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Michael Calce
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{{Short description|Canadian security expert and computer hacker}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael Calce | image = | caption = | birth_date = 1984 | birth_place = [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]] | nationality = | occupation = | years_active = | known_for = DDoS attacks | spouse = | children = | awards = | website = }} '''Michael Calce''' (born 1984, also known as '''Mafiaboy''') is a security expert and former computer hacker from [[Île Bizard]], [[Quebec]], who launched a series of highly publicized [[denial-of-service attack]]s in February 2000 against large commercial websites, including [[Yahoo!]], [[FIFA|Fifa.com]], [[Amazon.com]], [[Dell, Inc.]], [[E*TRADE]], [[eBay]], and [[CNN]].<ref name="fbi">{{Citation|title=FBI Facts and Figure 2003|url=https://www.fbi.gov/libref/factsfigure/factsfiguresapri2003.htm|accessdate=2007-03-27|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070326115414/http://www.fbi.gov/libref/factsfigure/factsfiguresapri2003.htm|archivedate=2007-03-26}}</ref> He also launched a series of failed simultaneous attacks against nine of the thirteen [[root name server]]s.<ref name="CalceMichael"/>{{Page needed|date=May 2017}} ==Early life== Calce was born in the [[West Island]] area of [[Montreal]], [[Quebec|Quebec, Canada]]. When he was five, his parents separated and he lived with his mother after she had won a lengthy battle for primary custody.<ref name="CalceMichael">Calce, Michael. Mafiaboy: How I Cracked the Internet and Why It's Still Broken. Toronto: Penguin Group, 2008.</ref>{{Page needed|date=May 2017}} Every second weekend he would stay at his father's condo in [[Montreal]] proper. He felt isolated from his friends back home and troubled by the separation of his parents, so his father purchased him his own computer at the age of six. It instantly had a hold on him: "I can remember sitting and listening to it beep, gurgle and churn as it processed commands. I remember how the screen lit up in front of my face. There was something intoxicating about the idea of dictating everything the computer did, down to the smallest of functions. The computer gave me, a six-year-old, a sense of control and command. Nothing else in my world operated that way."<ref name="CalceMichael" />{{Page needed|date=May 2017}} ==Project Rivolta== On February 7, 2000, Calce targeted [[Yahoo!]] with a project he named Rivolta, meaning "rebellion" in [[Italian language|Italian]].<ref name="CalceMichael" />{{Page needed|date=May 2017}} Rivolta was a [[DDoS]] (distributed-denial-of-service) attack in which servers become overloaded with different types of communications to the point where they become unresponsive to commands.<ref name="MajidYar">Majid, Yar. Cybercrime and Society. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2006.</ref> At the time, [[Yahoo!]] was a multibillion-dollar web company and the top [[search engine]].<ref name="DavisWall">Davis, Wall. Crime and the Internet. New York: Routledge, 2001.</ref> Mafiaboy's Rivolta managed to shut down [[Yahoo!]] for almost an hour. Calce's goal was, according to him, to establish dominance for himself and TNT, his cybergroup, in the cyberworld.<ref name="CalceMichael" />{{Page needed|date=May 2017}} [[Buy.com]] was targeted in a similar attack afterwards that has been attributed to Calce. Calce claims he was not responsible and that a different hacker performed the DDoS as a challenge to coax him into targeting other websites.<ref name="CalceMichael" /> Calce responded to this in turn by bringing down [[eBay]], [[CNN]], [[Amazon.com|Amazon]], and [[Dell]] via [[DDoS]] over the next week.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-01-23 |title='Mafiaboy' will be sentenced in April {{!}} IT World Canada News |url=https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/mafiaboy-will-be-sentenced-in-april/29463 |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=www.itworldcanada.com |language=en-US}}</ref> In a 2011 interview,<ref name="radio-canada">[http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/christiane_charette/2010-2011/chronique.asp?idChronique=12709123079]{{dead link|date=May 2017}}</ref> Calce claimed that the attacks had been launched unwittingly, after inputting known addresses in a security tool he had downloaded from a repository on the now defunct file-sharing platform Hotline, developed by [[Hotline Communications]]. Calce left for school, forgetting the application which continued the attacks during most of the day. Upon coming home Calce says that he found his computer crashed, and restarted it unaware of what had gone on during the day.<ref>[http://www.cyberpresse.ca/local/dossiers/protegez-vous/201106/02/mafiaboy-a-t-i-il-dit-vrai.php]{{dead link|date=May 2017}}</ref> Calce claimed that when he overheard the news and recognized the companies mentioned being those he had inputted earlier in the day, he "started to understand what might have happened".