All about the electronic revolution and the dreams of a Lebanese hacker

Mar 24, 2012 13:21 GMT  ·  By

If a few months ago we’ve had the chance to talk to a “half mad” hacker from Nepal, this time we had the honor of interviewing Mad Hacker, a hacktivist from Lebanon who, together with his team, has started an electronic revolution against the local government.

Operating under the name of Mad HackerZ Team, the collective managed to breach the official site of the Lebanese Yellow pages and a large number of sites owned by the government.

In the interview we’ve had with Mad Hacker, he detailed some interesting things about the life of a hacker in Lebanon, also sharing his ultimate goals.

Softpedia: Where does the name "Mad Hacker" come from? Did you chose it for a specific reason or did someone give you this name?

Mad Hacker: Honestly, I don’t know the main cause that let me choose this name. Actually, everybody knew me with this name, and then, when I entered the world of hacking I was surprised that the word "Mad" means crazy. So I worked from then and till now with this name.

Finally, the members chose my name as the title of our team.

Softpedia: What is your current age and when did you start hacking? Was there any significant event that sparked your flame?

Mad Hacker: Currently I am 17 years of age. My beginning in the world of hacking was with one of my friends, at the age of 13. I met him via the internet and he is now the most important member of the team [UnknownBoy].

Starting from the famous quote "Hack To Learn, Not Learn To Hack" our minds caused us to dive deep into this world, which we considered an unknown. Then we started to learn the basics till we reached the advanced level (professionals).

And at this point we thought of establishing a team that includes the most powerful Lebanese hackers. I remember the first website whose security I bypassed and hacked was my school website.

Softpedia: How's life in Lebanon for a hacker? Do you have the sufficient resources to learn about hacking?

Mad Hacker: In reality, in Lebanon hacking is a thing that no one cares about, and even those who know how to hack are weak.

Lebanese Hackers are few, their knowledge and information about hacking is bad. This factor caused the security of the governments to be null because there aren’t any internet crimes. There’s no law for hackers in Lebanon.

The best way to increase your knowledge and information is through the websites and forums that produce many lessons and tools to hack.

Softpedia: Tell us about your hacking group. Are you friends in the real life or did you meet online?

Mad Hacker: We are a group of Lebanese teenagers working as a team since not so long ago. We are crazy about everything that has to do with the computer and the Internet. Each of us has his own experience. Some of us are into programming, one of us loves communication, and in general we are all in love with the area of hacking.

The team was founded in 2009, and began developed little by little. We faced many problems and difficulties, but we stayed on our way and worked hard to follow-up to the end.

Our team has 4 members, each having a wide experience in many different categories: Mad Hacker - 13b-r1'z - Unkn0wn Boy - Serial Boy.

The team is focused on several goals, including that the team belongs to the Gray Hat Hackers. Hacking is not the main goal, but we take the pillar of hacking in order to reach all we want. And it’s very safe to say that our way is always based on the phrase “Hack To Learn, Don't Learn To Hack”.

Softpedia: Please share with us some of the aspects of your daily life, besides hacking.

Mad Hacker: In my opinion, the world of Hacking is a perfect world, another world that completely dismisses social life and all its problems. The world opens the way for you to discover yourself and your abilities. Hacking is an excellent way to vent the pressures of daily life.

Initially I entered the world of piracy, to discover this mysterious world only, but I feel now that I'm addicted. Here I find myself in control of everything I want, and express my mind with the help of my voice whenever I want...

Since I entered this world, it benefited me in many things in my life and normal social development. Hacking is my second life, but I thought about it and I'm sure I don’t want to mix it with my normal life.

Softpedia: What do you hope to accomplish with the electronic revolution you started?

Mad Hacker: Everyone knows that the revolution does not end only when the rebels are met all their demands. Our people are not apathetic, they do not look ever to the future, but live grains every day and this is what prevents us from progress. So the issue will not be limited only to penetrating the sites.

We have started to publish our goals and I have noticed that many Lebanese have supported us in this revolution, and most of the Lebanese hackers started to help us.

I do not know when our demands will be met. I do not know when the electronic revolution will end, but we believe that our way is an excellent way to express our opinion and deliver our message.

Softpedia: How do law enforcement agencies see hackers? Is there any kind of cyber legislation?

Mad Hacker: I am sure that the authorities are concerned about hackers, but they do not care for this type of crime. Maybe because they do not have a sufficient capacity, but they always warned us so we take all the necessary measures to protect ourselves.

Softpedia: How is life in Lebanon?

Mad Hacker: I have said to you in one of my interviews with you, that life in Lebanon has become difficult, but people are used to it. The state's role is none in securing the demands of the people, and recently they increased the proportion of unemployment, poverty, and therefore, people remained indifferent to the authorities. They do not care about the state of the people.

Some may criticize me for transferring this negative image of my country, but is it easy to escape from reality?!

Softpedia: Do you think you will ever quit hacking?

Mad Hacker: I told you previously I am addicted to piracy. Honestly, I tried very much to leave it to preserve my future, but I returned to it without my control. In the end I thought that I could benefit from my experiences in hacking within the jurisdiction of a university, or a company of information technology (in the future).

But in the end, inevitably I'll leave this area to care more for my future career.

Softpedia: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Do you ever see yourself working as a white hat?

Mad Hacker: In my opinion, no one could become a white hat hacker without going through the other stages in order to acquire all the information.

Thus, if I will manage to go to the university of my choice, certainly I will become a white hat hacker and work to protect systems and networks for large companies. This is my dream.

I consider hacking only a hobby from which I am benefiting for my future career.

Note. My Twitter account has been erroneously suspended. While this is sorted out, you can contact me via my author profile.