Level Seven (hacker group)
Level Seven Crew Logo | |
| Formation | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Hacktivism |
| Location | |
Origin | United States of Amerkuh |
Founders | foil vent swerve |
Parent organization | United Citizens of Earth |
| Affiliations | globalHel (gH), HFG |
The Level Seven Crew, also known as Level Seven, Level 7 or L7, was a hacking group during the mid to late 90's. Eventually dispersing in early 2000 when nominal head 'vent' was raided by the FBI on February 25, 2000.
According to a private release dated March 1st, 2013; Level Seven has "...re-established operations worldwide, due to the numerous and legitimate complaints from citizens, worldwide. Taken from our collective experiences over decades of work, we have seen time and time again the abuse of power contiune by the rulling Elites. Never before in Human history has this abuse of power been so obvious and completely unwarranted. In the ten years since we went underground; we have come to include within our ranks some of your very own. They are in your server rooms, they are in your main offices, they are screening your phone calls, they make your food in the cafeteria and they even babysit your children. You depend on us more than you care to realize. This will be the last war, the final war, and not a drip of blood shall be spilt again upon our Mother Earth. We built this world. And if those "elected" in power cannot control themselves, we. will. No more warnings. No more games. NO MORE LIES. Turn off your television and go outside. You're in OUR world now. C'est la vie."
Origins
Thought to have been derived from Dante Alighieri’s novel, The Inferno. The group called themselves Level Seven after the seventh level of hell, the violent.
Contained in some of the group’s web defacements, was the quote: "il livello sette posidare la vostra famiglia", which loosely translated from Italian says, "Level Seven owns your family".
The group, spent most of their time on IRC - in the EFnet channel #LevelSeven discussing security, or the lack thereof. The group was also associated with other high-profile hacking groups such as, Global Hell (gH) and Hacking for Girliez (HFG).
Notability
The hacking group was noted in Attrition's Top 20 most active group's of all time by claiming responsibility for over 60 unauthorized penetrations of computer systems in 1999 alone, including The First American National Bank, The Federal Geographic Data Committee, NASA and Sheraton Hotels.[1]
Level Seven is also credited with being the first group to hack a .ma domain and server located in Morocco. The server was owned by the Faculté des Sciences Semlalia, Marrakech
However, the group is most widely known for the September 7, 1999 defacement of (The US Embassy in China's Website), in regards to the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings.
Level Seven typify a breed of hackers who exploit or attack computers and networks for more than just the thrill and challenge, and for reasons other than money. They were activists, and they used their computer skills to make political statements and protest actions by government and industry. Thus, they bridged the realms of hacking and activism, operating in a domain that is now called "hacktivism".[2]
Quotations
"I would be inclined to think that normal hackers would not be able to break into something like the US embassy. The security measures they use are very, very different to those protecting a commercial Web server."
- Ian Jonsten-Bryden (British government security expert of Oceanus Security in Suffolk)
"We embrace technology, we learn from it, we use it, and we exploit it. Technology is a very powerful tool, as is knowledge, but some people go beyond these boundaries, testing limits, finding new ways and ideas... we call these people hackers, and we are one of many.."
- vent, September 1999
References
- ^ Attrition (January, 2000). "Feds, Felons and Flakes: Reflections on the Attrition Mirror" (ppt). Retrieved 10/06/2006.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Denning, Dorothy (September, 2000). "Hacktivism: An Emerging Threat to Diplomacy" (doc). Retrieved 6/10/2004.
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External links
- Level Seven. "Complete List of Defacements". Attrition. Retrieved 2005-02-06.
- "Hackers put racist, anti-government slogans on embassy site". Insurgency on the Internet. CNN. 1999-09-07. Retrieved 2005-07-06.
- "Embassy site hackers aimed to show its vulnerability". Insurgency on the Internet. CNN. 1999-09-08. Retrieved 2005-07-06. [dead link]
- Will Knight (1999-09-10). "Embassy cracker may be playing government's game". The response to crackers invading a US embassy site: It's just what the US wants. ZDNet UK. Retrieved 2006-03-05.
- Level Seven "Going Down"
- Level Seven Interview
- Level Seven Responds