<ref name="radio-canada" /> ==Aftermath== The U.S. [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] and the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] first noticed Calce when he started claiming in [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]] chatrooms that he was responsible for the attacks. He became the chief suspect when he claimed to have brought down Dell's website, an attack that had not been publicized at that time.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}} Information on the source of the attacks was initially discovered and reported to the press by Michael Lyle, chief technology officer of [[Recourse Technologies]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Hot On the Trail of Mafiaboy|url=http://archive.wired.com/politics/law/news/2000/02/34354?currentPage=all|publisher=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=2000-02-15}}</ref> Australian News Anchor Sandra Sully reported that it was apparently an Australian coder that initiated the sting performed in the IRC channel. Unreported using the nickname Ocker. Calce initially denied responsibility but later pleaded guilty to over 50 charges brought against him.<ref>{{Citation|newspaper=[[The Register]]|title=Mafiaboy given eight months|date=2001-09-13|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/09/13/mafiaboy_given_eight_months|accessdate=2007-03-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Shapiro |first=Scott |authorlink=Scott J. Shapiro |title=Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The dark history of the information age, in five extraordinary hacks |date=2023 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |isbn=978-0-374-60117-1 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=252}}</ref> His lawyer insisted the child had only run unsupervised tests to help design an improved [[firewall (networking)|firewall]], whereas trial records indicated the youth showed no remorse and had expressed a desire to move to [[Italy]] for its lax [[computer crime]] laws.<ref name="wired">{{Citation|newspaper=[[Wired magazine]]|title=Prison Urged for Mafiaboy|date=2001-06-20|url=https://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2001/06/44673|accessdate=2007-03-27}}</ref> The Montreal Youth Court sentenced him on September 12, 2001 to eight months of "open custody," one year of probation, restricted use of the Internet, and a small fine.<ref name="fbi" /><ref>{{Citation|newspaper=[[The Register]]|title=Mafiaboy given eight months|date=2001-09-13|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/09/13/mafiaboy_given_eight_months|accessdate=2007-03-27}}</ref> Matthew Kovar, a senior analyst at the market research firm [[Yankee Group]], generated some publicity when he told reporters the attacks caused US$1.2 billion in global economic damages.<ref>{{Citation|last=Niccolai|first=James|title=Analyst puts hacker damage at $1.2 billion and rising|publisher=InfoWorld|date=2000-02-10|url=http://www.infoworld.com/articles/ic/xml/00/02/10/000210icyankees.html|accessdate=2007-04-22|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112081103/http://www.infoworld.com/articles/ic/xml/00/02/10/000210icyankees.html|archivedate=2007-11-12}}</ref> Media outlets would later attribute a then-1.45:1 conversion value of 1.7 billion [[Canadian dollar|CAD]] to the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]]. Computer security experts now often cite the larger figure<ref>{{Citation|journal=Issues in Information Systems|last=Harris|first=James K.|title=Ethical Perspectives in Information Security Education|volume=VII|issue=1|pages=181|year=2006|url=http://www.iacis.org/iis/2006_iis/PDFs/Harris.pdf|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929144818/http://www.iacis.org/iis/2006_iis/PDFs/Harris.pdf|archivedate=2007-09-29}}</ref> (sometimes incorrectly declaring it in U.S. dollars),<ref>{{Citation|journal=Alcatel Telecommunications Review|last1=Robert|first1=J.M.|last2=Cosquer|first2=F.|title=Protecting Data Network Availability|volume=2002|issue=Q3|pages=2|year=2002|url=http://www.securitytechnet.com/resource/rsc-center/vendor-wp/alcatel/T0210-Availability-EN.pdf|access-date=2007-03-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222632/http://www.securitytechnet.com/resource/rsc-center/vendor-wp/alcatel/T0210-Availability-EN.pdf|archive-date=2007-09-27|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Computer Crime (lecture slides)|author=Dept. of Computing Science|publisher=University of Alberta|url=http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~wfb/300/schedule/lectures/L05-ComputerCrime.pdf|postscript=.}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} </ref> but a published report says the trial prosecutor gave the court a figure of roughly $7.5 million.<ref name="wired" /> ==Significance== While testifying at a hearing before members of the [[United States Congress]], computer expert [[Winn Schwartau]] said that "Government and commercial computer systems are so poorly protected today they can essentially be considered defenseless - an Electronic Pearl Harbor waiting to happen."