur and philanthropist

Sean Parker is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, most notable for co-founding the file-sharing computer service Napster, and serving as the first president of the social networking website Facebook. He also co-founded Plaxo, Causes, Airtime.com, and Brigade, an online platform for civic engagement. He is the founder and chairman of the Parker Foundation, which focuses on life sciences, global public health, and civic engagement. On the Forbes 2022 list of the world's billionaires, he was ranked No. 1,096 with a net worth of US$2.8 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HackThisSite</span> Organization

HackThisSite.org, commonly referred to as HTS, is an online hacking and security website founded by Jeremy Hammond. The site is maintained by members of the community after he left the organization. It aims to provide users with a way to learn and practice basic and advanced "hacking" skills through a series of challenges in a safe and legal environment. The organization has a user base of over a million, though the number of active members is believed to be much lower. The most users online at the same time was 19,950 on February 5, 2018 at 2:46 a.m.CT.

Solidity is an object-oriented programming language for implementing smart contracts on various blockchain platforms, most notably, Ethereum. Solidity is licensed under GNU General Public License v3.0. Solidity was designed by Gavin Wood and developed by Christian Reitwiessner, Alex Beregszaszi, and several former Ethereum core contributors. Programs in Solidity run on Ethereum Virtual Machine or on compatible virtual machines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Azure</span> Cloud computing platform by Microsoft

Microsoft Azure, often referred to as Azure, is a cloud computing platform run by Microsoft. It offers access, management, and the development of applications and services through global data centers. It also provides a range of capabilities, including software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Microsoft Azure supports many programming languages, tools, and frameworks, including Microsoft-specific and third-party software and systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Ritter</span>

Jordan Ritter is an American serial entrepreneur, software architect and angel investor. He is best known for his work at Napster, the file-sharing service he co-founded along with Shawn Fanning and others. His time at Napster was documented in Joseph Menn's book All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning's Napster and Alex Winter's film Downloaded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WhatsApp</span> Messaging and VoIP service owned by Meta Platforms

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Yahoo! Voices, formerly Associated Content, was hacked in July 2012. The hack is supposed to have leaked approximately half a million email addresses and passwords associated with Yahoo! Contributor Network. The suspected hacker group, D33ds, used a method of SQL Injection to penetrate Yahoo! Voice servers. Security experts said that the passwords were not encrypted and the website did not use a HTTPS Protocol, which was one of the major reasons of the data breach. The email addresses and passwords are still available to download in a plaintext file on the hacker's website. The hacker group described the hack as a "wake-up call" for Yahoo! security experts. Joseph Bonneau, a security researcher and a former product analysis manager at Yahoo, said "Yahoo can fairly be criticized in this case for not integrating the Associated Content accounts more quickly into the general Yahoo login system, for which I can tell you that password protection is much stronger."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NullCrew</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitalik Buterin</span> Russian-Canadian programmer (born 1994)

Vitaly Dmitrievich Buterin, better known as Vitalik Buterin, is a Russian-Canadian computer programmer, and co-founder of Ethereum. Buterin became involved with cryptocurrency early in its inception, co-founding Bitcoin Magazine in 2011. In 2014, Buterin deployed the Ethereum blockchain with Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio, and Joseph Lubin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethereum</span> Open-source blockchain computing platform

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Koum</span> Ukrainian-born American entrepreneur, co-founder of WhatsApp

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The DAO</span> Decentralized business model based on the Ethereum blockchain

The DAO was a digital decentralized autonomous organization and a form of investor-directed venture capital fund. After launching in April 2016 via a token sale, it became one of the largest crowdfunding campaigns in history, but it ceased activity after much of its funds were taken in a hack in June 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reception and criticism of WhatsApp security and privacy features</span> Reception and criticism of security and privacy features in the WhatsApp messaging service

This article provides a detailed chronological account of the historical reception and criticism of security and privacy features in the WhatsApp messaging service.

Decentralized finance offers financial instruments without relying on intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks by using smart contracts on a blockchain, mainly Ethereum. DeFi platforms allow people to lend or borrow funds from others, speculate on price movements on assets using derivatives, trade cryptocurrencies, insure against risks, and earn interest in savings-like accounts. DeFi uses a layered architecture and highly composable building blocks. Some applications promote high-interest rates but are subject to high risk. Coding errors and hacks have been common in DeFi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solana (blockchain platform)</span> Public blockchain platform

Solana is a blockchain platform which uses a proof-of-stake mechanism to provide smart contract functionality. Its native cryptocurrency is SOL.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Inside The Billion-Dollar Hacker Club". TechCrunch . March 2, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  2. "Interview with Matt Conover (Shok), w00w00 Hacker". Help Net Security. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Elite security posse fostered founders of WhatsApp, Napster". Reuters . March 7, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "The Rags-To-Riches Tale Of How Jan Koum Built WhatsApp Into Facebook's New $19 Billion Baby". Forbes . February 19, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  5. "Manden der fik os til at tro, at musik skulle være gratis". Politiken. March 15, 2009. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  6. "Talari Product Page". stuff.co.nz. March 11, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  7. "Interview with Matt Conover (Shok), w00w00 Hacker - Help Net Security". Help Net Security. April 1, 2002. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  8. "How Was SQL Injection Discovered?". www.esecurityplanet.com. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  9. "Foes With Grudge Sludge Drudge". wired.com. September 14, 1999. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  10. "ethereum/webthree-umbrella Contributors". github.com. December 22, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  11. Castillo, Michelle (April 19, 2017). "How a high schooler hacked into a security company and ended up with a job". CNBC. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  12. "A file-trading ship of fools". Salon . April 22, 2003. Retrieved March 8, 2014.