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://winnschwartau.com/biography/|title=Winn Schwartau – Biography|last=Winn|website=winnschwartau.com|accessdate=16 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514142949/http://winnschwartau.com/biography/|archive-date=14 May 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The fact that the largest website in the world could be rendered inaccessible by a 15-year-old created widespread concern. By this time, the internet had already become an integral part of the North American economy. Consumers lost confidence in online business and the [[economy of the United States|American economy]] suffered a minor blow as a result.<ref name="DavisWall" /> Former [[CIA]] agent Craig Guent credits Mafiaboy for the significant increase in online security that took place over the decade.<ref name="MajidYar" /> ==Later years== During the latter half of 2005, he wrote a column on computer security topics for ''[[Le Journal de Montréal]]''.<ref>{{Citation|newspaper=[[Le Journal de Montréal]]|title=Mafiaboy's columns|year=2005|url=http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/TechNews/Mafiaboy|accessdate=2007-03-27|url-status=usurped|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20051203012325/http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/TechNews/Mafiaboy|archivedate=2005-12-03}}</ref> In late 2008, with journalist [[Craig Silverman]], Calce announced he was writing a book, ''Mafiaboy: How I Cracked the Internet and Why It's Still Broken''.<ref>{{Citation|title=Mafiaboy: How I Cracked the Internet and Why It's Still Broken|year=2008|url=http://mafiaboybook.com|access-date=2008-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002044543/http://mafiaboybook.com/|archive-date=2008-10-02|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081009/mafiaboy_book_081009/20081009?hub=Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010213716/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081009/mafiaboy_book_081009/20081009?hub=Canada|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 10, 2008|accessdate=2008-10-09|title=Canadian teen hacker reveals secrets in tell-all book}}</ref> On October 26, 2008, he appeared on the television program ''[[Tout le monde en parle (Quebec)|Tout le monde en parle]]'' to discuss his book.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/tout_le_monde_en_parle/saison5/episode.asp?idDoc=66843|accessdate=2008-10-26|title=Mafiaboy to appear on Tout le monde en parle}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/tout_le_monde_en_parle/saison5/episode.asp?idDoc=66843|title=Émission du 26 octobre 2008 - Tout le monde en parle - Radio-Canada.ca|first=Télévision -|last=Radio-Canada.ca|website=Tout le monde en parle - Radio-Canada.ca|accessdate=16 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id%3D882780325 |title=CBC News - the Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos |accessdate=2008-11-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212101629/http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id=882780325 |archivedate=2008-12-12 }}</ref> The book received generally positive reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yyztech.ca/reviews/book/mafiaboy-how-cracked-internet-why-still-broken |title=Review of Mafiaboy: How I Cracked the Internet and Why It's Still Broken book. YYZtech.ca |accessdate=2009-06-10 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601230019/http://yyztech.ca/reviews/book/mafiaboy-how-cracked-internet-why-still-broken |archivedate=2009-06-01 }}</ref> Calce appeared on a TV show, ''[[Last Call with Carson Daly]]'', talking about his days as a hacker, how President Clinton became involved, and how it ultimately landed him in jail all at age 15.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.demonstech.com/2012/11/last-call-with-carson-daly-michael.html|title=Last call with carson daly - Michael "Mafia Boy" Calce|website=www.demonstech.com|accessdate=16 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612050305/http://www.demonstech.com/2012/11/last-call-with-carson-daly-michael.html|archive-date=12 June 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 2014, Calce appeared on the twelfth episode of the Criminal podcast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thisiscriminal.com/episode-twelve-break-the-internet-11-25-2014/|title=EPISODE TWELVE: BREAK THE INTERNET (11.25.2014) - Criminal|website=thisiscriminal.com|accessdate=16 May 2017}}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} {{Hacking in the 2000s}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Calce, Michael}} [[Category:1984 births]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian criminals]] [[Category:Cybercriminals]] [[Category:Canadian male criminals]] [[Category:Criminals from Montreal]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève]]
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